Kerry from Derry

Once again apologies for my tardiness in getting around to posting this – have no excuses but that I am working full time and have a social life to be getting on with!

So then Fiji…….well it all started out fine, met at the airport with lots of singing and smiles and shouts of Bula! (That's Fijian for hello just in case you're wondering). Had booked to stay in the Nomads Skylodge and sure enough the driver was waiting there for me to whisk me off to the lap of luxury…..well a reasonably clean and spacious dorm room anyway – although to be fair I've only stayed in one other backpacker place that has had a swimming pool, very nice it was too if somewhat cold!

Chucked my bag in the room and pulled on the shorts and retired to poolside for some well needed sunshine (at this stage the locals were shielding their eyes and trying not to appear too horrified at the sheer whiteness of your's truly). Weather was pretty good after the freezing temperatures and rain in Auckland – a nice balmy 25 degrees.

Couple of hours later it was time for dinner and got chatting to a fellow paddy by the bar (where else) and had dinner with him – nice old fella, well maybe not that old, around 50 I would guess – went by the name of Joe and was from just outside Dublin. We were trying to have a civilised conversation when we were rudely interrupted by a big gang of about 20 college kids shouting their heads off, high fiving, etc, etc – unable to hold their drink yadda yadda – I think you get the picture and that unfortunately remained the story for the rest of the evening although it is amazing how much you can ignore when you truly want too! Anyway I'm sitting at the bar and I look up at a new group of arrivals and who should walk in but a fella I was mates with in Auckland and who had moved to Oz a few months previous! Small world eh? The rest of the evening was spent catching up with him and chatting to 2 young ladies who had arrived on the same flight as him – good company and amusing conversation, what else do you need?

The next day I was heading out to Malolo Island to meet up with a couple of girls I had been friends with in Auckland, Emer and Rachael (also Irish in case you hadn't guessed). Had booked in for 5 nights and was planning on not doing too much apart from a bit of diving and snorkelling and a lot of lying down trying to catch some semblance of a tan! Well I didn't quite manage a good tan – I did however acquire a watch mark so at least there was some proof I had been to the tropics! Anyway enough about the lack of melanin in my skin……

The place we were staying in was called Walu Beach Resort and was a mixture of lodges, beachfront bures and a big old bunkhouse for the backpackers. It all looked good on first impression……yep I am going to moan here so if you don't want to hear about it stop reading NOW! Right then – the girls had arrived a day earlier than me and managed to scam a lodge room to themselves – cows! Me I was in the bunkhouse – all looked fine, clean sheets, comfy mattress and then the shortcomings became apparent! No doors, only curtains so security was pretty much non-existent and worst of all no ceilings so the mozzies could attack at their leisure…..and attack they did the little cretins. Also made for pretty noisy nights so not a lot of sleep was to be had there. I was moved a couple of days later to make room for another large group of aforementioned college kids (delight) and was delighted to be given my own room in one of the lodges (albeit a bit of a lung buster to get there – something like 150/200 steps, all the same made for a good view…..). So things are on the up eh? Yeah right – nothing in the bathroom worked…..so no water for showers, washing teeth and worst of all for flushing the toilet! Minging I tell you- minging! Thank god the girls were down the hill so I had somewhere to go and shower, shave and s****! I know, I know - too much information but this is my blog and I can write what I want!

I'll also mention the food – one word…..disgusting!

But apart from the slight rant above I still had a good time – few entertaining nights in the bar, met some good people, got to go swimming in something that didn't resemble an ice bath, saw lots of colourful little fishies, had quite a lot of fun out on a little hobbie cat (small sailing boat) and got to see lots of young men in their shorts! Oh and almost forgot did a half day trip out to one of the other islands for a bit of souvenir shopping, Plantation Island I believe it was and very nice it was too. Didn't get to go diving as the cold I'd picked up before leaving NZ hadn't quite cleared up so it wasn't safe for me to do so – BOOO! There's a dive site out there called the Supermarket where you see loads of different kinds of sharks and I didn't get to do it- ah well next time.

My last night was spent back in Nadi – the boat transfer back into the mainland was stunning, probably the second most spectacular sunset I have ever seen (the fist being in India), not a bad way to end the trip to the islands. Stayed in the Skylodge again for my last night – had a fantastic (and plentiful) curry and a few beers with an English couple I got chatting to and then it was time for bed (and murderous thoughts towards the teenyboppers staying in my dorm) before catching a few more rays the next morning and hopping on the plane back to Auckland.

Overall my impressions of Fiji is that I'd like a lot more time to see it properly – the mainland reminds me a lot of India, same sights and smells and even the language – Hindi makes up a major part of Fijian. Its not a country without its problems but its definitely getting there. The people are generally extremely friendly and love to sing – you'll hear music everywhere you go. Cost wise its on par with NZ although with things like accommodation, boat transfers, etc (tourist orientated) costing quite a bit more. Don't ever expect to get anything done in a hurry – Fiji time is not a myth, it’s a harsh reality! But then if you're going there it will probably be on holiday so why worry?!?