Bula = hello, cheers, welcome
Vinaka = thank you
Here's a run down of what we did each day:
Day One: Arrival day! We left our apartment at 7:30am to get to the airport to make our flight at 10:45. We landed in Fiji at Nadi Bay Airport around 5:30ish. We got our rooms at Nadi Bay beach Resort, then headed straight to the restaurant to get something to eat. The food was good, and the drinks were great! We hung out for a while and chatted with the boys, but we were all tired so we went back to our room. Unfortunately I was wide awake when we went back to our room, so I ended up reading for most of the night. I finally went to sleep well after 2:30am.
Day Two: Bright and early wake up for breakfast and check-out! We met our first tour guide, Kay. We went into the market at Nadi, and bought lots of bottles of water. Some of the places we couldn't drink the water due to the bacteria and how it would react to our stomachs. After the market, we headed to Natadola Beach, one of the top 10 beaches in the world! We sunbathed all afternoon, had a yummy picnic BBQ cooked by our bus driver and tour guides, and rode horses. Now let me tell you, these horses were slightly malnourished. We only wanted pictures on the horses, not an actual ride. Before Ashley and I could say anything, we were walking away. We told the guys we didn't want a ride, and they told us we owed $20. We protested and ended up not having to pay. After that, we all layed out in the sun and I got a little burnt. After the beach, we headed to the sand dunes! They were so so so much fun! My first time down, it was smooth sailing! My second time down, I kind of wiped out, and had so much sand in places sand should not go! After sand duning, we headed to Mango Bay Resort. At Mango Bay, we slept in bunk beds covered with sheets to protect us from the mosquitoes. We had so so so much fun at Mango Bay, drinking and dancing the night away. We tried some Kava, which is a root plant drink that is very popular in Fiji. It has a very interesting taste, and I don't plan on drinking any more any time soon.
Day Three: Jungle Trek day! This was a very interesting adventure. We literally went stomping through the mud, waded through parts of a river, and jumped off of waterfalls! It was so pretty, and I wish I had my camera. There were some parts where my shoes got stuck, and parts where I said "screw it, the shoes are coming off!" We had to cross bamboo bridges to get to the other side of some grasslands, and a few people sunk into the ground up past their knees! The waterfalls were absolutely beautiful and kind of hard to get to. We had to climb vertically up a HUGE hill (mountain!) and through trees and vines. We stayed at the waterfall jump for about 2 hours before trekking back to our stuff. We started our trek to the boat to take us back to our bus. The trek back was awful. It was extremely hot, we were ready to be done. We were supposed to take tubes down to the boat, but the tide was too low. I don't know why we didn't just walk int the river, but oh well, we made it! The boat ride was very relaxing after a long morning of hiking! We past an Indian Village where the kids ran to the edge of the water and waved and jumped up & down saying "HI!". Once back on the bus, we were taken to the Uprising, where we stayed for 3 nights. We grabbed some lunch, and spent the rest of the day hanging out by the pool and just talking to everyone.
Day Four: Today we just hung out and did pretty much NOTHING! Layed out by the beach, watched our roommates play volleyball, and literally did nothing but eat and have a few drinks!
Day Five: It was a little rainy, and was also a day to do nothing. A few of us got massages and they were AMAZING. Full body massages that were an hour long. Talk about the best hour ever! We also just ate and talked to the others on our tour, and met our new tour guide, Jerry.
Day Six: Today we went and visited the Nasatoka Village. We were welcomed with a traditional Kava Ceremony and visited the local school. The ceremony was very special and we each had to drink a bowl of Kava. One of the guys on our tor was the "chief", and had to accept the Kava for us. We also had to introduce ourselves, and after the ceremony we were considered part of the Village. The locals were AMAZING! They were so so nice and very welcoming. After the ceremony, we went and visited the local school. They put on a dance for us, and it was cute to see them welcome us. Some of them were shy, but still said hello. After visiting the school, we had the option to go bamboo rafting or have a small dance party with the locals. It was still pouring down rain, so we decided to do the dance party! We had a blast, and they really know how to dance! They played music and sang traditional Fijian songs. We finally had to say good-bye, and they sang us a good-bye song. It was very sweet, and made me a little teary-eyed. After the village, we headed to Volivoli resort, where we stayed for the next 3 nights. We had dinner as a group, and had a few drinks. This night got a little out of hand, but we made the best of it.
Day Seven: A few of us went into town just to get away from the resort. You could definitely tell that we don't belong there, so we didn't stay long. The taxi ride was very cheap and we had the same taxi driver there and back to our resort. We layed out all afternoon and then went kayaking. That was a fun event :) After we ate dinner, we all went stargazing. It was so pretty and we could see so many stars!
Day Eight: This day was spent doing nothing but laying by the pool and reading/listening to music/hanging out. One of the guys lathered himself in sunscreen so it literally looked like he was wearing a t-shirt. So funny! We gave him so much crap for it, but it was all in good fun.
Day Nine: Left Volivoli and went straight to the mud baths! The mud felt so squishy and weird, but it was easy to get used to. We covered ourselves from shoulder to toe in mud and took a few group photo's. We also had a small mud fight, but nothing too crazy. After the mud bath was the hot springs. And let me tell you, that hot spring was HOT! It was about 1120*F, but it felt SO GOOD once your body was used to it. Once done with the hot springs, me and a few of the boys went and got massages. They were okay, but she focused on my right side more than my left side. And she attempted to work out a few kinks in my neck. Oh well. Next, we headed back to Nadi Bay Beach Resort. We had a few drinks with dinner and were exhausted by 8:30pm. No joke, Katie and I were asleep before 9pm. The rest of the girls came back, and I was so tired I mumbled something to them then passed back asleep.
Day Ten: Woke up bright eyed at 6am! I was so mad. I tried to go back to sleep, but with no such luck. Finally, everyone else woke up around 8, and we went and got some breakfast. We spent the morning by the pool waiting to check out and get the bus to the airport. Finally it was time to go home! We were a little more than excited to head back to Australia and to our apartments. We got home around 7:30, and went right out for dinner. Went to bed kind of early to get a good night's sleep for classes the next day!
Here are pictures!
Horseback ride
Sand duning!
Kava Ceremony
School kids
Having a drink by the pool
Us girls looking cute and tan!
Mud bath
Hot spring
