Fiji - Day 4 and Return

Our favorite buggy driver is Joe. We call for a ride and ask him to take us on a tour of the part of the resort along the ocean. First he takes us to the very tip of the resort. Joe indicates there is a plan to make the small island guarding the entrance to the lagoon a marriage island. Presumably that is why this gangway is here.

Our second stop is a small park on the ocean side. CJ dove near the smaller island on the left.

The third stop is at the farthest point of the beach. The overwater buras are behind us.

From our bura boardwalk, CJ's private dive boat, Wolf, is visible at anchorage. We are nearing low tide. The ladder base is nearly dry.

The highlight of Day 4 is CJ going offshore on a Jet Ski. When he arrives a few minutes early, his group has already departed. It appears the definition of island time in Fiji is different than in the Carribean. Not wishing to miss out on a sale, the shop quickly organizes a private trip for CJ.

We first make a run north along the coast toward Nadi. We then ride to one of the offshore islands, the big resort island next to the small resort island where he did his two SCUBA dives. From there we make a run to the same sand bar where he did his refresher training.

We return to the coast south of the resort before turning north and passing the point where the Fish Bar is located.

While CJ is off riding, Carol is at the bura entertaining our heron. It hangs out with her for more than an hour. When CJ returns, the heron returns. Not even CJ's swim and using the ladder scare it into flying away. 

After lunch at the Fish Bar, CJ takes a dip in its infinity pool.

And since he's already wet, he takes a dip in the lagoon when back at the bura.

Since you cannot see the ladder landing but can see a lot of the vertical post, we're at two-thirds tide.

Our heron has returned. Not even CJ banging around on the ladder, swimming, and Carol taking pictures causes him strife. He is not the least scared of us.

The tide is about three quarters.

Wednesday is a special Fijian dinner at Voi Voi, an outdoor beach bar styled dining venue this evening. We share a table with a couple coincidentally from Adelaide and Germans now living in Denver. CJ's second screwup of the trip. There is a direct flight from Adelaide to Nadi.

It is a fun evening of Fijian food and entertainment. The meats have been cooked in a inground pit. We attend the unveiling.

This leaf soup is green, does not look appetizing, but is delicious.

Part of the food preparation is a typical in ground cooking of the meats. Part of the presentation is an unveiling of the preparation.

The celebration includes a choir, performers, and dancers.

The resort is beautiful at night, particularly, the overwater buras.

Wake up is at 0515. Why? Our flight departure is delayed an hour and a half while Fiji Airways changes out the plane. 

The holiday ends in midafternoon, all too soon. Next time eight or more days.

Fiji - Day 3

For the first time on this third day we enjoy a vacation day doing something we've previously dreaded: nothing! We venture out to Goji for the breakfast buffet, Fish Bar for lunch, and Lagoon Restaurant for an Italian dinner. The remainder of the day we try something new: relaxing. CJ reads his first book in decades.

We enjoy the Fijian staff spontaneously burst into song from time to time. The are such a welcoming and happy people. 

Instead of hailing a buggy, we take a leisurely stroll back to our bura, past the swimming pool.

It is a huge pool with walking bridges over it.

We enjoy watching the birds.

Otherwise, we enjoy reading on the veranda and having a long discussion with our favorite heron. We get up, walk around, open and shut the slider, and nothing fazes it.

The tide is larger than we expected. It must be four feet. We pass the day watching the tide, watching our fish, and watching men clean the bura ladders.

Men are cleaning the bura ladders.

Carol tests the water for a swim. How warm must it be for her to venture in?

That narrow vertical thing is a louvered window. If accidentally left open it provides a view into the shower from the boardwalk. Bare butts anyone?

One can tell by the barnacles on the pilings the size of the tide. This picture is nearly at low tide, not the base of the ladder above water in the background.

It is high tide. Note only two inches of the vertical rail remains above water.

And more than half the ladder is submerged.

Before departing for dinner, we enjoy a brilliant sunset light show.