Beachcomber Island and back to a Nadi: Bula Combo Pass

Thursday 9th March 2017

After breakfast this morning we checked out and got to choose which boat we were getting which was a luxury! We opted for the 5pm so we could spend a full day on Beachcomber.

I walked around the island, it literally took 5 minutes! I came back around to the beach and I thought it was a different part of the resort, until I recognised the bar! It's crazy how small it is, but it's so beautiful.

We chilled out on the beach this morning, there wasn't that many people there so there was loads of space. Emma and I thought lunch was earlier than it was so we went back to our towels to carry on sun bathing, but mine had gone! I don't think it could've been the wind, as no one else's towels and moved, but I have no idea why someone would want my stinky towel!! I was going to throw it away before I left anyway so I'm not overly fussed!

After lunch we did another snorkel trip. I didn't bring my GoPro this time but I wish we did! There were heaps of fish and we fed them bread so more and more kept coming. The parrotfish are definitely my favourite, the vibrant colours on them are amazing.

We had a couple of hours of just chilling before we got the boat back to the Viti Levu. It was just under 45 minutes before we got back to Port Denarau and I have to say I was pretty sad to leave the islands behind!

Our transfer didn't take long, and we were back at Smugglers Cove again. Some of the staff recognised us and made a point of talking to us which was so nice! We were both knackered though so we grabbed food before going to bed early.

Wayalailai Island and Beachcomber Island: Bula Combo Pass

Thursday 9th March 2017

Today is our penultimate day island hopping, it's gone crazy fast! But the best ever thing was that at breakfast we had chocolate cake and pineapple! I was so happy, I even took a few bits for later (that eventually got all crumbled in my bag but it's fine, it tastes great!).

After we brought our bags to reception, we went down to the dive hut to prepare for swimming with sharks. We grabbed our snorkel gear and headed to the boat. It took under ten minutes to get to the reef, and they feed the sharks in a pool in the middle of the coral. It was amazing! We were with white tipped reef sharks and they were much smaller than I imagined but still so magnificent. After my dreaded snorkel at Robinson Crusoe Island, I kept my life jacket on, but kinda regretted it as it kept getting in my way. But I felt safe the whole time which had made me want to do it again, unlike the last time!!

The boat journey back was 100% scarier than the swim! The waves had picked up a bit on the way back and this meant that I kept flying out of my seat and slamming back down, causing my bum too hurt rather a lot! But despite my terror every time we soared over a wave it was a lot of fun!

We only had an hour or so before lunch so we chilled out for a bit on the beach. After lunch we went back to sunbathe, and I also went and made an anklet out of shells. The time went pretty quickly and it was time to move on to Beachcomber, our final Island.

Jumping on to the boat, it was clear that Beachcomber was similar to Robinson Crusoe Island - it looked like it was straight out of a movie. Paradise. Beachcomber is known as a party island, but as we came on off season there wasn't as many people so less of a partaaayyy and more like in bed by 10 #cray. However, on the upside we asked for another free upgrade and we got another private room which is super awesome!

Beachcomber is a two and three coconut island so it's already more luxurious than the other places we've stayed at, definitely more of a holiday resort than a cultural experience! The food was amazing. We had a 4 course a la carte menu, but for pudding we only got ice cream and we noticed that other people had cake. This didn't sit right with me, so I asked them if we had cake and we got two pieces each! This day has just been amazing!

We then watched their Polynesian dance and fire show, but I didn't take any pictures this time as it was pretty much the same as smugglers and Robinson Crusoe. I will never get sick of watching it though, it's so good!

Emma and I then cracked out the wine I have had in my bag since the last day of Feejee Experience! I had left it in the sink in cold water since dinner so it was kinda cool, but wasn't brilliant. We then went to the bar expecting everyone to be there dancing, but there was about 6 people and they were all grinding on each other so we decided to go back to the room and watch greys after making use of the free wifi!

Drawaqa Island and Wayalailai Island: Bula Combo Pass

Wednesday 8th March 2017

Checkout from Barefoot Manta today, it's been nice here but so flipping expensive compared to the other islands we've been at!  Although we managed to blag all our meals free as the boys we saw yesterday said they had an offer from the boat so we just said we were told that too so we saved $168 on food. I was sad this morning as the donuts had flies all over them so they were taken away!

We grabbed our bags and went to check out, but they had lost signal on the card machine so we had to wait. We left our stuff at reception and went to get a kayak, as I had won a free ride from the crab race the other day.

Getting out on the water really showed how beautiful the coral reef is around this island. There were so many fish and I've never seen so many starfishes before in my life! I attempted to get some photos from my GoPro but I had no inclination as to how they would turn out when I was taking them, but some of them turned out ok!

 

Our plan was to then go and chill on the beach for a bit but then, shock, it started to rain again! (I'm definitely coming back to Fiji outside of the wet season!!) So we stayed in the main building waiting for it to pass over, and after a while I went out to sunbathe on the beach againnever last as long as I do in England sunbathing a sits so flipping hot! I stayed closer to the rocks at the end of the beach and there was a fish swimming around aimlessly, I don't think that fish was well! He was beautiful though.

We then bumped in to some others and Chris let Emma and I borrow the snorkel he hired out. It's so amazing that you can swim out for less than 30 seconds and be surrounded by beautiful fish and corals.

Time went by pretty quickly and then it was lunch time - I can't wait to start eating meals on my own time again! After lunch we only had about an hour before getting our boat, so I went for a walk around sunset beach and  then chilled out for a bit waiting for our transfer. The weather was much better than the last time we got the boat, that's for sure. Although it still felt like we were riding a rollercoaster - they don't call it the Yasawas flyer for nothing!

Waylailai island is awesome, the rock formations around here are something else. We were a little cheeky and asked if there were any free room upgrades, so instead of sleeping in the dorm we've got our own bule which is nice! Although the bathroom stinks and there's no electricity so that's a downer but we'll live!

We went for a dip in the ocean, it was refreshing but there is seaweed everywhere, the beaches are much nicer at oarsman bay and Barefoot Manta! The sun went in so we went and got ready early (what a shock). We get an afternoon tea here which is really exciting for us! (Turns out it was just tea and crackers, less exciting).

Dinner was delicious, some sort of spicy chicken with rice and noodles - buffet style! Hands down my favourite meal from all the islands so far! And I had so much pineapple, I have never tasted pineapple as good as the pineapples in Fiji.

Emma and I had planned to get an early night, but the staff at Wayalailai had other plans! We had a few dances to 'make sure the sun comes out tomorrow' and then we played this ridiculous game where the first person carries as spoon in his mouth balancing a marble, thrown everyone else takes turns in sitting on a potato, carrying it between their thighs and then passing it to the next person, and then we had to pass an empty bottle to each other by our thighs and then sit down. It was a bit over complicated but our team won! We all got a free drink at the bar which was awesome!

Afterwards we got chatting to a few people and it's honestly the most I've laughed since being in Fiji! It was brilliant.

Matacawalevu Island and Drawaqa Island: Bula Combo Pass

Sunday 5th March - Monday 6th March 2017

We got up early today to go to church, on Sundays they don't run any activities so it was nice to have something to do to pass the morning!

Breakfast was really good, I had weetabix, apples and the most delicious custard slice I've ever had! It just melted in my mouth! We were leaving to go to the church at 8 so I just about had enough time to brush my teeth and sort my bags out before getting the boat round to the part of the island the village is in.

We walked up an extremely muddy path and eventually came to the church. This village is Catholic, but the majority of the churches in Fiji are Methodist. The ceremony was beautiful, everyone sang the hymns with the most amazing harmonies and it brought a tear to my eye not gonna lie! It was so nice having communion - it's been a while! Everyone is so friendly and kind, Fijians have such a wonderful way of life!

We then went down to look at the primary school, I was surprised to see Jolly Phonics stuff in class 1&2! It brought back good memories of working at nursery!

We then wandered around the village for a while, Jacob (he's part of the family that runs  Long Beach Resort) carrying his baby sister Cara, showed us around for a bit. Although it felt like he was just taking us places to kill a bit of time! He showed us a whale tooth in one of the houses, not entirely sure why but it was cool! There was also a hideous looking spider with a bright green body that he pretended to flick on us. He also told us we weren't allowed to take photos, before wetting himself laughing! Let's just say he likes a joke!

We then got the boat back round to the resort, and brought or bags round to the main but. It just started to torrential rain again and it was only 2 hours before getting true speedboat out to the big boat so we prayed it would stop soon!

For lunch we had spicy tomato pasta which was good, although it tastes like something I would've made for myself at uni! The sun came out for a bit but the clouds were still looming and the wind had picked up a bit. This made the ride in the small speedboat less than fun... I thought it was bad yesterday, well it had nothing on today! I just plonked myself in the middle and prayed I wouldn't fall in!

The ferry ride wasn't much better, the rain came in and the waves rocked the boat a fair bit - it wasn't as bad as the ferry from Wellington to Christchurch though! We had a covered boat to get to Barefoot Manta Resort which was good! Two girls greeted us on the boat who are volunteering at a nearby school for a month which seems cool!

Barefoot Manta is more expensive than the other resorts, it had a set meal plan of like $90 a day and wifi is $24 a day so I won't buy it today, and probably won't tomorrow unless it's raining all day again! Hopefully the sun will be out so I can get back to sunbathing and swimming! Emma got wifi straight away so I had a wander by myself for a bit. The island is stunning. They have three beaches, but sunset beach is my favourite. There are so many crabs it's crazy!

I then had an early shower as the weather still isn't great so I didn't fancy a swim this evening, but as it finally stopped raining I sat on the bench just outside our Bule and read for a bit until it was dinner time. We were a bit early for dinner, as Emma wanted to use her wifi, and when we got there hey we're doing a hermit crab race. This time we got to pick our own crabs and decide on the number, we had two rounds and a final. Emma's crab won the first round and mine won the second! So either way  one of us would win! In the end, my crab won but it was for a double kayak so it worked out perfectly!

Everyone we met had said that the food at Barefoot Manta was the best out of all the islands so I was super excited for dinner. However, I didn't find it to be that exciting! The pumpkin soup and pineapple upside down cake was amazing but the main course was mediocre - a super chewy beef patty with a jacket potato and veg.

We had met a load cool people here so we actually didn't go to bed straight after dinner for a change! We chilled out, playing cards (well I watched as there were so many people playing already!) and went for a night swim which was amazing - there was a storm at the same time and the lightning lit up the whole sky making it look like somewhere out of a movie.

Nacula Island and Matacawalevu Island: Bula Combo Pass

Saturday 4th March - Sunday 5th March 2017

It had rained through most of the night - so at least it was a bit cooler! We had a continental breakfast
at 8 and as the weather was still overcast we just chilled out watching Grey's again! As we were
going to Long Beach Resort today, we had to checkout at 11, but at around 10 someone came to get our bags which was a life saver! He had my bag on his back and Emma's on his front... Christ he must've been strong as we have not packed light!!

I was feeling a bit funky... (probably either the curry, gone off coconut or water!) so I asked for plain food for lunch. The others had fish curry so I just had the rice and an apple and orange segment which was nice but I could've done with a bit more! The curry smelt amazing but I didn't want to risk it!! We just chilled out on the deck before our boarding call came, at around 1.

The speedboat was crazy this time round! There were 6 of us and all our luggage so I don't know if that's why it felt rockier or if it was because the sea was choppier I don't know! But there were a few times where I was a tad scared for my life! The water was so clear and shallow though so I could see all kinds of fish which was awesome. I tried to concentrate on them to distract myself from the feeling like we were going to fall in!

It only took us less than an hour to get to Long Beach Resort, and we hadn't filled in our accommodation pass yet so it was touch and go for a while if we were even going to get in there! Eventually it all got sorted - literally seconds before our boarding call which was lucky!

At first sight, long beach isn't as stereotypically pretty as Oarsman bay lodge, but it's beautiful in its own way. There are loads of palm trees and there are various rock formations around, plus coral in and around the water. The bay is pretty shallow, we got in at low tide, and we were warned not to go in snorkelling or swimming as a girl got stung by a stingray a few days ago - not that there was enough water to go swimming in anyway! We were greeted by a gorgeous dog called Toni (he has a longer name but I can't remember it!).

After checking in, we were taking to our dorm, a room with about 8 beds and one bunk bed. I was on the top bunk and I noticed that there were bugs crawling all over my bed. At first I thought they were bed bugs but then I noticed a trail of them going through the window and to an ants nest outside. I mentioned it to the owner and luckily she sorted it all out as there were none in my bed when I went to sleep!

It had started to get quite stormy, so after chilling out in the hammocks reading for a bit, we were forced to wait under the shelter whilst the torrential rain poured outside. A few people were drinking Kava, and we were invited a few times but as it wasn't a proper ceremony and just for tasting I politely declined! I've had enough Kava to last me a lifetime!! Whilst we were waiting for the rain to die off, a little boy came up to us - he had followed us around whilst we explored the island a bit and has seemed to take a liking to us! He can't have been more than 4, and his English wasn't great but he understood a basic amount. He pointed at my phone so I showed him the camera and he took a few selfies before having a look through my photos. He kept clicking off it then going back on, and every time I tried to help him look at different photos he told me off! It was pretty funny! After a while an older man came and took him away - he started crying but I didn't know what they were saying so didn't want to get involved!

After a while the rain had gone and we went back on the hammocks as they dried off reasonably quickly. I finished the book I was reading - Diary of a Fat girl by Moira Mugweni - it was a very easy read but quite amusing, I enjoyed it! I then went for a walk down on the beach with Toni, and he was loving life trying to catch the fish in the sea! By that time, food was nearly ready so we went to get ready (definitely made sure we had enough insect repellant on!!) and went to sit down for food.

Dinner was good, but I've definitely had better! We had potatoes and BBQ chicken or fish, and the most delicious vegetables I have had for a while! I think they boiled them and mixed them together with mustard and something else but they were so tasty!

At long beach they only have electricity for a few hours in the morning and evening, so we headed back to get ready so we wouldn't miss out on the water and light! Most people decided to have an early night - when there's so few people here and I'm so tired I'd rather get up early and go to bed early!

Nacula Island: Bula Combo Pass

Friday 3rd March - Saturday 4th March 2017

It was a super early start this morning, and I fully hadn't slept well at all in the night which sucks! But we grabbed breakfast at 6:30 and  then the coach came at around 7:15. It was only whilst we were sitting at reception that it dawned on us that we had no idea what we were doing on the Bula Pass. It took us a while to find someone to even make sure we were going on the right coach!

When we got to the Port, we went to check in our luggage and we were asked what our destination was. We had no idea! So we went to check in and eventually found out that you can book as you go on the Bula pass on the boat, and just change where your luggage is going as you go. So after twenty or so minutes of pouring down the list of resorts, we decided to stay at Oarsmans Bay Lodge on Nacula Island. This meant we wouldn't be seeing the others, as they're all going to Beachcomber Island which is a shame, but it works out easier for us to do it the opposite way round. But this also meant we had 4 and a half hours to kill on the ferry!

We passed all the beautiful islands and time surprisingly went quite quickly! We got in a little speedboat and someone took our bags (thank god!). The sea is crystal clear and shines a beautiful shade of turquoise - the whole island is idyllic.

We were greeted by the staff members and a complimentary juice which went down a treat! The owner then went over meal times and things before giving us our room key. We are in a bule just the two of us which is amazing! It's been so long since we just shared a room together!

So I can't imagine my blog posts being overly interesting from now on but I'm going to keep going anyway and include more pictures! We spent the afternoon going from sunbathing to swimming, the water was a perfect temperature to cool down in - not too cold and not too warm! There were loads of fish swimming around as well.

I then went for a short walk to the rocks at the end of the island. The sand is so hard to walk on, it just consumes your foot with every step you take. There were loads of hermit crabs on the beach, and one showed a lot of interest in my GoPro! I had a look in some rock pools but there wasn't much there, a few crabs and fish!

The resort next door has an inflatable slide in the sea so we snuck on it... I managed to not die after going down the slide which was great! (I have zero confidence in my swimming skills especially after the snorkelling!) We then bumped into a couple of girls one of whom came from a nearby village, the other from Nadi. They had been snorkelling and then we got chatting about life! They work here in their uni break, both studying tourism which seems perfect for Fiji!

After showering and putting on moisturiser (I'm finally getting a tan yay!) we chilled out in the room watching Grey's until it was time for food!

Dinner was some sort of chicken broth with sweet bread,the broth was super yummy but the bread was a bit weird! Then we had Fish, chicken and sausage in some sort of BBQ sauce with coleslaw and one potato! I'd filled up on the broth so wasn't overly hungry but it was pretty good, just a bit random!

After dins we just chilled in our room, these long days are making me feel exhausted! But it feels so good to just be chilling for a change!