Seaspray Day Cruise – Fiji

Oh Fiji,  I couldn’t rave enough about you if I tried!

We were staying in Sigatoka but knew that we really wanted to get out and explore some of the many islands that make up this picturesque country.  With so many day tours to choose from we finally decided upon the South Sea Cruises Seaspray day trip. The main reason was that it included a visit two of the Mamanuca Islands and we wanted to see as much as we could. Greedy I know.  It also included a barbeque lunch, unlimited drinks (beer, wine & soft drink), morning and afternoon tea, visit a traditional village and snorkelling gear to explore the colourful reefs. It was the complete package!

We were lucky enough a to do this tour on Fiji Day and the Fijian spirit was out in full force and what better way to spend  Fiji day sailing around the islands with the dulcet tones of the Fijian crew singing.

The day starts with a South Sea Cruises catamaran from Denarau in which we passed some well know islands – Southsea, Bounty and Castaway. I was in love already and I hadn’t even set foot on the soft white sand of an island. After powering through the islands on the catamaran we went aboard the yacht at Mana island and then set about sailing around islands to our first destination, Mondriki Island.

It was like a little piece of paradise just lying there in the crystal clear waters waiting to be explored. You could get the dingy boat over to sunbathe or you could don the complimentary snorkel gear and dive right off the boat and swim your way into shore whilst taking in the coral reefs below. This deserted island is actually famous for being on the big screen. It was the island used for filming Castaway with Tom Hanks. Funny how he just wanted to get rescued from this island but trust us you will wish you never had to leave. You have almost an hour there to walk around the white sandy beaches, sunbathe, find the HELP ME sign written in coconuts or stay within those clear waters watching the world below you. It was a really beautiful place and one where you felt like you were nowhere near civilisation.  No other tour group can visit this island so if you want to go here you need to book this cruise. And you really want to go there.

Once we had finished exploring the pristine Mondriki we boarded the yacht and whilst we had been swimming and snorkelling the crew had been cooking up an absolute feast for lunch.  Sat on the yacht eating the amazing bbq lunch with a wonderful array of salads, beer in hand, the crew singing and with the most stunning view, you literally couldn’t imagine life being any better.

A quick sail over to the days next stop off on the lovely island of Yanuya.  This island is a little haven and has a gorgeous colourful traditional village. Once ashore the first part of the visit was to experience a traditional kava ceremony. Please note this doesn’t happen on a Sunday. Two people from the group are chosen as the group’s chiefs and they sit down with the village chief and partake in the ceremony while the rest of the group watches on. Once they chiefs have taken their cup of kava the rest of the group can try it.  It’s certainly an interesting tasting drink! The women of the village have all their handicrafts out so you can purchase some lovely souvenirs and presents. There is then a tour through the village where you can see the homes and meet some of the villagers. We met some friendly children by the school who were quick to show us around their dorms and playing fields. The Fijians certainly are the most loveliest people. There are some village customs to be aware of you need to make sure you aren’t wearing a hat within the village and you need to dress modestly in a sarong or longer skirt.

After two amazing visits to two picture-perfect islands, the voyage finishes with a quick anchor out in the lagoon for a 10 min dip jumping straight off the boat. The most fitting way to finish an amazing day.

Throughout the journey the service by the crew was outstanding. They were happy, knowledgeable and sang and played the guitar to ensure that each and every passenger had the best time. We absolutely loved it and I still look at our pictures and can’t believe we were there and got to experience it.

There are daily departures just bear in mind that the cava ceremony is not available on Sundays. The catamaran leaves Denarau at 9 am (do check as this may change in time) and returns back around 6 pm.  If you are staying on other islands you can also transfer over to Mana to pick up the yacht there do check the times and prices as they will be different to those travelling from Denarau. We did this tour in October 2017 and paid FD$259 per adult from Denarau. I believe this to still be the price but do check their website.

If you need even more inspiration to visit Fiji then check out another of our posts here.

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If this doesn’t inspire you to take that Fiji holiday, I don’t know what will

As if you would need even further inspiration to go to Fiji, but here’s 20 reasons to take that Fiji wanderlust to the next level

Fiji the little gem in the South Pacific. Palm-fringed beaches, over 300 islands, beautiful traditional villages, crystal clear waters and possibly the nicest people in the world. I absolutely loved my time in Fiji and its taken me awhile to write this post as I just wasn’t sure my words could do justice to this stunning country but here we go..

Bula

If you had a pound for every time you heard this traditional Fijian greeting during your trip then trust me you would be extremely wealthy. Everyone says it even the tourists and not only that it is always said with a huge grin. Even when I say it in my head I smile. At one of the resorts one of the gatekeepers jobs was to be the Bula Bula man to whoever entered and my word did he do it with enthusiasm.

Being serenaded with calming island tunes

The moment you step off the plane and into the terminal the serenading starts. Yep right there in passport control. Then at dinner, and then with cocktails and we even got serenaded while sailing around the islands. Such beautiful voices it really just added to the feeling of being in an island paradise. If you were serenaded like that in the UK it would feel super weird but not in Fiji, in Fiji you wanted it to never end.

Literally every shade of blue

I thought growing up in Australia that I would have seen all the shades of blue but alas I was wrong. So wrong.  Fiji opened my eyes to more colours and shades then I had every imagined the colour wheel could contain. The water, the sky, and the horizon in between. If I was ever only to remember one thing about Fiji it would be the blues.

The weather

Sunny and hot – Yes, please!. I should warn you that it can get pretty windy at times and this can lull you into a false sense that you aren’t burning so do keep that factor 50 on at all times. The weather is perfect for those early morning beach walks, lazing in the water days and alfresco dinners.

The People

Fijians are the BEST! They are kind, good-natured, funny, helpful, generous and have the most amazing memories. We were spread out over three resorts and all the staff remembered not only our names straight away but what we drank and who was in our group. Even the Fijians that we came in contact with on the streets and in the villages all were lovely, chatty and very welcoming. Everyone just seemed so happy.

You can take thousands of photos of palm trees

Yep, thousands.

The Fijian Farewell song (Isa Lei)

We had this beautiful song sung to us a few times during our stay. Google the words they are so emotive. The most touching time we heard this was the final night our whole family was together. I think we all got a lump in our throats. The words and the way its sung is just so beautiful and a fitting farewell for our time there. I think every country should have a farewell song.

Fiji water, Fiji gold, Fiji Bitter and  Fiji cocktails

Ok, I made that last one up.The cocktails were pretty on point especially when served at a swim-up bar or slid down the bar to you! Fiji Gold and Fiji Bitter were a big hit.  I always thought people who drank  Fiji water were just a bit pretentious but now I’m on board. Must be the electrolytes. I  even brought a bottle back and although I keep filling it up with ‘normal’ water, I can kind of trick my mind that I’m there in the sun drinking it.

Snorkelling

Every day started with watching the sunrise then snorkeling right outside our resort. I think in another life I was a mermaid, being in the water really is my happy place and this was just the most energising way to start each day. We saw so many starfish, brightly coloured fish, coral and some huge clams. I even saw a sea snake and then promptly swam as fast as my little legs could take me back to shore.

Coconuts

Bill at our resort told us that we didn’t need to worry about coconuts dropping on our heads as the elders in his village said that they had eyes. And low and behold they kept their eyes open and didn’t drop on us. One day we were walking along the beach by a nearby village and there were a couple of guys up a palm tree with nothing more than a rope and machetes cutting down the coconuts. In any other country if someone approached you with a machete you would run for your life but no in Fiji he was just offering us a coconut for free to enjoy on our walk. See nicest people ever.

A $7 note

Yes, a $7 note and yes its legal tender. Hilarious!  It was put into circulation to commemorate the Rugby 7’s winning gold at the Olympics. Is there any better way to celebrate a countries success?

Island hopping

One of my favourite moments in Fiji was when we were on the ferry and as if out of nowhere there was this small sandy, palm tree studded island that looked like it had just popped up out of the ocean. There are over 300 islands to explore some easy to reach and others require seaplanes and helicopters. Try and see as many as you can and even the ones owned by resorts have day passes so you don’t need to spend a fortune staying on them to reap the benefits.

Mainland

As lovely and picturesque as the islands are you almost be forgiven for not wanting to spend any time on the mainland.  However, the mainland has many of its own charms and is as equally. If your flying internationally you’ll arrive in Nadi and the drive to the coral coast or even Suva will give you an insight into the day to day life.

Sunsets and sunrises

I watched the sunrise and set every day and every day and it was different. It also resulted in a memory card full of the suns movements. The way it affected the tides, the colours it created and contrasted against the silhouettes of the palm trees. I would sacrifice chocolate forever if I could have that each day of my life. There is just something so good for the soul watching the sun rise and fall over the ocean each day.

Sailing

Any place with water involved if always best seen from on top of it and sailing around the Mamanuca islands way pretty damn perfect. We had the captain an crew playing guitar and singing with their dulcet island tones, a bbq lunch served while staring at the islands, weaving through and around uninhabited islands and then jumping straight off the boat into the water. If I recommend you do anything in Fiji spend a day doing this.

Villages

Traditional villages, kava ceremonies, colourful houses, women’s crafts, meeting the chief and so many smiling happy faces. Whilst I appreciate parts of the traditional villages have been tailored to the tourists it is still really interesting in walking around and absorbing their life and also contributing to their economy in buying souvenirs rather than buying at the tourist shops.

It’s perfectly acceptable to wear a flower behind your ear and a shell necklace

Enough said.

Stars

As there is very little air and low light pollution the sky at night is clear as clear can be.  The stars put on one hell of a good display.

Fiji time

Everything runs on Fiji time and you’ll get on board with this almost as soon as you start saying Bula instead of hello. No rush, no worries.

Family

The reason I was in Fiji is that my sister and brother in law were getting hitched. Initially planned as an elopement they then decided to have the family there (thank the lord!). So we travelled from all over Australia and in our case from the UK to be with them. It was an intimate affair with only immediate family, 2 friends and a cousin -15 in total.  And what an insanely romantic and beautiful place to tie the knot.  One of the reasons I loved Fiji so much was the family time we had.  Many of the resorts are aimed at families and that isn’t just families with younger children its families of all ages.  We laughed, we swam, we went down water slides very fast, we ate, we cut some sick shapes on the dance floors, we explored, we took millions of photos, we had girl time, we watched our dad embrace Fiji life and wear a sulu when walking our sister down the aisle, we marveled at the views and we all cried when it was over and time to head home.. Fiji and little nuggets wedding will hold a very dear place in all our hearts. One of the best family holidays.

Until next time Fiji.  Vinaka vakalevu

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It’s not just me that feels like this check out a post by Debs World who had similar feelings https://debs-world.com/2017/10/21/how-fiji-got-under-my-skin/

What a Month!

Well what a month we have had!!

You may have noticed we’ve been pretty quiet on the old blog post front. Sorry about that… but life got in the way a little. It happens to us all but things should be a little quieter now meaning we can start updating on what we’ve been doing and where we’ve been with some wonderful posts sharing the delights of the South Pacific with you.

So what have we been up to…

Firstly we did something that kinda goes against the travel loving lifestyle. We set down roots, got ourselves a mortgage and brought a house 😱 So many people said it’s the most stressful thing you can do and I didn’t believe them but oh my word was I wrong to be a non believer. I came to the UK with 1 suitcase 11 years ago and the amount of stuff we moved I don’t know how I ever was able to fit my life into my trusty old blue suitcase.

Secondly we had to move house on a deadline as we were off to Fiji to watch my baby sister and her hubby get married and have a family holiday for two weeks. We were moving and cleaning right up until the night before we flew and with no sleep fo almost a week we collapsed on the plane ready for 37 hours travelling to the South Pacific. I mean there are worst places to have two weeks relaxing. Being so far away from the family we really cherish the time together so everything else gets put on the back burner. We were only really updating our Insta Stories while away so was a bit of a media black out just so we could enjoy every moment with the family. If you managed to see any of our stories let us know what you thought. It’s such an easy way to share on the go.

We’ve just got back today and the jet lag is still very fresh. I’m falling asleep as I write this and wondering how early is to early to go to bed, I’m looking longingly at my photos, I’m thinking of all the blog posts I want to write, I’ still wearing my bikini as underwear and keeping the flip flops on, I’m having cuddles with out house bunny Bruce and avoiding looking at the huge pile of clothes to be washed. The reality of being home hasn’t quite hit yet and I can tell you I’m not looking forward to it but I guess it’s all part of the process. Life can’t be just one big holiday otherwise they wouldn’t be as special when they happen. I love a cheesy quote and this one springs to mind at the moment ‘don’t be sad it’s over, be happy it happened’. I’m really bloody happy it happened. I need to re read this post to get ready for reality on Tuesday

So keep your eyes peeled- posts and wanderlust worthy pictures will be coming your way very soon

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