Monday Day 3

Breakfast Coconuts

We got up at around 7:30 and got organised for breakfast. We ate breakfast and then Tine managed to organise with one of the grounds staff at the resort to cut down 4 coconuts for us to drink. The bloke was a champion, he cut the coconuts down, opened them up and found us some straws from the bar. 

The School trip

After breakfast we met up with Mary in front of the Shangri La Resort. We drove through Mary’s village, the village beside her’s and then made our way inland up a windy track that was full of pot holes, ruts and causeways to a small school in the mountains. 

We delivered the books and stationary that Tine had picked up back in Australia, and chatted with the teachers and some of the students. The school was happy to receive the supplies and decided that they would hand them out on an as needs basis. 

On the slow drive back we stopped to pat the local wildlife and collected fruits and vegetables that were growing along the side of the road for Mary’s village.

We dropped Mary and her collection of fruits and vegetables back to the village and then continued on to a market in the nearby Sigatoka township. The market was full of fresh fruits, vegetables and handcrafts. We picked up some fruits and vegetables from the markets and then some snacks and supplies from a nearby grocery store. Kaitlyn bought a bracelet and Brandon bought a necklace. 

We ate lunch at a Mexican place that was also a convenience store on the way back to the resort. Lunch was actually pretty spicy and delicious. Actually a lot of the food is spicy and delicious due to the Indian influence on the island cuisine. 

Cuvu Beach 

We had a siesta at the resort and then went looking for a beach nearby to have a swim. Cuvu had been recommended however people, also said to make sure that you lock your gear in the car and keep an eye on it. We eventually found the beach that they were speaking of, but even there a young bloke suggested that this was not the safest beach to go to for tourists. We chatted with some of the locals for a while and then made our way back to Natadola Beach for a swim. I guess with all of the resorts around Natadola beach the place is a lot safer for tourists. 

We went for a swim and then took the snorkelling gear out again. We took some photos and videos on the beach as the sun was setting over the water. Fiji has some spectacular views, beaches and sunsets. It is a real shame about the beach situation as there are spectacular beaches right along the coast but the majority are not accessible due to private land and resorts, even Natadola beach is not that accessible. 

After our snorkel we made our way back to Geckos resort for dinner and a good night’s rest. 

Tuesday Day 4

We didn’t get up particularly early, when we finally did get up, we got organised and headed over to breakfast at around 7:30. We ate some breakfast and then settled the accounts and loaded the vehicle. We drove back out to Natadola for one last surf and snorkel. 

Horse rides at Natadola Beach

Brandon and Kaitlyn went for a horse ride along the beach while Tine and I went for a swim. Once the kids came back from their ride we put on the snorkelling gear and went for a snorkel around the reef. This time I worked my way around the edge of the reef where the water depth changed quite considerably from the relatively shallow reef to the deeper ocean floor. Looking at the side of the massive slabs of coral you could see all sorts of marine flora and fauna living in the valleys and crevices in the cliff like sides of the reef. 

Once we were done with our snorkelling re hired a surf board and a paddle board. Brandon rode the paddle board while Tine, Kaitlyn and I shared the surf board. We caught a fair few fun little waves off the reef. Kaitlyn managed to cut her foot on the reef, so we took her back to shore so that she could put a bandaid on her foot and a pair of reef shoes. 

Toba Bar and Grill

We ate lunch at the Toba Bar and Gill once again the food was delicious and expensive. While we were there we asked about Brandpn’s water bottle that he had left there a couple of days back. They found that it had been taken to house keeping and they were able to return it to the restaurant while we were eating lunch. 

Premiere Apartments in Nadi

After lunch we packed up and headed North to a place that Tine had booked near the airport. We checked in and scoped out the apartment. The apartment was clean and tidy and came with everything that we would need to be self contained. We settled in and then went to find some groceries. 

This is the point were we learned not to go into town in the evening. The traffic was horrendous and slow. We found a supermarket and picked up some groceries to get us through the next couple of days. We then came back to the apartment to cook up some honey soy chicken with rice and vegetables.