Shipwrecked and Starving!

Beautiful Sunrises
see all photos »

Time for our two week island-hopping adventure where we would spend 2 nights each on 7 different islands in the Mamanuca and Yasawa groups to the North West of Fiji's main island. Our first port of call was Beachcomber, a tiny desert island reached via a very choppy 1 hr boat ride, accompanied by a number of our friends from the Feejee Experience bus. It was still raining heavily (despite being told the weather would be fine on the islands) so we settled ourselves down for a 48 hour scrabble-a-thon. The first glimpse of sunshine came half way through the second day, at which point we all ran outside, tearing off our clothes. It was spitting again within half an hour but many of us lay there stubbornly 'sunbathing' in the rain, willing the sun to reappear - it didn't.

Tropical weather
see all photos »

Next on the itinerary was Manta Ray Island, where we were ushered to our hill top hut with stunning views of the ocean through the palm trees. The sun had also made an appearance and we spent our days snorkelling on the coral reef. Unfortunately the manta rays don't turn up until May, but there was plenty of other marine life to keep us entertained. We even found Nemo! The only drawback was that the showers were only operational for one hour a day - which just so happened to coincide with happy hour at the bar. Needless to say, we opted to be drunk and dirty for the duration.

I hoped they'd changed the water since Rebecca Loos was in there!

The sun started shining
see all photos »

This was followed by two nights on the Wanna Taki 'cruise', which was basically a floating dormitory. We were slightly disappointed when it sailed around to the beach we had just come from and dropped anchor for 2 days, but the activities on offer more than made up for it. We could swim or kayak to nearby beaches for sunbathing or a spot of beach volleyball, and were taken to various spots on the reef for some excellent snorkelling. On one occasion, I came far too close to a 5ft long shark for my liking, and made a hasty retreat back to the boat. Apparently, the sharks in the area are harmless, but I didn't fancy hanging around to find out.

The Beachcomber gang
see all photos »

Travelling further Northwards, we stopped at Yaqeta Island, to stay at the Sanawai Resort, owned by the sweetest husband and wife in the world. It was a very small operation, accommodating only about 5 guests at a time. Our fellow 'inmates' included Pol and Emily, a lovely Irish/Swiss couple with whom we spent the remainder of our time on the islands. At each mealtime, as the owner paced around our table flapping a tea towel to keep the flies away, he'd retell the story of how he had chosen his wife based on her ability to cook and care for his guests. We didn't have the heart to tell him the food was shocking. The couple had unofficially adopted Angel, an American dog who had been flown from the States and abandoned on the island. Having been brought up on Pedigree Chum she was stubbornly refusing to adapt to the Fijian diet, and was slowly wasting away. Having been there for just two days we felt a great deal of empathy for the poor creature and are considering sending doggy food parcels once we get home. We ended up going handline fishing to ensure we had a decent amount of protein for our evening meal! Moaning aside, we spent a lovely few days in the sunshine, making shell necklaces on the beach and visiting their family in the nearby village.

Dan doing some pre-fireshow practising
see all photos »

Our next destination was the even more remote island of Nanuya Lailai, and the Sunrise resort. The quality (and quantity) of the food we were given was rapidly declining the further north we went. Surely the Fijians don't get to the size they are from eating these measly portions! On the first evening, a group of us trekked across the island to watch the sun set over the Blue Lagoon, but the path was extremely muddy and slippery due to the recent rain. We decided it would be easier to come back via the coastal route, although the fact that it was high tide and now dark posed quite a problem. We had to swim out (fully clothed) around 3 headlands, into the dark waters which, unknowingly to us, were apparently frequented by barracudas and bull sharks! We had our knuckles wrapped as they'd sent a search party out for us having failed to return in time for dinner, but it was a fun bonding experience.

Postcard scenery
see all photos »

Then it was back down South to our final island, Bounty, the location of the reality TV show Celebrity Love Island. We visited the infamous 'Love shack', but only found its derelict remains, plastered with derisive graffiti about Paul Danan and Patrick Kielty. The hotel swimming pool was the same one used in the TV series - I hoped they'd changed the water since Rebecca Loos was in there!

Finally we were transported back to the dry, air conditioned, sand free luxury of our mainland hotel room, from where we headed straight to McDonalds - aiming to acclimatise ourselves for the next 3 weeks in the USA.