Bula!

Volleyball at dusk
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The flight to Fiji with Air Pacific was made somewhat more comfortable by the plane being virtually empty and the champagne or their interpretation of it, flowing. Arriving in Fiji at 5am, you might be excused for thinking that the temperature would quite pleasant. You’d be wrong, especially when you’ve just come from a Canadian winter and are still in Vancouver clothes! Things were quickly made worse when it transpired that although we’d made it on the connecting flight in LA, our bags hadn’t! Fortunately Father Whiteley’s bags have a bad habit of disappearing so Adam was well drilled in what the lost baggage procedures are!

Recognise this from Celebrity Love Island 2?
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A tad uncomfortable and slightly fragrant, we checked in at Nadi Bay Resort Hotel, which would be our base for our time in Nadi. Nadi itself is the second biggest city in Fiji but not a place you want to spend too long in. Lonely Planet advises getting door-to-door taxis at night! The people are all very friendly and from our past travel experiences, we reckon mainland Fiji probably sits in between India and Thailand on the development front.

Armed with bags and a sizeable amount of cash (there are no cash machines on the islands neither do they accept cards) we set sail for the Yasawas, a group of islands off the North West coast of Viti Levu (the largest island in Fiji but still measures a mere 150km across). Our first stop would be one of the Northern most islands, Nacula which was most definitely a bit of a culture shock. Let’s just say it was back to basics and the way that they lived today probably hadn’t changed a huge amount from that in which they lived a 100 years ago. All be it, they now have power for 5 hours a day and outboard motors instead of paddle power. We met some great guys there and much amusement was had around the dinner table when we were asked to introduce ourselves and say where we came from, only to announce that individually we were from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Unfortunately it was a bit overcast when we got to Nacula but the group of explorers from the home nations amused themselves by setting about crossing the island to visit the picturesque Oarsman’s Bay. I say explorers for a reason, we had been advised that this was a 45min walk, however a trek would have been more appropriate and needless to say Havaianas are not suitable for jungle trekking! That said, the views from the top of the hills were incredible and it was well worth the cuts and stings all over our feet.

Celebrity Love "Island"
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Our time on the islands was the true definition of island hopping so it was just a night on each island and on to the next. Heading South each day, we’d visit Matacawalevu, Nanuya Lai Lai, Naviti and Waya. After a few days hopping, we were noticing a trend that the further North you go, the more primitive the accommodation becomes and the more mosquitoes there are! After just a week in Fiji, we had been eaten alive! We actually did very little sunbathing and lounging around on the islands, instead filling our time with the Bula dance (their take on the Macarena), spear and hand line fishing, touring their gardens/jungle, volleyball, more kamikaze treks and being very amused by the obligatory camp member of staff on each island with the height of campness coming from Queeny and Britney who say “Ooh la laaa,” on presentation of your food!

Sunset over Tracey Island (Adam's convinced that the Thunderbirds reside in Fiji)
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Coconut Bay, Naviti brought more from the trip than expected. The accommodation was nice and comfortable (albeit a huge dorm room), the locals were very friendly, and the dinner/show was interesting. After dinner the travelers were stood up in a line whilst one of the locals paired us up with a Fijian dance partner, Andy and his partner instantly took a disliking to each other whilst Adam’s partner was rather fond of him. The music – classic British cheese pop, The Game – non other than the timeless classic, Musical Statues! Oh dear! Well the music stopped and Andy ‘accidentally’ continued dancing, much to his partner’s disgust. Adam lasted another good few turns before finally falling foul to the Fijians tough dance rules. Later that night saw the rum and cokes flow while the Absynth made an appearance! (Note to Whiteley family; no need to worry, Adam had long left the Fijian partner behind!). Eventually we would all succumb to drunkenness and float to bed.

Kava cermemony for Chief Adam
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That night saw Andy turn for the worse, many toilet trips leaving him thinking he had consumed a little more alcohol than someone his size could handle. This was never to be!! Being violently ill that night was perhaps a blessing in disguise. The following morning saw John, the Scotsman being even more violently ill, and he was not to recover for a good week. He would eventually be transported back to mainland and to hospital with what was later found to be e-coli. Adam appeared to have escaped any illness. That was until we reached our next resort, Octopus, Waya, where he would now be constantly rushing backward and forward to the bathroom with a raging fever and his head feeling like it was going to explode. Now only Andy had appeared to be in any kind of fighting form, perhaps having washed any bug out of his system.

Bula song
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The next few days were spent on Beachcomber, the party island. No party for Adam! The 108 person dorm was a spectacle in itself, everyone very close to each other, there had to be a snorer! The island offered some new friends and some drinking but after 2 nights out, Andy joined Adam on the death beds. The final morning did see both of us take to the skies around the island, parasailing for the first time, before expertly controlling the parasail down for perfect landings!

Walu Beach Resort, Malolo, home to the former NZ reality tv how ‘The Resort’, was the next port of call. With Andy coming down with a bit of a cold, it was left to Adam to log the first dives of the trip at Castaway Wall and Barrel Head. The whole dive experience was every bit as good as I remember and there were absolutely amazing coral structures along side beautiful caves and a host of exotic fish. The other moment worthy of note from Malolo was Adam being made Chief of a Kava ceremony which we’re told is quite some honour! It meant that the locals and tourists gathered in a circle with Adam in the centre. Nobody was allowed to drink the Fijian national brew, which tasted a lot like muddied river water, until Adam gave the magic word, “Taki”.

Parasailing around Beachcomber
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Upon meeting back up in Nadi Bay Resort, we organized a trip to Tsulu Backpackers, Pacific Harbour for the following morning. Pacific Harbour was home to the famous Shark feeding deep dives, a very exciting prospect. Not only would the dives see us reach new depths but we would also be diving with the most dangerous shark known to man... the Bull Shark! (fact check it out!).

After completing the refresher course, Andy was cleared to dive along with Adam and ‘Papa’ (the Fijian who claimed to be ‘Father of the Sharks’) for the first dive. Straight down to 31m before a frenzied fish and shark feed, we would see 3m Nurse sharks, white tips, black tips, silver tips, grey reef sharks, grouper and Giant Trevally to name but a few. Andy’s lack of practice saw him have to re-surface early having used up his air supply far too quickly!

Lift off
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The second dive was only to 15m but was to pose a much greater threat. The second dive was dedicated to Bull Shark feeding. At 15m deep, the group of visitors were surrounded by a number of locals to protect all flanks before the food bin was opened. Only a few sharks approached but they remained very impressive at approx 4-5m. This dive also promised a possible viewing of a 6m Tiger shark. Unfortunately, only showing on rare occasions, this dive was not to be one of them.

The same afternoon we would leave Pacific Harbour for the Coral Coast. Beach House, home to the second edition of ‘Celebrity Love Island’ is where we would spend our penultimate night in Fiji.

Fire dancing (The A-Team were asked to perform but decided the health and safety was a bit lax)
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So that's Fiji in quite a large nutshell. Beautiful beaches, crystal clear seas, incredible sunsets, welcoming people and sharks will be our lasting memories of Fiji. Next stop, The Lord of the Rings set...