Since it was my birthday we decided a few treats were in order. Starting with a jet ski safari we blasted off to Beqa island passing over a notorious shark infested channel. The island contains a lagoon and as we rode up into it past a private mansion it felt just like entering the secret lair of a Bond villain. After Helen showed off doing donuts we jumped off and snorkeled in the turquoise water. The visibility was amazing, putting our Thailand diving trip to shame. Fish were everywhere we looked and I had a very close encounter with a terrifying but harmless black tip shark. On our return we rode the jet ski flat out, jumping through the waves and crashing back down into the water until it abruptly stopped in the middle of the channel, 30m above a sea full of far more serious sharks. Fortunately with a bit of tinkering our guide managed to save us from a long swim back to the shore and the prospect of being something’s lunch.
We marked the end of our stay in Fiji with Caz, Asa and their family with a trip out to the Mamanuca islands for a day in paradise. Cruising out past picture perfect desert islands we got glimpse of what our backpacking trip might have been like if we’d recently won the lottery. Though we only had 5 hours in the resort everyone made the most of their time snorkeling, hammock swinging and dining on fine food. We could have both quite happily spent the rest of our trip luxuriating there but at around $1000 a night room only we’d have spent the rest of our lives washing their dishes to clear the tab.
After two months in Australia recharging our batteries and bank accounts we packed up our backpacks and set off to Fiji for the next leg of our adventure.
Arriving at Nadi airport we were picked up by Caz and Asa our occasional travelling companions since way back on the Trans-Mongolian Express. We had eight days to spend on the island and thanks to their excellent planning we barely had to worry about anything other than topping up our suntan lotion. Travelling between beaches, most days were spent swinging in hammocks or snorkeling in the crystal clear water being amazed by the quantity and colour of fish. My birthday was celebrated in much the same way but with more cocktails added to the mix.
Reality TV fans will be delighted to hear that we stayed in the resort used for the location of the ultra-cheesey ‘Celebrity Love Island‘. Fear not, the spirit of Paul Danan is still strong here
We spent the weekend staying with Caz’s parents in the island’s capital Suva where they were throwing Caz’s Dad a party for his birthday. We tried some Kava (aka Grog) a South Pacific ceremonial drink that gets you stoned if you drink enough. Looking a lot like dirty dish water a few coconut cups full gave us both numb mouths and throats. It tastes a bit like earth and roots so we soon switched over to beer.
Spirits ran high despite the Fijian national team being dumped out of the Seven’s Rugby tournament half way through the party. Everyone quickly recovered however with some dodgy crooning to the karaoke and round after round of Tequila shots.
