Green Bus family!

Good old Air New Zealand - the cabin crew were all men and we were checked in my men...not bad eh?! We were greeted at Nadi airport by 3 fijians singing and playing guitars - better than sniffer dogs!

We spent our first night in Nadi Bay Resort. Our dorm had been overbooked so we were put in a double room for the same price...not bad for our first night!!

Jenn got up so much speed that she took out Te and ended up in the undergrowth!!

We soon learnt about 'Fiji Time' when our big green Feejee Experiance bus rolled up lat. We ent our guide Te and driver Willy and set off. Once everyone had been picked up , we stopped at a beach to have a 'green bus family meeting'! We then went into Nadi town to grab some supplies and have a quick look around.

Our next stop was Natadola Beach...Yay Sun!! As we soaked up some rays, Te did us all a BBQ for our lunch. The beach was supposedly the 4th most beautiful beach in the worly, but with construction work happening behind and lots of stuff washed up onto the sand, it wasn't so great!

After lunch we made our way to Mala-Malo, atraditional Fijian Village. The village rules require that we all wear sarongs- including the boys! It was v. funny watching them, try and tie them properly! We gatherd in the Bure - meeting place, and were told about the village traditions. At the time we arrived, it was siesta time and the kids were yet to return from school. Te showed us a Kava bowl  and described the ceremony which takes place. Kava is the traditional Fijian drink, used in ceremonies and its tongue  num bing and narcotic elements make it an excellent social drink too!!

We were then shown around the rest of the village. We were informed that every village had a church; Cristianity  is very important here and every Sunday, the whole of the villageturns out for church. On the way out of te village, we were asked to make a donation -  this proved to be the first of many hidden costs on the Feejee Experiance.

Next, we drove to Sigatoka Sand Dunes. How much fun was that?!?!? We were dropped at the base of the sand dunes, given body boards and told to have fun! The hike to the top of the sand dune was a killer but the ride down was so much fun! Jenn got up so much speed that she took out Te and ended up in the undergrowth!! She won!! ...Lloyd - you lost - deal with it!

The backpacker resorts over here are pretty luxurious - something we are definately not used to! That night was spent at Mango Bay 'Flash Packers'. We were in a 40 bed dorm but charged $30 a night!! Before we could even shower, we were all whisked off for the welcome Kava ceremony. We happened to stumble across a game of volley ball on the way and posing as the GB Girls Volley ball squad, led by Hannah, we took on the Fijians. We were a quality side but didn't want to show the locals up!!

The kava ceremony took place in the 'night club', 2 men from our group were selected as chief and spokesperson. We went through the ceremonial making of the kava - putting cushed kava root in a bit of hessian sack and swirling it around in some water. We all went through the ceremonial clapping, shouting of 'Bula' and drinking (tastes like muddy water) of the kava and then introduced ourselves to the rest of the group.

We had tea with our new 'green bus family' and then went to the 'night club' where the 2 of us and Hanna set the dance floor on fire to try to make up for the very dodgy dj-ing and garage like club setting.

Once in bed, most of us lay awake, listening to the rain hammering down..Yay...welcome to Fiji?!?!?!?