Nacula Island

Day 1: I woke up still not feeling 100% but well enough to get my island exploration underway. I didn´t particularly want to spend any more days in Nadi, considering I only had a week in Fiji.

The bus picked me up early for the transfer to the ferry port. Once there, I checked in before embarking on the 4 hour trip to Nacula Island, which is right at the top of an island group known as the Yasawas. Nacula Island is just about as far away from the mainland as you can get in Fiji.

On the boat transfer over to Nacula, I met Kathrin and Martina (Germany), Steve and Tom (Norway) and Matthias (Sweden), who were all staying at the same place. All really nice and we got on instantly.

After checking in, we all had a bit of a kickabout before playing some Volleyball near the lodge. The Norwegiens in particular were pretty good but the rest of us managed to hold our own. Following the game, we spent the afternoon relaxing at the beach.

That evening, we were treated to some excellent food and plenty of welcoming `Bulas` from the locals. Then, after dinner, the lodge employees put on a nice welcoming performance for us, which included plenty of songs and dancing. It was really nice and made us feel right at home.

We finished off the evening with a few games of pool in the bar, accompanied by some Norwegien and Swedish lessons for myself and Kathrin. They are impossible languages basically but I did manage to pick up a few lines.

Day 2:  After a nice breakfast, we boarded the longboat bound for a region that was used in the 1980 film `The Blue Lagoon`, starring Brooke Shields. Upon arriving, we could instantly see why this area was chosen as it`s absolutely beautiful and thankfully, we had the weather to match. It was a glorious day.

Myself, Kathrin, Steve and Tom elected to spend the whole day there so we could soak up the sun and enjoy a couple of Snorkelling sessions. The Snorkelling was excellent, with lots to see and crystal clear waters making it even better. Amongst other marine life, the highlight was a black and white Sea Snake that swam right up to the surface in between us. Not knowing if it was poisonous or not, we bailed pretty quickly!

Whilst enjoying the sun back on the beach, I found out that Steve is actually called Kjetil - He just tells everyone his name is Steve because apparently no-one can properly pronounce his actual name and he´s gotten sick of trying to correct them. Haha. Knowing this, I of course made it my mission to try and get it right.................and failed over and over again. I think I said it right about twice in 100 attempts! It´s harder to say than it looks but we had a good laugh about it anyway. Tom was still called Tom.

After an enjoyable day over at Blue Lagoon, we headed back over to Nacula Island for some more Volleyball with a couple of others from the hostel. One of them got completely taken out by an almost invisible Washing Line as he was going to retrieve the ball just as it was beginning to get dark. It was hilarious and would have made some serious money on `You`ve Been Framed`. Suffice to say, he didn´t find it quite as amusing as us. Not initially anyway! I wish I´d got a video of it - Soooo funny.

That evening, we had another excellent meal at the lodge before some more evening entertainment with the locals. This included us all having to wear flower necklaces and join in various dances and games. At one point, we were split into our seperate countres - England, Germany & Rest of Europe, and were told to come up with a performance or game relating to our country. Being in a group of 8, I suggested we sing our national anthem before realising that only 3 of us actually knew it! We therefore setlled for some team games, which was exactly what the other 2 groups did as well. Nothing to do with our respective nations but good fun nonetheless.

So far so good in Fiji.

Day 3: We had a morning trip over to Sawailau Caves for some more exploration. Another fantastic day for us to enjoy and it was pretty cool swimming around inside the caves (if a bit cold). In truth, they didn´t really compare to some of the caves I´ve visited previously on the trip but it was an enjoyable morning.

That´s us done with Nacula. Next stop - Naviti Island