Warwick Korolevu

... island and you come to another beach which is ringed by a reef. you can see the breakers about 1km off shore. The waters inside the reef a quite calm and just a few metres off shore there is another smaller reef that I am told is great for snorkelling.

Our ship sits in a small bay surrounded by a lot of other islands. The setting is fantastic. With no Pilot we relied on ...

... it was the first time since Sydney that we had been in one place for that long. So we decided to make the most of it and spent the next few days frantically relaxing! We struggled out of bed just in time to make breakfast, became regulars at the spa, and other than the odd trip to the gym or game of tennis, did very little.

The Warwick is in a stunning setting on the Coral Coast over looking a lagoon formed by a coral wall. The ...

... an idea. It was getting late and we had to change the bus twice in some really rough-looking bus stations and, with our two backpacks, we really couldn't be mistaken for locals (did we mention how Fijian G's Australian hat looks? ;-) And we tasted the local flavor all right, but not the way we intended. One of the drivers (of course, the one that drove the longest distance) introduced us to one of the favorite Fijian hobbies: driving overloaded rickety minibuses ...

... It is at least 3 hours. Highway 1 is in good condition but it IS a 2 lane road with buses, trucks and ****** cars. Somebody warned us about potholes. They surely never saw the potholes in Botswana. Indeed, arriving in Pacific Harbour after 3 hours, we immediately find: http://www.fiji-sharks.com/ AND: the shark dive is on tomorrow! We sign up and pay: 220 local $ (=110 Euro) per person including ...

... Some Fijians used to practice cannibalism, so it's a replica of the types of forks they used to use. Not sure what I'll use it for at home, but we'll think of something. We also tried a traditional Fijian drink called lovo. It's got a narcotic that makes your mouth go numb after a while. Apparently, you get very sleepy if you drink too much of it. It's drunk communally out of a large bowl and you use half a coconut shell ...

... get a real-life Australian experience (outside of Couchsurfing). I arrived in the town of Nimbin, which I found out upon arrival was the hippie and drug capital of Australia. I'd contacted a family earlier and was there to meet them, but when I arrived the whole family ended up having the flu. They referred me to their friend, an Austrian guy working on a nearby farm, but when I got to his farm everyone, including the owner, was German. I did a little more ...

... ei teadnud me midagi rituaalist, mis selle joogi juurde kuulub või et kuidas seda üldse valmistatakse. Külas saime teada, et mägiküla elanikud elatuvadki spetsiaalse kava-juure kasvatamisest. Tegemist on kergelt narkootilise mõjuga ainega, mida saadakse kava-taime juurest, mida kuivatatakse ja jahvatatakse ning hiljem vees leotades joogiks valmistatakse. Kohal oli külavanem, kes tundus tõesti väga vana ning koos teise turistide grupiga oli meid ca 20 ...

... grupi saarel (Viti Levust itta) veealune hotell, kus akendeks suured illuminaatorid ja vaated korallidele. Ööbimine selles luksuses pidi olema röögatult kallis. Krunt asus jõe kaldal ja ka maja terrass läks osaliselt vee kohale. Ühekordsel majal oli suur katusealune väliköök, mis ideaalne külaliste vastuvõtuks. Meil õnnestus ka pererahvaga põgusalt vestelda. Nad on juba 3. põlvkond Fijil, aga nahavärvilt täiesti valged ...

... Komplekteerisime varustuse, vaidlesime raskuse üle, kui palju peaks võtma ning lõpuks anti meile ikkagi tsipakese vähem kui soovisime - kohalike kategoorilisel hinnangul me rohkem ei vajavat. Asjad pandi paati ning asusime teele. Peale 15 sukelduja grupis oli pardal veel kapten koos 7 abilisega. Peale tõsteti ca 500 kilo kalasööta (suuri kalapäid ning muid korralikult töödeldud kalatükke) ning asusime teele. Sukeldumiskeskus asub natuke jõesuudmest ...

... stop, we had moved into summer; and also tomorrow, so belated happy birthday to Andrew Lowe for the 2nd February that we didn't have! We noticed that the sun is almost overhead at midday, and at night we can see Orion high in the unfamiliar sky, but he is now upside down, having been on his side in Hawaii.
After a couple of very hot days acting as a running buffet for the mosquitoes, we discovered that the beachside bungalows stayed ...