Bula from Fiji!

Bula everyone all the way from Fiji! Myself, Lisa and Nikki have been having a ball in Fiji for the
last two weeks since you heard from me last! See below for a synopsis of our "Tropical Awegasm" adventure around 6 Fijian Islands!!

Tuesday 3rd January - Arrived in Fiji in the afternoon - after a 4 hour flight we stepped out into a very very humid airport! Serious Monica hair going on!! We stayed on the mainland - Nadi for the night. Really nice little resort..but there were frogs everywhere. The frogs, lizards, spiders dont seem to bother the girls. This is where we are gonna have an issue. I am petrified of all things wild on the islands!! It was about 32 degrees at 9pm - insanely hot! Went for a yummy dinner and tasted Fiji Babies for the first time (beer not children!).
Early night as we started our 12 day tour the next day (aptly named the Tropical Awegasm!)

1st Island - Bounty Island
Wednesday 4th January - All aboard the Cheetah boat to our first island - Bounty Island (Celebrity Love Island!). These boats are fine - it was the getting off the large boat and getting on what could only be descbribed as a curach (super small Irish wooden boat!!) - this is where we had issues with my luggage! I just have far too much stuff. End of! Anyway- Bounty is super cute. Water so clear and really warm, islanders so friendly and everything was just lovely!

Lisa and I are staying in Burés (beach-houses) for the trip and Nikki stays with us for sleepovers instead of the dorms (unless she finds herself a prince charming on another island of course!). Poolside all day and started the holiday off with ice cream cocktails - yummy!! Island has teeny tiny turtles that we went to visit too. Would highly recommend people to visit Bounty if you go to Fiji!
Also Mammy - member I always wanted a princess bed with curtains when I was a kid...check out the photo!!....

Thursday 5th January - After brekkie we went to Mana Island to catch the Seaspray for a day sailing! Well it p1ssed down rain ALL morning...awkward enough start to the day - we were just looking at one another as we got saturated on the boat! Then it stopped after a small prayer to Baby J! Free Booze all day (even bubbles!)...of course we drank sensibly! We snorkelled into the island where Castaway was filmed and got a bit of tannage! Lunch was served on the boat and then we went to visit a Fijian Village. We had an initiation ceremony and tried the local drink - Cava. Not a thing like the cava I am a fan of!! This is non alcoholic - its from a tree root and water is added to it. It makes your mouth numb after drinking it - and apparently can cause all your muscles to go numb if you drink enough of it! Met some adorable fijian smallies - everyone in Fiji is so friendly and welcoming.

Waiya Lailai Island
Friday 6th January - We left Bounty and headed for Waiya Lailai. If we only knew what lay ahead we may have fast forwarded two days!! 2 hours on very rough seas we landed in Waiya Lailai Eco Resort. Very pretty Island, but no Bounty! Lunch was cold pizza with ketchup as a topping. Anyone that knows me well enough - I have a fear of ketchup! So not off to the best start! After lunch we packed our bags for the beach - lotion on, books out, towels down. Just as Lisa sat down - heavens opened. In a big way!!! It rained and rained and didnt know how to stop! Well we did decide to visit Fiji in the wet season and cyclone season!

Saturday 7th January - I am not able for Waiya Lailai!! Hasnt stopped raining since lunchtime yesterday! Had to miss brekkie as I didnt have my arm-bands to swim to the restaurant!! Lisa, Nikki and Myself were getting slight cabin fever to say the least! Fan in the room is a luxury as its still ridiculously hot on the Island. Just when we think it cant get much worse...the turn off the electricity during the day to save on the leccy! So we were stuck in a sauna style buré for the afternoon! Nikki, Myself and two of our friends Paul and Angelica decided to go snorkelling in the rain...which was fun. The water is so warm in Fiji and we couldnt feel the rain! Snorkelled out as far as caves where sharks live - this is where I made a swift about turn to shore! 7 hours later the rain stopped!! We took a stroll across the island to mingle with the locals and checked out the "non-local talent" ;). Food got worse and worse - Im like the face for Weight watchers in Fiji!! Too much info right?! We are on the Yasawas now (group of islands) - where a hot shower is not a possibility. So Icey showers all round! We had a couple of drinks with our fellow travellers and then went to pack up for our 3rd Island!

Korovua Island
Sunday 8th January - Packed up to leaved Waiya Lailai (and the sun was out Jeez!) - decided against brekkie for my health and safety! Next stop was a boat trip to Korovua. This was about 2 hours north again. Very pretty Island indeed (this is a "3 coconuts" island - so like a 3 star hotel!). Arrived to such a warm welcome, with fresh fruit juice to rehydrate us! Staff are so lovely - brought our bags to the buré. Very lazy day by the pool - weather was very nice indeed! Another few drinks were had that night with our new friends - we are all taking it easy in anticipation for Beachcomber which is the party island!
I found a miniature gecko in our room - Ive named her Lizzy. Im not a fan of geckos at all. She stays upside down on the ceiling. So as long as shes up there and im on the ground we'll all be ok!

Monday 9th January - Another day lazing about Korovua Eco Resort, this island has the most beautiful sunset. Food not for the faint hearted (had a few bridesmaids moments!...this will only make sense for those who have seen bridesmaids the movie!). The Bula Boys put on a show for us after dinner on the decking..like a free Chippendales show Fijian style! I got "dragged" out onto the dancefloor for Audience Participation! Made some more friends on Korovua...girls and couples! All my single guy friends out there - get yer backsides over to Fiji...its all Single girls (good)and couples (not so good for ye!!)

Coral View Resort
Tuesday 10th January - Tannage by the pool in the morning waiting for the big boat to pick us up - one big boat leaves from the mainland everyday and picks up and drops off to each of the tiny islands. Most islands have only one resort - it takes the boat about 10 hours round trip to hit all the islands! We made it to Coral View in about 1.5 hours from Korovua. Looked amazing from the get-go...its in the Blue Lagoon Region.
Huge team working there - and all so so lovely. Food super and cocktails even better. First island we met single boys too! Met Jake from England - he gets a special mention cos guess wha - well he thinks Im funny (news to me!) and said he wants SJP's....Sarah Jaynes Podcasts...well the blog will have to do for now! Happy Birthday to you Jake aswell!

Wednesday 11th January - Off to do a Cave Trip first thing after brekkie. These are the caves that Brooke Shields was in for the movie Blue Lagoon...Lisa and I made it to the first cave, Nikki the daredevil she is ventured into the second cave. This involved swimming into a dark hole into a pitch black cave with eels and snappers. So not me. Nikki comes back out after a few minutes and roars - SJ that is SO not you!!
We snorkelled in the Blue Lagoon Region and then headed back to our resort. The girls were super active in the afternoon whereas I got well acquainted with a sunbed and hammock! The went jet skiing around the island and Nikki went tubing too. Jeez I feel a tad boring now - but I was getting my tan on ;)
After dinner we were invited to partake in Fijian dancing games - think back to when you were like 10 in a mini-disco...it was a lot of fun though! And we made loads of friends...who then invited us to play drinking games which resulted in us having our best night in Fiji yet!

Mantay Ray Resort
Thursday 12th January
After brekkie we hung out with all of the employees from the resort, I cannot emphasise how lovely these people are. From the waitresses to the ice-cream parlour people (yes Lisa...how lovely was Carter...dunnno how Mammy Maher would feel if you landed home to Offaly with a Fijian though!). If any of you visit Fiji - you should definitely take in the Coral View Resort.
In the afternoon we got onto our little boat to bring us to the big boat to Mantay Ray Resort! Just spending one night here.
Arrived safely in Manta Ray - we had heard amazing reports about Manta Ray and it didnt let us down! Snorkelling, activities and accomodation was all very lovely indeed!

Friday 13th January
The date thats in it - one wouldnt think "lets do my 1st scuba dive" - but thats exactly what Nikki felt she needed to do! And didnt regret it at all - she had a ball. The afternoon consisted of the usual - lunch (food here is an awful lot better than other resorts!) and tannage! Then we made our way in the evening to Beachcomber....party island in Fiji! Arrived in Beachcomber in time for dinner - wise do get soakage in before the night that was ahead! We made best use of our Duty Free Vodders before hitting the beachside bar....frozen cocktails it was. Pink ones no less. Which resulted in the usual embarassing photos and dancing...Macarena etc! Where most of the islands in Fiji are very laid back - Beachcomber most definitely lives up to its party name.

Saturday 14th January
Attempted to get up out of bed 3 times, failed on all accounts. I want to blame the pink cocktails - but it may well have been the pre-drinking that killed me! Picked myself up though and hit the beach where the girls had been lying for ages! Very slow day was had - no sudden movements or loud noises allowed. Probably my most fragile day yet!

Sunday 15th January
Last Day on the islands :( ...spent the day chilling out with our friends as we were all going our separate ways after the islands. We headed back to the mainland - Nadi, and stayed in the Nadi Bay Resort again. Last night with Nikki before she returned to Ireland :( and also Lisa who goes back to Sydney where she lives! We had a farewell dinner and fiji baby drink to toast our amazing holiday! Here is to Fiji take 2!

Monday 16th January
Girls left for the airport at 5.30am and left me all on my tobler :( ....Sat poolside for a few hours thinking of how lovely Fiji was and how welcoming the Fijians have been! Made my way to the airport at 1 - I am flying to Brisbane - then Perth to start another 2 week trip on the 20th January....the fun continues!
Thats all from Fiji....Bula!!
xx

Happy New Year Y'all!

Hola all - hope you all had a fabulous Christmas and New Years wherever you were in the world!!
Here is a brief summary of our travelling stories from Christmas Eve on!

Dec 24th Christmas Eve! - Myself and Anne-Marie (yes Jonesie a personal mention!) hit St. Kilda beach to get some Christmas eve rays...very surreal to be listening to Christmas Tunes on the beach but not complaining all the same! A couple of hours later we hit La Roche for lunch (a lovely eatery near us fulla Oirish people ;) )
As per usual I let the side down when we were walking in and the particularly good looking waiter said to me "Where would you like to sit" - no one else in the group heard what he said...I looked around and said
"Up against the wall would be nice thanks!)"....at which point all the girls burst out laughing and the poor waiter went red with mortification. Oh well! We got the glad rags on later and hit PJ O Briens for a few Irish Coffees before Mass. (Note Mammy - I went to mass). You couldnt feel homesick in there - the place was crawling with Irish people and their families over visiting for the festive season. Organised Monica had our Mass Itinerary set out. Cathedral at 11. I thought it strange that Midnight Mass was at 11 - but went along with it! Course we landed in late - but managed to fit in 40 minutes of the vigil service (reminded me of Home Alone....tom tom song choir!) and then 12 mass. So Mammy - I made two masses for Christmas - are you proud out?! We had a faller at the last fence - that may or may not have fallen asleep just before communion but it was a long day! Off home and all ready for Santa!

December 25th - Christmas Day....my 1st ever Christmas away from home and from my family. But Anne-Marie, Marie, Monica, Leona and Marian more than made up for it! We had a fav day! We did secret santa - but everyone got pressies for everyone...so we kinda cheated. I got a LOT of pink stuff. What can I say- then know me better than I know myself! Well Chuffed. Turkey on - all the trimmings be prepped. We had our big Christmas dinner in the hottest of conditions. Amazing though. Just after dinner the heavens opened, thunderstorms and hailstones the size of golf balls! So what better time than to hit the bunks for an after dinner nap! This was followed by eating everything in sight and having more than a few sociables. Just like home! Great day for my first Christmas Down Under!

December 26th - St Stephens Day. A big tradition in Melbourne is to hit the Cricket in the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) on Boxing Day. And following that tradition we did just that - filling the Ice Box with yummy food and smuggled in alcohol. We did what I was advised by the locals .... got our hands on syringes (from a un-named pair that we live with who happen to have them in their workplace!)..and syringed fruit with alcohol. A lot of preparation and fun - and made the fruit very interesting! I learned a rule or two about cricket (and thats a rule or two more than I ever knew!) and we had a savage day! Followed by an even better last night in Melbourne with all the girls from our apartment and Kieran and Noelle!

December 27th - Sore heads all round - I hit the Sea Baths and Gym for my last wash as its now known! Then we had our last dinner with the girls and we packed up all our stuff ( I have an insane amount of luggage at this point..sorry Jetstar!) and we headed for the airport! Anne-Marie, Marie and Myself all flew to Sydney for New Years...we were sad leaving girls behind, but little did we know two of them surprised us and joined us two days later!! We arrived a Lisas apartment in Sydney - where she was the hostess with the mostess! I got to sleep in a double bed. Just thought that should get a mention - cos thats a serious luxury for me - where bunks are the norm now!

December 28th - Beach Day! We hit Coogee Beach, wowee. Sydney has amazing beaches. Fabulous day soaking up the rays and getting over the Christmas partying! Took it very easy in Sydney that night and we just hit the cinema. We went to "We bought a zoo" - super cute movie, may have cried! Also got my present from my Mammy - lots of lovely photos, a kilo of Galaxy Chocolate and Cool Water Perfume.....she knows me too well!!

December 29th - Bridget arrives! Anne-Maries Sister arrived to join in the New Years Celebrations all the way from Scarriff City in Clare! we had a seriously touristy day, we took in the Harbour Bridge, Darling Harbour and the Opera House as well as a few other places. Sydney is a really cool city - You could never get bored in that city - so much to see and do! Apparently Thursdays are a big night in the "cock and bull" pub in Bondi Junction, so we decided we couldnt be rude and we should go along with our lovely new flatmates! Cock and Bull - directly comaparable to Coppers any night of the week. They probably would have accepted my coppers card ;) I have never,ever seen so many GAA jerseys in one place outside of croker. Insane altogether. Great night though - and again couldnt in any way feel homesick!

December 30th - Nikki arrives! Nikki has come over to visit me for a few weeks - just in time for NYE celebrations! We hit Bondi Beach during the day to check out the Bondi Rescue crew (meant nothing to me!) but I knew girls would enjoy it. Nikki arrived in really late and we had a super early night again - suffering
from previous night and also prepping for the big night to come!

December 31st -  New Years Eve! Met Nikki early and myself, Anne-Marie and Bridget went picnic shopping. Bought enough food to feed an army and 20 litres of goon. That would be 20 litres of wine that comes in a box and worked out at 2 dolla a litre!! Nice too! Monica and Marian joined us from Melbourne and scoped us out an amazing elevated park overlooking the harbour bridge. We got to the park at about 3pm and cracked open the goon (that comes in a tin foil bag -with a tap....very clever invention!). 9 hours later we were all very happy to be in Sydney. Marian nearly took a child out when she fell  on top of a tent. Child was fine tho ;) We rang in the New Year watching the fireworks on the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It was a fabulous way to start 2012!

January 1st 2012....Up at 9am...all off to Cock and Bull to ring in the Irish New Year. No joke...I could hardly stomach a drink, and most definitely couldnt face 2 dolla wine. But we had a toast to all our lovely friends and family at home at 11am our time - which was midnight for you lot at home!
we hit Bondi then - where Nikki "gracefully" (not gracefully at all) stalked the Bondi Rescue crew for the whole day. Keep an eye out for the New Years Bondi Rescue special - which I think I might be on. And yes I may have been holding in my stomach to the point that I nearly fainted! But jaysis its hard work standing
next to bronzed, toned ozzies!

January 2nd 2012 - We had a farewell picnic in the botanic gardens with Monica and Marian followed by a trip to Manly. Manly is a beach town outside Syndey (very hamptons-esque for all you ex J1-ers). Really pretty place and the more I see of Sydney the more I like it! Lovely way to spend our last day in Sydney!

January 3rd - Lisa, Nikki and Myself set off to Fiji for two weeks! We flew Air Pacific which is Fiji's International Airline, I convinced myself the crew were on happy pills. They were so nice...but no - alas - every single Fijian we have met today have just been so so lovely. We have just arrived in Nadi, which is the big island and are staying here the night.
We are off on a 12 day trip around 6 Fijian Islands. The wheelie is in big big trouble. I have to wheel it through sand, then into water and onto a boat. The boats dont dock - they just kinda wait for you and you paddle out. Oh my lord. I shall let you all know how that goes!!

I wont have internet coverage nor phone coverage -so wish me luck and hope you enjoyed the NY BLOG!!!

Lots of Love from the happiest of places (Fiji!),
Sarah-Jayne x