Face down in Hanauma Bay

Second time lucky. We got the bus to this snorkel haven. Not a theme park but a protected cove and you do have to queue and pay to get the feeling of sand between the toes.

Hanauma is both a Nature Preserve and a Marine Life Conservation District. The Hawaiians are really trying to preserve this place. Prior to dodging the gift shop you're funnelled into a small theatre where a brief movie explains in a nutshell the rules of the reef. The main strap line being 'if it's not sand it's alive, so don't go stepping on it'. It was then a short walk down to the cove. Or if you felt the gentle 3 min downhill walk was too much a shuttle bus was available.

Hanauma Bay is an incredible natural pool that has formed in a volcanic crater. The crater is evidence of a volcanic burst of activity on the island tens of thousands of years ago. These volcanic eruptions formed the crater on the sea floor, and waves from the ocean eventually filled the circular bay.

Protected since 1967 the bay attracts a million visitors a year but Hawaii's marine conservation are trying to limit human erosion by only allowing 2000 people on the beach at anyone time. It's a case of get here earlier or be prepared to spend the day in that gift shop.

But this place really does have the marine life to warrant all these visitors. Unicorn, Surgeon, Blackside hawk and the spotted puffer fish swim effortlessly through sections of craggy reef not seemingly troubled with us humans gazing on through google masks. Turtles swam right up to the shoreline to enjoy the warmer waters and the shade that was being cast from the overhanging palm trees.

A passing comment was made, admittedly by a local, "'well if you're not happy here then you're just not a happy person".

Diamonds are forever!

We'd planned to go to Hanauma Bay but it was closed. Would you believe it! Never known a bay to be closed before. Oh well maybe another day.

So it was off to climb a volcano at Diamond Head, Hawaii's famous tuff cone backdrop. Known to Hawaiians as Lē ahi. Its English name was given by British sailors in the 19th century who mistook calcite crystals embedded in the rock for diamonds. The interior was the home to Fort Ruger, the first United States military reservation on Hawaii. The volcanic tuff cone is a United States State Monument. Part of it serves as a platform for antennas used by the U.S. government and is closed to the public.

At 762 ft it gave some great views over Waikiki Bay and Koko Head. Although the day was a hot one the trail to the top was pretty easy going with a number of switchbacks and the Kapahulu tunnel gave some shade, then to a narrow spiral staircase inside a coastal artillery observation platform built in 1908.

We found it rather amusing that a number of the larger Americans thought this short walk was similar to climbing Everest! Puffing and panting, maybe the breakfast at MacDonalds didn't help!

The Windward Coast

We left John HQ and continued on our clockwise cruise of the island. We'd had some pretty heavy rain over night and poor old Andy had again left the roof off his hired jeep. Apart from having wet seats again now the electrics weren't looking good, or should we say not sounding too good. As we were leaving the horn had decided to have a life of it's own. Don't think he was going to be popular with the locals if it kept hooting.

Well the east coast is certainly the windy side. It basically blows onshore the whole length and with nothing really in the way to reduce it bar Mexico it blows pretty hard at times. The plan had been to do so SUPing at Kailua Beach as there's a nice island that you can reach from the beach but with the wind as it was there wasn't much point sitting on the beach let alone getting out on the sea.

Happy Hula Birthday

My travel bud's birthday, she was woken with a cup of English Breakfast tea and freshly picked flowers. And what followed was a very lazy day, coffee and chocolate cake at Hawieva followed by a bit of afternoon snorkeling. The beach right opposite our digs is great for this. A bit tricky to get in with all the rocks but well worth it.

At sunset we fired up the bbq and along with fellow housemates we had a great feast. Andy and Patty, from Frisco, generously supplied and prepared all of the food! We also took the cork off a bottle of bubbly for the birthday girl.

Waimea Valley is significant in the history of Hawaii. The 1800 acre valley is a arboretum holding 5000 kinds of tropical plants, a waterfall and a resident peacock. We slowly wondered round here in the morning. The out of practice birthday girl feeling the effects of the bubbles from her big day!

The afternoon took us to Turtle Cove. A nice stretch of coastline that had been taken over by a very large golf resort. Alas I didn't have a round on the lovely looking Arnold Palmer course but the beach was perfect for an afternoon snooze after some high energy snorkeling! Another busy day in Hawaii!

All the way to the other side of the island

We picked up a 95 'Chevie', (it's full beam came on when you selected reverse). With roots leading back to the French what do you expect! Our first country who drive on the wrong side, had to keep checking we were in the correct lane! We headed up to the North Shore.

On route was the Dole pineapple plantation. A fully charged homage to this sweet, mouthwatering fruit. The main attraction, aside from the gift shop, was a ride through actual pineapple plantations on the aptly named 'Pineapple Express'. Apart from some small examples in the Eden Project we couldn't think of a country where we'd actually seen them growing close up. We'd seen some gift shops on this trip but this one took the crown. It sold everything you could imagine. There was pineapple beer, pineapple biscuits and even pineapple dog food!

In 1899 at the age of 22, James Dole arrived in Honolulu. He was way ahead of his time and became known as the '"Pineapple King'' pioneering the growing of the Hawaiian pineapple. He was born in Boston and obtained his horticultural degree at Harvard university. Hawaii was the pineapple capital of the world. At it's peak in the 1930s Hawaii provided about 2/3 of the world's canned and fresh pineapple. It was Hawaii's second largest industry, second only to sugar cane. Today production does not even rank within the top ten of the world's pineapple producers. Thailand, the Philippines and Brazil are now leading the charge. Dole line the ground with plastic sheeting to prepare the soil before planting to maintain moisture. But the amount of plastic that was just left in the ground was pretty shocking. The soil itself was a deep red-ish colour caused by decomposing volcanic ash resulting in oxidizing iron in the soil. Good for pineapples but very bad for white clothing! They plant 28,000 plants per acre, all planted by hand!

 

Enough about pineapples. We booked into a shared house in Shark's Cove. A family business using the family house, which they no longer live in, and is now rented out by the room. John John, that's John junior the owner's son, upgraded us for free on hearing it was Fe's birthday the following day. Senior John turned up early evening to see how things were going and as we stood chatting on the front veranda senior John pointed out passing whales in the cove whilst John John, son John, fetched a couple of cold beers. With a queen size bed and a few cold beers on board we slept like a couple of babies.

Staying at the house was Janet, over for a few days from LA and Jack, here for work. He did bomb disposal work in countries all across the world at locations that are actively involved in war or at locations that have tried to protect themselves against war. Either way all pretty messy. This cool as a cue guy had plenty of stories stretching from Bosnia, Vietnam and the Congo.

If I could turn back time

USS Missouri is moored on Ford Island. The world's last battleship. 3 years in construction. In 1989 she became centre stage for Cher's music video location which there after became the ships unofficial anthem.

This thing is huge and I guess you don't get many chances to walk around a battleship. What was surprising was we could wander around alone and even without hardhats etc, although we were constantly warned of knee knockers and head butters!

Twice as wide as a basket ball court and 3 times as long as a football pitch, a small town at sea. This thing is so big it houses its own bakery, barbers, post office and even a fully stocked library. Holding 2800 men in four high bunks although some chose to sleep in hammocks. In hotter countries the guys would sleep out on deck as it would reach over 100 degrees down in the lower decks. This was pre- aircon! You could step into most locations on the ship. One of the ships 16 inch gun turrets was open at the back end. You can't imagine how many buttons!

World War II was mankind's most destructive wars with over 50 million people killed. In March 1992, with running costs of a million dollars a day, she was decommissioned. So the colours were lowered, the bugler sounded the taps and that was that. She then spent 6 years moth balling but then finally in 1998 she returned to Hawaii to act as a museum. She was opened to the public in January 1999. The 50th anniversary of her original launch.

Surfs Up

After 3 days at Waikiki it's hard to really describe it. It had a Jersey CI type feel with up together aging Americans holidaying. Kind of a Vegas by the sea! Also with a laid back classic longboard non-
pretentious surf crowd. Literally anything goes here. You could say the place had an infectious enthusiasm to it. Old local guys sit in shade playing chess while girls stroll the promenade in the latest bikini number from Billabong or Reef. Although with a chilled vibe it still somehow felt a little edgy which made the place more
appealing.

There's plenty of people down on their luck here but they don't seem to be bothering anybody. Everywhere you look you see a homeless person.

Town beaches are normally over run when a good swell turns up but with the 2kms of beach break to play with there's plenty of space for all. So after waving at the beach webcam hoping somebody was watching we hired 2 boards and went in. Surfing without a wetsuit has its pros and cons. We both had sore ribs and hips by the time we got out. Out back we got chatting from a guy from Plymouth! He was here at a conference on marine debris.

Is that the theme from Jaws?

Had a great beachside day at Waikiki. The swell was constant and pretty easy going. Hired a nice Mickey Munoz 11ft woody. Yes, that's 11ft. Just as well I hired it on the beach as I wouldn't want to carry this stick far! Spent a good few hours messing around with the locals. When I say locals these guys were all from the west coast main land, California.  The wave here is sooooo chiiiilllled, so gentle and rolling but with a real push. The hardest thing being the paddle out and in as the first 100ft off the beach is pretty reefy underfoot so it's a paddle fest either way.

This is where surfing has it's ancestral roots, the Hawaiian Kings used to surf here, and it's easy to see why. It's a pleasure to surf, no wave calling, no aggressive locals to deal with. All just real easy.

Outrigger Hawaii 5-O traditional style canoes are also catching waves. Filled with non-surfing tourists riding straight through the crowd, trying to avoid boards and bodies left, right and centre. All the while the guy at the back sounding out the theme to Jaws on a shell horn as they ride clean waves into the bay.

This place is surf crazy. Reckon there are more surfboards here than actual people. At the beachside there are board storage racks. These are lockable upright longboard racks to ease the pain of transporting these monsters from home to beach. Not many boards here are under 10ft!

This is not a drill

Pearl Harbour marks the beginning of World War II for the United States and the end of life for 2390 Americans. If you're after WWII history stateside Pearl Harbour fits the bill, capturing events that
are engraved in America and in fact world history. Over a one million people annually visit the memorial so we waited in line and joined the movement.


The memorial is ran by the National Park and the US Navy. Most if not all staff are Navy vets or ex-service personnel and all were immaculately turned out in razor sharp pressed uniforms and the shiniest footwear you're ever likely to see outside of a ballroom!

Prior to getting out onto the harbour itself you're directed to a series of newly built quayside museums. These try to give you a background of why the Japanese carried out such an attack on Pearl Harbour. What we can gather, put into a nutshell, it was over a superpower struggle on whose empire was going to become the biggest, the fastest and therefore take over the world. These modern quayside buildings house some great historical memorabilia. You're then called for the start of the tour which kicks off with a short compelling 20
minute documentary further explaining the story behind the politics, the people and the actual attack on Pearl Harbour with some great footage and interviews.

You then board a small naval boat that takes you out to the USS Arizona Memorial as its only accessible by boat. This pure white monument stands cross ways over the middle of the sunken hull without actually touching it. Below more than 900 men still lie entombed within it's hull. The shrine room lists the names of those killed engraved on the marble wall. From the memorial viewing deck it is clear to see that the ships original oil is still leaking to this very day. Its said that these are 'the black tears of the Arizona'. Following the attack the ship burnt for two and a half days which resulted in it actually breaking in half deeming it totally unsalvable. The ship's deck was made of steel nearly 5 inches thick but this proved no match to resist the Japanese armour piercing projectiles as they seemed to have opened up the hull like peeling a banana sinking her in nine minutes while she was still sat at her moorings.

One question still haunts visitors, and it definitely crossed our minds too, why were the dead never retrieved? Initially, about 105 bodies were removed but because the ship was never raised, the remainder could not. The priority at that time was salvage of ships that could be repaired. The Arizona was not in that category. Even as late as 1947, requests were made in regard to removal of the dead, but all were rejected. They are considered buried at sea by the US Navy.

Following the surprise Japanese attack on the 7th December back in '41 all 8 battleships of the U.S. Pacific fleet were sunk or badly damaged - including the U.S.S. Arizona. The Arizona and the USS Oklahoma never made it back into service. Remarkably six of the sunken ships were repaired and put back into service to go on and fight the Japanese once more in the battle for Medway.

When a survivor, the current total stands at 20, dies they are given the option of having their ashes inturned and lowered into the sunken ship by US divers so they can at last return to their fellow crew mates.

In just 20 minutes most of the US pacific fleet was taken out. A second wave attack then followed to assumingly finish off any surviving planes or ships to prevent retaliation. So in two short, but seemingly very long at the time, hours the surprise attack of Pearl Harbour was over. 2390 dead, 1178 injured, 344 crafts lost or severally damaged.

The very next day, the Arizona still burning, the then President of the United States, Roosevelt, declared war on the Empire of Japan. World War II had come to America.  We then went underwater. The USS Bowfin submarine. She was launched exactly 1 year after the Pearl harbour attack.

This puppy had two pairs of turbo charged twin diesel engines, not for propulsion but for powering generators which powered batteries. Below sea level these batteries drove electric generators which in turn electrically powered the motors of the sub. The diesel motors were only used above water where oxygen was present for combustion. So 640,000 hp in total.
The sub had more men than bunks so hot bunking was essential. We were only down below for about half an hour and were wilting in the heat. God knows how the men coped for days and months on end with no ac.

Aloha

So we finally passed over the international date line and in doing so gained a whole day. An extra day in Hawaii - could be worse!

We flew directly into Honolulu on O'Ahu island, the third largest Hawaiian island. Known as a meeting place, it's said people have been gathering here since the 15th century.

No dramas at security so we were straight out to catch the bus to downtown Waikiki, our base for a few days. We were a little tired but so very keen to explore, the excitement of a new place always outweighs
our heavy eyelids. So as we stepped out from Waikiki backpackers into the thick of it, we were ready for the ahola experience.

It's been 7 years since we were stateside and it felt kind of nice to be back even if the airport security side of things is now just a total nightmare. This is now one security conscious nation, to the point of paranoia! But the people watching is just off the scale. We think we should be able to cope here for a couple of weeks plus no mozzies, sand flies or anything else that decides to have a nibble.

We walked along the evenly spaced 'blocks' and took in views of apartments and high rise buildings. Of course we had a quick look at the famous beach which was pretty busy as it was Sunday and producing
inviting 3ft clean wave sets. Back at the hostel we met some great guys and girls and picked up some good tips on Hawaii but after our 36 hour day it was early to bed.

Thanks Obama!

You could probably count on one hand the amount of people that didn't smile and wave at our bus as we headed towards the airport. This is one friendly happy country Our airport experience was rather a stressful one. Unbeknown to us Obama had recently introduced a new visa to USA visitors and so unfortunately we didn't have one. We were informed of our failing at check in. No worries, just purchase one online! Problem, airport computers down. The clock was ticking and if we missed this flight we would have to wait 5 days for another! The next hour was rather hairy and being in third world conditions didn't help. We had to figure this one out for ourselves, thanks Flight Centre for keeping us up to speed with world events. Slowly we got online using our tiny keypad on the itouch and onto the relevant American borders security website to complete the 3 page questionnaire. We literally ran to check in with only minutes to spare!

If that wasn't bad enough we then had indepth body checks, oh the joys of flying onto the States!

Miss


D- smiley Fijian faces, buses with no windows, Isa Lei, Isa Lei, fellow hoppers
F- island living, shouting BULA!.

Won't miss


D- Tsunami warnings, rough & wet boat transfers, dodgy hire cars
F- restricted electricity, geckos




 

Sprawling Suva

Fiji's capital city following the British decision to change it from Levuka way back in 1882. Nowadays it is deemed the most vibrant city in the south pacific where high-rise buildings stand next to proud grand old colonial buildings. It's mixed population dating back to the days of the Raj and the early British empire.

Dare we say we became slightly bored of hotel life on the Coral Coast so we sorted a local hire car and headed for Suva some 100 odd kms east to see what this capital city had to offer. Plus Ryan, the New Yorker who we'd met in the Yasawas islands, was based there with his fiancé so thought it would be good to catch up again if nothing else.

Our hire car was an elderly Toyota estate. No radio but it did have lots of dashboard buttons one being a/c! After negotiating the Fijian traffic we found

 ourselves bang slap in the middle of organised chaos, aka Suva city centre. We called Ryan who pitched up some 10 minutes later. Suva was hot, humid and very busy.

For lunch we met Kelly, Ryan's fiancé, who'd not made it to the Yasawas as she had just taken a job in the city. Lunch was a fantastic Thali meal with some of Kelly's work colleagues. In the afternoon we headed for Suva's Fijian museum, enroute passing the government buildings and the Grand Pacific hotel - the chosen HQ for the ministry in previous coups. Yes the museum contained some things we already knew about Fiji after travelling around these islands for a couple of weeks but never the less it intrigued us. It was well worth a look giving us an insight to the early days of the Fijian Kingdom, the Cakobau government years, the strong connections between the southern ocean isles of Fiji, Tonga and Samoa through customs, beliefs and trade to the tale of 'Mutiny on the Bounty'. HMS Bounty's rudder taking pride of place in the first marine exhibition hall. After much history we decided to have liquid refreshments at the near by Royal Suva Yacht Club. Ryan has been looking for a excuse and we were glad to act as one as she was a beauty, the queen mugshot hanging proud above the bar.

That evening Kelly's office were having a bit of a do. A keg night as it was billed. We were invited to go along and with the tickets at £3 drink all you can, or until the keg is dry, it was a no brainer. We were a little out of practice but we did our best! We met some great local Fijians and heard tales from ex-pats from all over the world regarding their now new home. We were then treated to supper, which was nice as it was much needed to soak up all that Fijian bitter! As
R&K's apartment had a spare room we decided to stay the night and then pop to the market in the morning.

The Suva market pulls most if not all the nearby village folk into the city for one hell of a big weekly stock up.

It takes over a whole section of the centre of the city and on this day it was rammed. There was all sorts of fruits and veg. R&K bought a selection, now locals they needed to figure out how to cook this stuff so advice was taken from some very smiley Fijians. There was also beautiful local flowers and a fish section with all sorts of creatures from the deep!

With time ticking on we had to get our hire car back so we said our goodbyes and got back on the Queens Highway. We were about an hour in when our Japanese piece of tin decided to die! It was in the middle of nowhere and raining. Great! So we jumped out and waited for a passing vehicle that we thought looked ok to catch a lift back in.  After all this time travelling little things that could be deemed as a disaster are now accepted as an adventure! We jumped into a small van and got safely delivered back to base for a small exchange of notes.

Fire Walking - Beqa folk only need apply

Legend says that a Fijian god once repaid a favour to a warrior on Beqa island, (Beqa pronounced Beng-ga and not Beck-a) by giving him the ability to walk unharmed on fire. His descendants, all members of the Sawau tribe on Beqa, still walk on hot stones to this very day. Traditionally the participants, all male, had to abstain from women and coconuts for 2 weeks prior to the ceremony! If not they would suffer badly.

This said we happily took ourselves off to our hotel's reenactment comfortably knowing that if they asked for crowd participation I would be ruled out without a doubt as (a) I had eaten coconut for lunch and (b) Fe, my travel bud, is female and the main  person I've spent the last 7 months or so with. So with this fixed in my mind I was feeling pretty safe as we took our seats in the very front row, most others shyly hugging the back two rows. Did they know something we didn't?  The fire was lit ready and raring to go. BULA we all cried nearly knocking over our cocktails, as the chaps in grass skirts from Beqa strolled in. Mad-men the lot of em.

 

Once it got going it all seemed a little touristy really, the romance of the history surrounding the event kind of over shadowed the event itself. Either way come the end it was quite funny watching the Aussies queue for kava tasting. I wonder if they knew it didn't contain any alcohol what so ever being just yaqona roots mixed with water strained through a couple of old coconuts husks. I am sure most would have headed straight back to the dining room for the next round of 'eat yourself eggshaped' as the call for the next dinner sitting had just kicked off.

Us on the other hand we'd already dinned at a small cafe we'd found up the road that bizarrely enough was owned by a British lass who was, like us, a very long way from home. A touch of Shirley Fijian Valentine me thinks

Sinatoka

So we stand on a bus stop in a country that runs on it's own timings, this was always going to be a bit of a punt. We caught the local bus to Sinatoka (Sin-a-to-ka). We weren't stood for long when a passing mini-van scooped us up with a flash of his headlights. The journey price, of course, slightly undercutting the 'Fiji-time' now running late regular bus service, so without a second thought we piled in. We'd guessed this bus was supposed to be doing airport transfers but the driver, on his own steam, was doing pretty well at getting other people to other places and in the same process putting a few extra dollars straight in his own pocket. A nice little enterprise we thought. So with the sounds of Bob Marley it was off to Sinatoka.

The town itself was hot and a little over run. A stark contrast from our previous week on the Yasawas islands. Our main missions in this place were a haircut and a little light shopping just to ease the price-fix-pain that was being felt back at our hotel. In no time we came across a barber, £2 all up for a quick shave-over and a market with a 'we sell absolutely everything' attitude. With markets like  this you can see why this place feels and is a little hectic. Had great fun examining all the strangely shaped veg we didn't recognise from the norm run of the mill stuff. The indo-fijians were all over this place, totally running the show. Well out numbering indigenous Fijians who preferred more to hang back to give all passing trade a gentle 'BULA'.

All jobs done we hunted for the towns bus station with a hope of finding a bus that was heading back eastward. 'The blue one over there, the one with no windows', shouted the smartly dressed Indian station master. Once on board this thing gave you the feeling of being on a motorbike but with way more seats. We bounced along the coast road with the wind rushing through our hair as we fume-chugged past palm trees and beach casting fisherman. Our canvas window panels,  that are rolled down during inclement weather, flapped wildly. Being the only 'whities' onboard most locals where pretty curious therefore keen to say hello after an initial 'BULA'. Little kids turn in their seats fascinated by new faces on their regular bus ride. The stopping bell was an old piece of cord which ran the length of the bus to the driver.  We sharply tugged on it to slow this vintage beast to a halt outside  of our digs. As the bus pulled away all the passengers waved us off as if to say 'see you same time tomorrow yeah?' 

Most if not all of the guests back at our hotel are from Australia. We are most certainly without a doubt the only Brits here. You're reminded of this in most conversions as they normally kick off with "you're from England, wow you are far, far away from home". Most of these all inclusive guests seem overweight, all wearing their brightly coloured all inclusive wristbands almost as proudly as they are their bulging waist lines! You must wonder what the Fijians make of all  this carry-on.

Coasting on the Coral Coast

All hopped out we were back on the boat for the last time and returned to the main land. We had had a brilliant Robinson Crusoe type week. Met some fantastic people, the lads from NY, Raymond from the Dam, Friedrikke from Deutschland, Kathleen from Canada  to name but a few and somehow we really enjoyed the level of basic-ness. Not having water and electricity on demand really makes you stop and think. Seeing how the locals live was a real reality check for us westerners and not forgetting our horribly worrying night on that summit waiting for the dreaded tsunami.

We had a transfer bus waiting for us when we arrived back to take us from Nadi port to our hotel on the Coral Coast, around an 1 1/2 hour drive. Our driver was a Fijian-Indian. He showed us points of interest along the way. Over 50% of the population is indigenous Fijian mainly of Christian belief and around a third Fijian Indians either Hindu or Muslim. The FIs are descendants of labourers bought in to work Fiji's sugarcane fields back in the late 1800s most of which were fleeing poverty stricken India. The two cultures live separately never really mixing socially. It's thanks though to the industrious Indian residents that today's Fiji is deemed a relatively developed third world country although still many native Fijians still choose a 'live for today' type attitude with a strong belief that they do not have to work in the western sense therefore life here moves at a slow, slow pace, which the locals love to call 'fiji time'.

The road from Nadi to the Coral Coast is named the Queens highway it runs south from Nadi round to Suva which takes you through the Sigatoka Valley known as 'Fijis Salad Bowl'. Both sides of the road are heavily flanked with patchwork flat green fields full of vegetables. From Suva the road turns to the Kings Highway which runs north from Suva right back round the Nadi. It's said that if a Fijian misses a turning he just carries on around the circular Kings and Queens highway, a roughly 9 hour journey, until he gets to his turn off again. Fiji time.

Our latest digs just outside Sigatoka village is made up of lots of individual beachfront bures. All the basics here (or is that luxuries) of running water constant electric and much more, even an outdoor bath and shower. We were are almost stunned into silence on arrival. The sacrifice being at a place like this though, minus the views, this that you could really be sat in any hotel anywhere within the western world.

Happy 40th Brother Mike!

A real shame we weren't in the UK helping him celebrate but we raised a glass and wished him a happy birthday. Hope our card made it out of Christchurch through the earthquake and made home on time?

Last but not least, Tia Island (Beachcomber)

Quite simply just a circular flattish island, the size of about a couple of rugby pitches. But by far the most developed island that we'd stayed on. Being only 45 mins from the mainland this island felt far less deserted. This is our fourth and final stop off on our island hopping tour which has been a load of fun.

The accommodation/dining area covers most of the island leaving a fringe of beach around the shore edge. Apart from reception, bedrooms and the kitchen sand runs throughout all the buildings. After 5 days of huts with pretty much nothing at times we now had the luxury of continuous power and running water, a shower that ran hot, oh how the small things made us smile, and towels, yes towels. This was living!
It was like we'd lept forward into the 21st century.

After a breakfast fit for kings we did a reef snorkel. The coral was lovely and there was plenty of fish to see. It was a pretty hot day so it was a relief being in the water. At lunch we managed to catch some news on the resident oversized tv. Such a horrific situation Japan now found itself in.  Since the initial quake of 8.9 (1000 times stronger than the Christchurch quake) 237 aftershocks had gone off in just over 1 day some measuring around 6.0! At some points these aftershocks were every 15 minutes. That's a hell of a lot of shaking, will there be anything left at this rate. Japan lies on the “Ring of Fire”- an arc of earthquake and volcanic zones that stretches around the Pacific Rim and where about 90% of the world’s quakes occur.


The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii, our next destination, had said it's coastline had been affected by the tsunami. This being out next destination!

Gather all your valuables

We always planned to walk to the summit on Kuata island but maybe not in these circumstances.

Our day of island life brought the norm. It was shoreside for us for some barracoda, butterfly, regal angel, saddleback lovers and moorish idol fish spotting whilst reef snorkeling (Fiji is known of the soft
coral capital of the world with over a thousand species of fish within it's 333 islands which all have fantastic reefs). The rest of the day was spent lazying on the beach, swinging in hammocks and walking to the point to take shot after shot of a pacific sunset all carried out in 'Fiji- time'. So as you can imagine another tough island day.

The afternoon we did something special, something outside of our normal island routine. From Kuata a small group of us took a short boat ride to the neighbouring island of Loutoka. Here we were lucky enough to walk through daily life in a small Fijian community village. Wading ashore from the boat we walked through overhanging palm trees which lead to a small cluster of beachside settlements, which merely comprised of a dozen or so bure huts, a meeting house, where the local community meet once a week to discuss and address local concerns, and a really quaint little church. At the far end of the village the island's school playing fields open up a vast green space which echoed with children singing. Some of the schools kindergarden kids board here, Monday to Friday, returning home to other neighbouring islands at weekends. We were able to enter into the classrooms of Namara Village School, all 3 of them, where ages 5 to 14 are taught a standard education. All the kids were outside under long verandas at a end of the week sing along. Some songs we recognised like ''how much is that doggy in the window' and 'ring-a-ring of roses' they sung with happy smiles waving as we passed by. We were introduced to the school's headmaster, Leano. The 'main boss-man' we nicknamed him, a real nice

 guy. We stood and discussed everything from schooling to sport whilst in the back ground the kids sung their hearts out. You could feel the pride in this guys approach to the schools success. Yes, we felt like tourists staring in on another world but then that's what we are, tourists, and they seemed genuinely pleased to see us. In the past Leano said he'd taught at much larger main land schools where bullying was a daily occurrence. Island life he said was certainly the place for him. We joked that when the kids sang the English rhymes they sounded like Londoners!

Singing class over the kids all charged out into the grassy play grounds that were over looked by the pacific ocean and shaded by the palms. We got the kids to show us were we came from on a world map. Then they asked how long it would take for them to get there. A 100 hours was given as one guess. They were such smiley and happy kids some reaching the age of where coolness really counts. After a long goodbye we moved onto the village church where on Sundays all the island's residents attend without fail. Come our time to leave it was a little exit through the gift shop which was actually local women in the meeting house. Local crafts were on sale but you'd better have the right change in this outlet or you'd be charged whatever note you decided to hand over!

After supper us few long term residents, i.e, anyone who'd be on the island for more than one night, managed to get a pass-out from the obligatory 'BULA!' dancing and opted for a fire on the beach. It was then a Kiwi joined us and causally said he'd just had a text from his family back home saying that there had been a huge earthquake in Sendai, Japan measuring 8.9 on the Richter. The 5th biggest in history to be ever recorded, and that as a result a 10-metre tsunami was being predicted to hit the pacific. It goes without saying that along with the lack of water and constant electric, our island also lacked any form of landline, tv or internet access so at this point this Kiwi lad was our only main source for any info. He continued to get sporadic texts from his family updating us when his signal was strong enough. It seemed that a pretty big situation was building as following the initial quake aftershocks continued to follow including a massive 7.4 magnitude around 30 minutes later all resulting of tremors being felt as far away as the Chinese capital, Beijing.

So with a bit of to-ing and fro-ing our island's chief contacted the mainland on his mobile for more information. The tsunami was due to hit Fiji around 3am so to the thatched dinning room hut it was for a lively group discussion where it was agreed we would head for higher ground. Advice was given from the staff that everyone should return to their bure huts to collect valuables only, leaving the rest to be possibly swallowed up by the expected 3am wave. It was all very tense at this point but all were trying hard to stay calm. So around 1am we collectively started the hike up to higher ground. It was a steep climb, pitch black and fairly hot and very humid. The tropics hey. You could feel that people were getting scared as we filed out of the village. The locals were great doing their best to calm our nerves and showed no fear themselves, their reckoning that the gods and the surrounding reef would protect the islands from any large tsunami waves. Even so all seemed pretty keen to get to that higher ground once we got going. At the summit following a sweaty, mozzie-tastic, overgrown jungle, up hill hour we all sat huddled together gazing at the most beautiful stars going whilst sat huddled on a sheet of blue tarp. The chief had also brought up a battery operated radio. So 'Fiji FM' kept us regularly updated inbetween soothing pacific style music. 'Here's another great classic' the DJ would cry, and we'd all chuckle as another 70s number filled the air whilst the Fijian ladies sang along still seeming all very upbeat whatever the outcome maybe of this latest natural disaster.

Being so high up everyone felt happy that they were going to be completely safe but couldn't help think about other island hoppers on the more flatter islands that had no high ground to retreat to. I can remember thinking, well at least it was Friday so there wont be any boarding kindergarden kids at Loutoka island school as from memory Loutoka island, especially around the school seemed pretty flat.
We tried to get some sleep with some success but you could say it was a longish night dispite the calm tones of Fiji FM. As the sun rose around 6am our bure huts below came into view and luckily looked untouched. The tsunami hadn't made a mark on the Fijian islands. A well spoken English toned DJ of Fiji FM spoke of Hawaii and many parts of the US beeing affected but the islands of Fiji had escaped with little more than a tiny 100 mm wave.

So on the chiefs call it was all back down the hill in single file. What stood out the most was that everyone was completely silent, all seemingly stunned and very much relieved by the nights events.

Tiredness now taking over from initial adrenalin. We all showered, cold, and headed for the dining room where the staff had already knocked up some fresh doughnuts, honey and bananas. Throughout the staff had been great. All used to these warnings and of course keeping their strong Fijian sense of humour. With no media in the form of tv or papers it was impossible to find out more on how Japan were coping. The island returned to it's peaceful self as if nothing had happened. With most staff going about their daily duties of gardening and housekeeping and most of us lot just flunked on the beach.

The day was a stunner, perfect you could say. You just couldn't help thinking what a different kind of day we would be having if this big wave had hit. These islands are pretty basic when it comes to village set ups, it wouldn't have taken much to completely destroy the little comforts that these islanders have. Not a good thought.
We all joked that something pretty big was going to have to happen that night as if not all was going to seem pretty dull compared to the night before. But hey, dull in small doses can be a welcomed state of affairs!

Through the rest of the day the sea conditions seemed a little different than normal. As the locals came and went from the island one commented that he's seen the tide levels change from high to low and back again 3 times within 30 minutes. At one point they were loading the boat in the shallow waters the next minute it would be beached on the sand. The tide had receded past the length of the boat!

Small but perfectly formed

Swinging in a double hammock tied between a couple of palm trees overlooking the pacific. 19 years ago today we met. Nice to see we are still enjoying the easier aspects in life.

Our next hop was to Kuata island. Our transfer was wet, very wet, tropical downpour wet, to the point if you minus the fact that no one was actually trying to kill us as we approached the beach, our beach approach and landing at Kuata beach head was very similar to that of the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan. But like I said, without the killing and all. Island life is good but you do have to factor in the boat-ride element. It's fair to say that we got thoroughly soaked, as did sections of our backpacks, we might as well as swam from boat to the island!

We are now almost masters at the 'BULA' dance. This dance is really the 'macarana' under a Fijian smiley cloak. The dance is performed after dinner each night for all new arrivals to each island. If you stay consecutive nights then you still go through the whole welcome 'BULA' dance routine. The same can be said for the constant enthusiasm given to the way guests are welcomed and wished farewell or 'Isa Lei, Isa Lei' from the island. The latter being more like commiserations that your actually leaving. 'Isa Lei, Isa Lei' is just such a sad song.

Each island is home for a small community, the smaller the island the tighter, friendlier they become which you immediately become part of. These lands have no roads, no bottlo's, no panic just plenty of time. Fiji time.

We did some hermit crab racing to pass the time. Fe's seemed to take Fiji time to the limit, he didn't seem to want to move! Our days are tough going at times....

The Sawailu caves

Joe and his water taxi took us to a nearby island to see these remarkable coloured caves. Entering these said caves entails risking injury or even death. Or that's what was spelt out in the disclaimer that our resort was all too keen for us to sign prior to boarding the boat. There was even a section for a witness counter sign! From this we kind of got a feel for the trip. After a short boat ride which gave views across deserted palm lined beaches, we were out of Joe's boat up some constructed steps, having to duck below some very low caves to gain access to the cave. Then in the darkness a huge open topped cave appeared before us, full of very dark cold looking water. As instructed we all jumped in! Two local guys tell you a bit about the caves and then one of then leads you, one by one, through an underwater tunnel into a closed cave section. This entailed a dive down a couple of feet through an underwater tunnel which stretched for a couple of long feet to gain access to a second closed cave. Closed meaning no opening, no light! The tunnel fits about 2 people side by side, so a bit of a squeeze. Not for the the claustrophobic or faint hearted. Once in the closed tunnel the guide's 10 watt waterproof torch seemed to lead the way. The water was pretty deep and the sheer sides of the cave didn't give many places to hold on to to stop and have a breather. Funnily enough when it was time to go back through the tunnel to the open more shallower cave most were charged and ready to go. At this point I couldn't help but think this wouldn't be the place for a panic attack.

Whilst at Coral View we met up with 2 real funny lads from New York, Peter and Ryan, who were a great source of entertainment going on their views of the world and their fantastic approach to the queens English. We had a couple of cheeky pre-dinner drinks with them, as they'd seemed to have brought enough local rum with them as if they were staying on until Christmas. At bure number 8 we discussed all things American from Obama to pancake stations. Ohh we laughed sooooo much. These two were two of lifes real great characters.

The next day we met Pete and Ryan for lunch before we left. Both having their PADIs they had been on a shark dive that morning. They had had a close encounter with a 5 metre bull shark!
After lunch it was back on the boat to hop to another island. The staff all congregated to sing us a lovely goodbye song. Like bees to a hive, the smaller resort boats all head out from the shallow aqua-blue lagoons so that we can then move to the next island. Thoughts on most peoples minds, I just hope that my bags not the one they drop over the side!

Our next island was Naviti. Again smiley staff await your arrival on the beach. We check into our bure. One hilarious fuse box greeted us, but no electricity and the bed was about 100 years old.