rest and relaxation island style

south pacific boy
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We had been looking forward to getting to Fiji for a long time, it was our planned rest and relaxation stop where we could finally plan our route home to England.  Having acquired a few guide books in the US we were well set for some beach time reading.

However, as we arrived into Nadi airport to see torrential rain, and all the newspapers talking about a possible tropical storm coming in from the north west we thought we'd made a bit of a mistake.  But with some canny planning, and a big heap of luck we managed to see a lot of the sun.  Firstly we got on the buses up to Nananu-I-Ra a little star shaped island in the North East, we stayed there for 4 days, reading books, doing some snorkeling, getting REALLY badly sunburnt, and really tired arms whilst kayaking around the island.  It took about 8 hours including beach stops, but was sort of fun.  But mostly I ate a lot of mangoes, some I had bought a the bus station at $1 for 6, and then some free ones that were falling off the tree in the garden of Charlie's Place where we were staying.

looks like mud, tastes like medicine, and makes you lips numb

our island beach - not bad eh?
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From Nananu-I-Ra we got the buses back to downtown Nadi where we had a pretty horrible evening in the worst hotel we had stayed at in 10 months.  And we went out for dinner in a little fastfood shack where the waiter originally started chatting away about rugby and cricket when I asked what price the food was going to be.  But we ordered anyway, as it was only a cheap little takeaway.  After a small bowl of bone shard curry (for me) and veggie curry (for Alex) had been served to us we ate up and went to pay.  The waiter chap (who also claimed to be a Las Vegas based millionaire property developer) asked us for F$22.50 for each small bowl of curry.  When I explained to him that I didn't want to pay as I'd had similar food in a similar restaurant down the road for F$4.50, he said that it was "tourist prices" and that "everybody does it, it is the way Fiji makes money"  I fairly politely told him that I didn't think that the best way to run a tourist economy was to rip off any customers who might have come there.  We gave him $5 for each curry and I still think he did well out of us...

leaving paradise
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Anyway, to more pleasant memories.  We headed over on the Big Yellow Backpacker catamaran to Otto and Fanny's Place on Tavewa, where we really got into some proper relaxing.  Did a lot of snorkeling and lots more reading, but mostly we ate.  The food that chef Harry prepares is really good.  And seems to come very frequently.  We met some nice Canadians, and Aussies and English folk to add to the meal-time chatter.  And we tried drinking some of the weird Kava stuff that is made of mashed up roots, looks like mud, tasted like medicine, and makes your lips numb.  All good fun.  Then it was back to Nadi for a final night before flying into NZ