Taste of Africa

The alarm clock went off at 5 AM sharp, but that didn’t really matter since I don’t think that either of us slept good last night. We were both really excited about leaving for Fiji in the morning so we just hoped we could maybe catch some shut eye on the flight. Our first mission was to get to the airport though and after much research we had decided that we were going to be taking a bus past newtown and the IKEA that we usually go to and then walk a short distance to the international airport. Our plan worked out perfectly and at 7 o’clock on the dot we had arrived safely at the airport! Sydney International airport should be called a shopping mall. You walk in and literally see every store that has ever existed in any country! We had a very hard time even finding Virgin Airlines to check in. After checking in we actually had to go through customs in order to board an international flight which we thought was a little strange. However, we didn’t have to take off our shoes or have our liquids in a clear bottle so that was a plus. After we went through security we stepped into another mall which prevented us from clearly seeing our gate. Lauren was unimpressed to say the least. We made perfect timing though and arrived at our gate just minutes before it started boarded, but without being the slightest bit rushed for once. We were also very proud of ourselves for getting ourselves there in the first place! The flight was a quick and easy four hours compared to the previous Australian flight. Pretty sure we can handle anything after that! As we were approaching Nadi airport we flew through quite a bit of clouds that never seemed to go away. This wasn’t a good sign but whenever we got past the clouds we saw the greenest island we had ever seen. Not to mention giant mountains that popped out of nowhere it seemed. Lauren felt like it was a green screen and not really there, but I don’t think those mountains were moving themselves.

This was the sight right off the plane in Nadi, Fiji. The clouds were rolling in from
everywhere and covering the huge mountains that surrounded us!

Nadi airport was much smaller than we’re used for it being the international airport but nonetheless very welcoming. We were greeted by a group of Indo Fijian men singing and playing their guitars. We also noticed that most of the men here wear skirts that end right below their knees. We were reading on the flight that it is offensive to wear anything above the knee or not covering the shoulders. I think Lauren was worried since she hadn’t read this beforehand and packed accordingly. We’ll be on the islands most of the time though so that won’t be a problem. Once again we had to go through customs and Fiji is actually very strict on what you can bring into their country. There is absolutely no food allowed, but we hadn’t packed any. During the flight I had been reading up on the Fijian language and had learned the word for thank you. I was excited to try it out on the Indo Fijian people and I think they were shocked to hear me speak their language! We were then able to easily find out where to check in for our awesome Fiji tour and were told that our taxi driver would be there within ten minutes to pick us up. When he arrived we helped him load the taxi since it had started to sprinkle and we were off, driving on the wrong side of the road again. The ride was a little quiet at first but then we got into causal conversation, or as much as we could with the language barrier. Understanding Fiji is rather a rather difficult thing to do! As we made our way down the road our driver stopped and talked to his taxi friends as if he didn’t have anyone in the car. Again, he was talking in Fiji so we couldn’t understand what he was saying. Once we arrived at Aquarius, the hostel we are staying at for the night, we were greeted with a bunch of bula, which simply means hello in Fiji. The room was a lot nicer than the hostel that we stayed at before in Kings Cross. Spotting the beach right out the back door as we checked in, we soon rushed to have our first walk on a Fiji beach.

While we were walking we found lots of beautiful shells that we do not have in the States. We actually decided that were going to keep them and put them in a jar for memories later in life. The scenery is so unbelievable since it goes from beach straight to mountains. The clouds were still rolling in covering the mountains and that was our cue to head in for a while. As we walked up on the beach, we recognized a couple that was on the same flight as we were. After washing sand off of our feet, we headed over to make causal conversation. Turns out they were from Melbourne and just decided to take two weeks off from work and go somewhere they had never been before. We talked for probably over an hour and one thing led to another, getting us invited to a Fijian welcoming tradition that they had been invited to go on by their taxi driver. We were both really excited to experience some Fiji culture so of course we couldn’t say no. We had a little bit of time before the taxi driver came back so we ventured down the street to the convenience store. We wanted a little snack and quickly decided on ice cream bars – one called blitz that might have been butterscotch ice cream and another called choco attack. They were both delicious and unlike American ice cream, more creamier and thicker. The taxi driver arrived back at the hostel at exactly 6 o’clock and we were off! We actually were going to a little town called Lautoka, okay it’s not that little because it’s the second largest in Fiji. We ended up at a resort called First Landing where we enjoyed some Mahi Mahi and some Indo Fijian dancing. Our friend was the first to volunteer to try out their dance and later on in the night we were sucked into doing the same thing! It was very fun and very hard to follow actually! All the dancers made it look so easy. Afterwards we all headed outside to view a fire show that was unreal. There were fire sticks swinging everywhere and some guys even carried kerosene in their mouths to spit fire! We could all feel the heat as it created a huge ball of fire in the air. The night was winding down and for that we were thankful since we were both exhausted. It was a quiet long ride back to the hostel, but we did learn some information about Fiji from the driver. We took another walk on the beach before we officially called it a night though since that’s not something we get to do every day!