Tips for Fiji

Bula and ka kaaaaw!

I so envy you guys going to Fiji. Wish I could join you! But it’s far too expensive (same price going to Fiji as my around the world ticket) and besides, weather in Sweden is best in July. I’ve been in my bikini the last four days. Borrowing a motorcaravan and doing a road trip across Sweden…

Ken: I also looked up the Beqa Lagoon when I got to Fiji. It is on the other side of Fiji and it will take you too far away from the islands. So you really need to choose what kind of trip you would like. I would go for the islands. It’s a party atmosphere, weather is great.

I would fly to Nadi and get on the Yasawa Flyer within a couple of hours or so. (GoogleEarth Fiji and you will see the islands north west of Nadi.)

Either book it all before you leave, contact the Tropical Awgasm and see what the options are.

Or:

Get a “Bula Pass” which is a pass for the boat around the Mamanucas and the Yasawas.

Once you get on the Wanna Taki you can book your accommodation on the boat. They are very helpful and organised. Say Hi to Eleanor for me. I got her on tape singing the Fijian national anthem. Sounds horrible.

Bula pass or accommodation pass: http://www.awesomefiji.com/passes-accommodation.aspx (Book this before you get there)

You can either live in dorms (very basic but then you all eat and live together anyway) or in Bures (huts). Some Bures have toilets and showers but not all. What they do have is some privacy and a patioJ You can see photos of both the dorms and the bures on my blog.

Spend a couple of days o the Wanna Taki: http://www.awesomefiji.com/wanna-taki.aspx (Book before you get there See if there is a pass for you that includes a stay at the wanna taki) I did my dive from the Wanna Taki and the Manta Ray resort. Ask for the cave dive. I did and it was worth it. Everyone thanked me for insisting.

Idea about prices for dives on the islands: http://www.awesomefiji.com/awesome-dive.aspx

Island hopping suggestion: (based on the ones I visited and what I heard from the people I got to know) I generally liked the smaller places better. The ones that were run by Fijian people.

South Sea Island I stayed here. Cool dive instructor. (too quiet fo you guys)

Beachcomber: I didn’t go but heard much about it. (Party island. Some people wanted to stay there for the entire week. Don’t know about the diving though…)

Waya Lailai Ecohaven: I stayed here and enjoyed it. Did the summit walk here. The snorkeling trip from Waya Lailai was fantastic. You go to a reef 25 minute boat ride from shore. The Fijians dive down with spears holding their breath for an unfeasibly long time whilst spearing fish and feeding them to the friendly reef sharks.

Octopus Resort: is supposed to be a really great one! I’m sure they have great diving there. (More hotel feeling than hostel)

Wanna Taki: diving, snorkelling, kayaking, air conditioned and they have hot showers and great food.

Manta Ray Island Resort: I stayed here. It was nice and almost more a hotel feeling to it. Diving centre. I did my dive with this diving centre when I stayed at the Wanna Taki.

Korovou Eco-tour resort: I liked it. Lots of activities like volley boll. There is a man called gecko man here. He climbs up the coconut palm tree and picks a coconut and then climbs back down with his head first. He also knows the ka kaaaw.

Sunrise Lagoon Resort: Lots of mosquitoes. Funny woman in bar called Eta. She’s the one who told me quala mara. Run by a gay Fijian man called Queen. I wouldn’t go here again if it wasn’t for Eta’s humour and massage, and the fantastic scenery on the other side of the island, the blue lagoon. Man it was beautiful. On the island of Nanuya Lailai. Very quiet.

Coral View Resort: Heard good things about it from the guys I travelled with... On Tavewa Island.

By now you’re pretty far out.

I would recommend an itinerary like:

Octopus (1 nights) – Coral View or Waya Lailai (1 night) - Wanna Taki (2 nights) – Beachcomber (2 nights)

Food: No restaurants except in the big hotels. What they serve is what you get. I liked the food, which tended to get poorer the further away from Nadi we got. Also, you all eat together at certain times. Don't drink the water on any of the islands even if you're told it's safe. It may well be rainwater but it's probably been sitting around in an unsealed tank for a while. We learnt the hard way. The only exception to this is on the Wanna Taki cruiser which uses a desalinator. Bring re-hydration salts just in case.

Mosquitoes: Worse that SWR.

Money: Between FJ$60-$90 per night for a dorm (including 3 meals) or FJ$75-$200 per night for a share twin/double bure (including 3 meals).

Pirates: DO operate on the islands. When I was there we had a couple of people who lost EVERYTHING on Bounty Island.

Ka kaaaaw: At the Wanna Taki and say hello from me.

Drinks: They do not have everything. They have cans of whiskey/coke and rum/coke. Beers and sometimes local spirits.

Fijian people: Are so funny. They sing and dance all the time and have a dirty sense of humour. “Quala Mara” makes them smile.

“Bula”: Means pretty much anything. Use it as we use Ka kaaaw and hello. Literally it means “life”.

Language: They all speak English, even the kids. Bula: hello. Vinaka (vaka levu): Thank you (very much). (Venandu: Thank you. Venandu Riki is thank you and thank you very much in the Yasawa dialect)

Kava: Is something you have to try. I’m sure you’ve heard about it. (Here is all I could find and agree with: http://lifesabigbowlofcherries.blogspot.com/2008/03/kava.html)

Time: Don’t be alarmed by the fiji time. Sega na Lega: No worry – no hurry

What to bring (besides the obvious): Flash light, proper shoes if you want to do some hiking. Deck of cards. Booze, which I don’t know if you may, but I would do it anyway and prepare your drinks in your bure. If you can find it in your hearts I would love it if you could bring balloons, chewing gum, chocolate (drinking maybe so that it doesn’t melt) and such for the kids on the islands. I did and it was so appreciated. They have nothing…

Need to know about the Awsome Adventures: http://www.awesomefiji.com/need-to-know.aspx (How much money to bring and time tables etc.)

I also scanned the time table I was given and attached it for you. It gives you an idea about the distances between the islands. Hey. I’ll just scan all about diving from my Lonely Planet Fiji and attach as well. Why not!?

RE: Billy’s e-mail

Boys,
I spoke to Anna tonight and she will be sending her 2 cents in the next day or so. The few points I got from her are:

There are many girls travelling by themselves who need comforting. Anna: They need party company.

The Mozzies are bad and we should bring spray. Anna: I was there during the rain season so I wouldn’t know if it’s better or worse in July, but bring everything you got.

There is only 1 dive operator, so if we buy a 6 or 10 pack of dives it is good across Fiji. Anna: There are more dive operators, but on the Yasawa Islands there is one that operates on most of the islands.

They have floating hostels. Anna, how do the hostels compare to Pro Dive Cairns?

Our cell phones won’t work on the island. Anna: Some islands have internet facilities but it’s very slow and expensive.

There are no ATMs or credit card machines. Anna: No use in brining a pad lock really, cause there are no lockers. Pirates do break in sometimes, so keep your valuables close and use common sense in talking about money.

There are relaxing islands and party islands. We need to find which is which…

The two things that cost money in Fiji is diving and drinking. Anna: (Bring drinks or extra cash. Dive centers accepts credit cards, I think)

Ka Kaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw!

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I also involved my travel companion in Fiji, Jason, in trying to help you get as much out of your Fiji trip as possible. Here’s his two pence worth:

“If you have the Bula pass you can book your accommodation on the Yasawa Flyer (not Wanna Taki). It's probably worth mentioning that it's actually better value to book a package e.g. Tropical Awegasm but I preferred the flexibility of the Bula pass and it seems you don't always know what you're getting with the packages e.g. people on same package had different itineraries.

I bought some accommodation vouchers along with my Bula pass but that seemed to be a bit of a waste of time. More often than not you need to pay money on top of the voucher as the vouchers don't always cover the full cost of a night at each resort. There were a few cases where it actually costs less to stay at a resort than the value of the voucher but you don't receive any refund.

Spend as little time in Nadi as possible.

Spend some time on a local bus it's a lot of fun.

There are places that are worth visiting on the main island but only if the weather's good. I went to a hostel south of Nadi called Rendezvous where you could surf but some sort of tropical depression came over and it rained solidly for three days. I've never been so bored.

Bula and ka kaaaw!”

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Anna,
Thanks for sending all of this. You are a super star!
Cheers,
Bill
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A G R E E D !!!! That was fantastic info and I've been looking through it all day. Thanks for taking the time to think all of this out. We have much to get working on.
Ken
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Anna, you are the purest form of excellence. I will admit however that I have not had a chance to read it. But will be printing it out and having a read through on the train.
Chris
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I just love you guys.
Big hug from Anna Banana Hotley