On March 4th Rob and I boarded our flight to FIJI!!! This has been on the top of my "must visit" list for years so I was thrilled! We landed in the Nadi airport and were greeted by a trio of islanders singing and playing the guitar. I must say that Fiji has the friendliest locals I've ever encountered. Every single person we passed greeted us with a friendly smile and said "Bula!" which means "hello", "cheers", or "welcome" in Fijian. And it wasn't like the Bahamas where they seem nice but really try to milk you for money. It was genuine kindness. We enjoyed being on "Fiji Time" and began our journey by taking a boat from Port Denaru to our first destination: Malolo Island in the Mamanuca Island group.
Taxi ride from the tiny Nadi airport to Port Denaru
Port Denaru
Having a drink at the Hard Rock Cafe in Fiji
On the boat to our first stop: Malolo Island
Taking in the scenery
Our tiny boat that took us to our resort
The singing welcoming committee at our resort: Walu Beach
Our Bure: Number 10
A deserted bar on a hilltop at our resort
Time for an adventure! We literally "island hopped" by wading in the water from our island (Malolo) to a nearby island called Malololailai
We walked all the way around this island and it is the largest on in the Mamanuca Islands! It took us about four hours
Once we crossed over to Malololailai we had a little fun at another resort: Banana Plantation. I hope they didn't mind us playing on the slide
We were too tired to make the trek back to our island so we hired a boat to get us back there. Once we returned to Walau Beach the staff referred to us as "Lost Guests" because we had missed breakfast and they didn't know where we were.
As if the 4 hour island hike wasn't enough, we then kayaked to yet another island. It took about two hours
Kayaking
Our destination: Qalito Island
Sweet victory and sore arms
Heading back to our resort
We climbed up to the highest point we could find on Malolo to try to watch the sunset. This is a picture from our resort of the island. One of the Fijian villages was just on the other side of this.
Our resort
The staff sending us off with a songOnce we left the Mamanuca Islands we headed to the mainland (Nadi) to stay at the Westin Resort for a couple of nights and actually try to relax. We ended up with the "Don't Drink the Fiji Water" blues and had no other choice than to relax!
Our room which was upgraded for free thanks to Rob's business connections
The view from outside our room
One of the pools
Taking it all in
Another one of our resort pools/hot tubs
Relaxing in the pool
We left the mainland for a day-long cruise on this boat. It included drinks, food, a snorkel trip, a fishing trip, a kava ceremony (local drink), and live music.
Morning cocktail aboard the "Whales Tale"
Sunburnt!
On our way to "Snorkel Island"
The Kava Ceremony. FYI: Kava tastes like dirt water and it makes your lips go numb!
On the fishing trip. The best catch of the day!
Rob belly flopping off the boat
The following day was Rob's birthday so the crew made a special announcement and cake for him!
On the way back to the mainland
King of the World
Once we were back on the mainland we caught a cab to Suva to the Shangri La Hotel where there is this gorgeous little wedding chapel that I was dying to see. This was the view from the chapel at sunset.Fiji was unlike any other place I've ever experienced. It was gorgeous and the people were over-the-top friendly. I'd love to go back someday. 5 days wasn't nearly long enough!
