The main island of Viti Levu is where you will fly into, catch ferries from, and host to the nation's capital and adventure town, Pacific Harbour. There are several ways one can arrive to Pacific Harbour on the south side of the main island, see Day 15 below for some options.
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Mango Bay Resort was the same vibe as the other places we stayed. Not luxury, meal plan including all of our food, and full of young people looking for adventure and fun. We rented our own Bure for the 3 of us, I wouldn't try to fit more than 3 people in one. The restaurant was always buzzing, you can rent paddle boards and kayaks directly on the beach front, enjoy the pool, etc. The hotel organizes events and activities for the guests every day. It's also in a perfect location for a lot of the activities offered in the area.
STAY
Mango Bay Resort
If you are looking for a luxury option in the adventure capital of Fiji, Nanuku Resort is a wonderful option. It is part of the Auberge Resort Collection, and includes everything the collection offers in it's hotels around the world. Still close to all the action, this hotel offers many options on site as well as independent excursions. Families are welcome here, as well as couples who are looking for a getaway. Here you will enjoy local entertainment, local classes that teach you traditional customs and island techniques. Some unique experiences include a food safari prepared by a Fijian warrior, fire walking, picnics on a private island, treetop meals, rafting, diving, trips to waterfalls, just to name a few.
Nanuku Resort
Every travel day in Fiji has been different, even the process of catching the ferries. Today we had to take a boat from Funky Fish to Musket Cove, it was the first time we were in an upscale, and overall classic hotel. Not one with a meal plan or communal dorms. It was also the first time in two weeks that we had seen a little shop, we were able to go in and buy some snacks and Fiji water, we obviously had to try it.
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We then caught a very nice ferry, if you can even call it that, to Port Denarau. Upon arrival at the port we asked around to find the main bus station in Nadi. They told us to catch the $1 yellow bus, we did, it was very local, and a cool way to see the city of Nadi.
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The bus station was filled with coaches, we bought our tickets to Suva, Fiji's capital, even though we weren't actually going there. They told us to tell the driver to drop us off at Mango Bay.
DAY 15
It seemed strange to us but we did as we were told. After passing through some local towns the bus came to a halt, the driver then yelled "Mango Bay". Amanda, Alexandra and I looked at each other, embarrassed that there was a special stop for the tourists. Aside from being embarrassed we were also confused, it was a road in between lush greenery, no hotel in site. After chatting to the front desk it was about five minutes until we saw a pick up truck with trailing dust from the dirt road arrive. We threw our things into the back and were officially welcomed to Pacific Harbour.
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Our cute red bure was perfect for the three of us. We enjoyed our piney-rums and got a good night's sleep before the days of adventuring ahead.
The three of us had tossed around a few ideas of how to spend the last few days in Fiji. Though the trip as definitely done on a budget, we all wanted to "splurge" on some final activities, we were in the adventure capital after all. A pamphlet caught our eye, Terra Trek, take 4x4 buggies into the jungle, and walk to a waterfall. That was one thing on all of our list's, experience a waterfall.
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We booked our cars, they are for two people each, one of us had to drive with someone from the company. The trip is so fun, just be sure you keep an eye out for some of the steeper cliff edges. We parked the cars at the mouth of a jungle entrance. From there we had a walk down, it wasn't long until we could hear the sound of water falling. The hike led to a beautiful cascade; here we could sit on the rocks and allow the water massage our backs before swimming in the pool below. After enjoying lunch we hiked back to our dune buggies to return.
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The way back was just as fun as the way there. We ran into more puddles, we arrived back at Mango Bay extra muddy, the outdoor showers came to the rescue.
DAY 16
DAY 17
Now...I'm no saint, but when I know I have to be in a minibus going up bumpy dirt roads in the morning, I try to limit myself to only a few cocktails the night before. Did my friends listen to me? Of course not. It was a rough morning for Amanda and Alexandra. No worries though, it was nothing a few rapids couldn't fix. Rivers Fiji was the best rafting I have ever done. It isn't a challenging river, believe me, I have only been rafting a handful of times. None of us fell in, some of us got close, it may or may not have been me...The river is truly extraordinary, there are rapids, open areas, canyons, and of course loads of local Fijian stories about their ancestors. I have failed to mention thus far in this post, that Fijians have the most beautiful songs and they are always singing. When the river gave us a break the silence of the water lightly caressing the pebbles below would be gently interrupted by our guide's lovely voice.
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We enjoyed lunch on rocks in between baby waterfalls. It was truly a beautiful experience, shoutout to Ben, our tour guide for being amazing.
Day 18 was our real last day in Fiji, no traveling involved. We started our day cruising over the tree tops. It was only the three of us, which meant we got to laugh and become friends with our tour guides. They wouldn't prank us, we would panic, it was fun. This is another example of how the locals made the activity that much better.
For our "last" evening, we went to a fire walking ceremony at a hotel nearby. It wasn't what I was expecting, I had always imagined them walking directly on the embers, that's not what it was, that being said, it was still really cool. We had coconut cocktails and there was another Kava ceremony for those who chose to participate.
DAY 18
Last full day in Fiji! This morning consisted of just hanging out by the beach, going for a paddle, and getting ready to leave. Once we checked out we had quite a few questions on how to get back. If you remember a few days ago, we literally got left on the side of the road...not exactly a bus stop situation. They told us to go to the side of the road and wave down a bus. Not exactly reassuring but we went for it. One bus came, then another, then another, in the 30 minutes we had waited there were about ten buses going to Suva, and about zero going to Nadi. Finally, we see a coach coming, it was now sunset so we went for it. We started jumping and waving them down. They stopped the bus and I asked if they were going to Nadi, they say yes. The bus driver opened the suitcase hatch under the bus, we threw our bags in and boarded. As soon as we got on we realized this bus was quite different than the bus that brought us to Pacific Harbour. For starters, we were the only passengers on it, it was also much cleaner, air-conditioned, and all around more comfortable.
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Alexandra and I looked at each other, very skeptical about the now moving bus. Amanda had put her head comfortably against the window and told us not to worry. There were three of them, including the bus driver, and three of us. One of the guys came over and began asking us about our trip, trying to be very nice and polite, but cautious about giving the wrong idea we kept a friendly conversation going. All of a sudden the bus came to a halt, when I looked outside of the window it was dark and we were in the middle of the jungle. I absolutely thought "this is it...this is how we go", judging by Alex's face, she was thinking the same thing. We were relieved when the driver boarded the bus again after his pee-stop. It wasn't long after that we arrived in Nadi, they asked us for a drink upon arrival, we politely declined and walked, possibly too fast to our hotel for our last night in Fiji.
DAY 19
You may be familiar with these lovely margaritas, if you recognize them it's probably because they are scattered all around the world in the Hard Rock Cafe's. I know some of you may judge, judge away...I am a fan. We went into the town, it was quite touristy but it was the only place we had really come along to buy some souvenirs and presents for people back home.
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Alexandra was the first to leave back home to Sydney. Amanda and I departed Fiji shortly after making our way back to Miami.
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Fiji will always have a really special place in my heart, this trip changed my perspective on so much. I need to say a special thank you to the people I met on this trip and the girls that I created strong friendships and beautiful memories with.
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As they say over there, farewell but never forgotten. Vinaka!
DAY 20
