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Bula - An informal "Hi" greeting
in native Fijian.
Tour
Diary
One of our most relaxing and enchanting vacations - Fiji was chosen out of
necessity rather than choice for our anniversary vacation. I had to go to Atlanta
for my fingerprinting by INS and I found an Air Pacific flight that was through
Nadi, Fiji and needed a journey of minimum 5 days. Researching on Fiji a little,
I discovered that it was a very sought after destination for Australians and
a very beautiful country. So Fiji it was.
Unfortunately, our time
in Fiji coincided with the school holidays in Australia & NZ,
which meant that most of the reasonably priced resorts were
already booked. After lots of searching and calling hotels
in Fiji, I finally managed to get accomodations at The Sheraton
Fiji resort on Denarau Island, about 20 minutes from the international
airport at Nadi. Days at the resort were like a dream - from
friendly "Bula" greetings to swinging on the hammock
doing nothing to sitting on the beach watching the sunset to
getting a beach massage. Though there were quite a few activities
at the resort, we often ended up doing nothing but sleeping
on the beach/hammock to the gentle breeze and the sounds of
the ocean.
We went out sailing in
a Catamaran - our first time. The instructor at Sheraton came
out with us the first time and showed us how to handle the
boat. He then let us go out into the sea by ourself! We initially
caught good wind and went sailing at good speed into the sea,
but then the wind died and we did not know how to navigate
the boat further. We spent some giggling time trying to paddle
the boat to the shore. We then had a second run with the instructor
along with us, managed to almost run into a fishing vessel
moored nearby before getting back. It was an exhiliating experience,
I only wish we had tried sailing at the resort earlier.
Every night from 9 pm onwards,
there was a band playing in the lounge (Planter's Lounge at
Sheraton Fiji). They'd start with slow romantic songs and move
on to fast numbers. Along with other guests, we'd start dancing
with the slow songs and be dancing away the night. We danced
almost every night and loved every moment - my classes at body
jam in MSAC, Melbourne, really helped - I managed to get quite
a lot steps in tune with the music!
The only downside of the
place was the beach itself. It was quite murky and was not
inviting for swimming. But I was so relaxed on the hammock
that swimming in the beach actually seemed a lot of work that
I did not want to do! Also, there was no snorkelling in the
resort (Fiji is an excellent snorkelling and scuba diving haven).
There is a beautiful Golf course (where current world no.1
Vijay Singh started his career), unfortunately, just starting
to learn the game, we were not able play there. There are also
other Sheraton properties on the Island and the 'Bula Bus'
- a quaint bus with a brown thatched roof can be used to move
between the resorts. We went over to Malamala Island for a
day trip and had great snorkelling. We also rented a car and
explored the island of Viti Levu around Sigatoka village.
Top
Malamala
Island and Snorkelling
Though the Sheraton Fiji was self-sufficient in every way, it did not have
snorkeling. Through the friendly activities coordinator, we booked a day trip
to the uninhabited Malamala Island. I had wanted to go on a tour to Castaway
Island (tour booked out) or the Yasawa. But Raj (and many others like him),
were influenced by the 'all-inclusive' and the short 1 hour trip to get to
the island. The 'all inclusive' included all food, drinks, activities, equipment.
At the first sight of the
boat, I was a little taken aback. It seemed small and unattractive
compared to the other boats moored nearby. But the boat was
comfortable and the crew sang Fijian songs to keep is entertained
durin gthe 1 hour trip to the island. The island itself is
like you'd find on a picture postcard. The sea is of brilliant
colours in shades of blue. As first time snorkelers, we were
very jumpy. Other than the two of us, everyone went snorkeling
off by themselves. The instructor was very friendly and patient
and guided us along the marvelous corals. To say it is a different
world down there is a cliche, but the likes of it could never
be equaled in any aquarium. Apart from the corals, we saw fishes
of all colours, starfishes, sea cucumbers and many other creatures.
There was also fishing and beach volleyball for those interested. After snorkeling,
we were content to just sleep under the shade on the white beach. There were
other people who did nothing but eat and drink all their time there! A lovely
initiation into the world of snorkelling - one that we will never forget and
will keep going back to.
Top
Drive
around Sigatoka
After a lot of hassle, we rented a car at Nadi and went driving around to Sigatoka
town. We wanted to see the famed Coral Coast, Natadola beach, and other Sigatoka
sights.
The island of Viti Levu
is very green and hilly. It was a very pretty drive amidst
sugarcane fields and green hills. We did catch sight of the
white sands and multicolored sea of Natadola beach, but were
not able to find the entrance to the beach! The resorts around
were entrance only to guests and we did not get to the beach
at any of the places(though we did get to the driveway at the
Shangri-La).
I'd read a lot about the
Sigatoka Sand Dunes, about 2km from Sigatoka, but when we reached
the place, the sand dunes were a disappointment to us. The
ecosystem in the dunes is truly amazing - seeing the range
of plants growing, it was very easy to forget that it was all
on sand. But the sand dunes itself were very minimal. We could
not see the vast expanses of windswept dunes that resembled
a scene from Arabian nights (as one of information brochures
described it). While I understand that the wind continuously
changes the dunes, I was unprepared to be greeted with the
sight of bottles and crates on the beach. There was one very,
very steep sand dune to climb before getting to the point on
the beach. This is a difficult climb, not only because of the
steepness, but also because it is sand and every step sinks
into the ground and it is difficult to get a foothold. I put
on my flip-flops(thongs to Australians) on my hands and climbed
up on all fours!
The surprise of the drive was Kula Eco Park, opposite the Outrigger Reef Resort
in the Coral Coast. At the entrance of the park, we had parrots and iguanas
sit on us and had pictures taken! The park itself has a lot of native tropical
trees and is very calm. The wooded trail was a good peaceful walk for us. It
seemed like any other park until the peacock made the day for us. Peacocks
and peahens were wandering around in the park, when one peacock took it in
his head to impress a peahen and unfurled his magnificient tail. I don't know
if he impressed the lady, but we were spellbound. He further proceeded to do
a little jiggle and show all sides of this tail even after the peahen had moved
off. If I didn't know that peacocks are naturally shy birds, I'd think that
this one was putting up a display for us!
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