Fiji Day 7
Fiji Day 7
The end of Day 6 was spectacular with a display of Fijian dancing as well as some Polynesian fire dancing.
The Fijian dancing took place indoors due to some inclement weather and was a mixture of both female and male dancing displaying both love and war dances. The dancing was split into 2 halves being the Fijian dances alone followed by crowd participation. As Jacqui, the kids and myself had made friends with the entertainment coordinator – Bulli – he was very quick to ensure that both Jacqui and I were “volunteered” to participate in some dancing.
After the Fijian dancing we progressed outside to a grassed area where the fire dancing display took place. This was truly amazing. The speed at which the dancers were able to spin the fire sticks as well as the balance and agility they showed had to be seen to be believed. I am not sure the photo’s do them true justice. At times, they were literally standing on each other’s shoulders and were still spinning the fire sticks with incredible speed. At one stage Bulli was in front of us doing a display and he spotted Zac so yelled out to him: “Gidday Zac”. To be able to do this whilst maintaining control of a fire stick showed great ability and skill.
Day 7 was all about the “Whales Tale” cruise out to the Mamanuca Islands off Nadi. We set sail from Denarau Island which in itself was magnificent. Clearly this is where all the rich people live as the contrast in housing was incredible. We sailed for around 2 hours out past Islands such as MalaMala Island, South Sea Island, Bounty Island, Treasure Island and Beachcomber Island before anchoring at Schooner Island. As the trip was 100% inclusive, breakfast included fresh fruit and for Jacqui a glass of champagne. I think she may have even had 3 by the time we left port.....
After taking a shuttle run from the Schooner to the Island, we partook in another Kava ceremony and had the chance to have more Kava. It may just be me however I actually like the stuff where most people struggle to drink it. On this occasion, Zac was offered some – normally kids are excluded – so he gave it a try. I am not sure based on his facial expression that he will be running back to try any more in a hurry. After the Kava, we grabbed our snorkelling gear and went out onto the reef for a look around. The coral in this part of Fiji is much closer to that of the Great Barrier Reef with much more colour and a lot more fish then where we are staying. After our morning snorkel it was back to the grass roofed hut for a magnificent buffet lunch and more drinks. Basically the theme of the trip was plenty of food, plenty of fun and plenty of drink.
Post lunch Talia and Zac joined some of the group on a fishing trip in a glass bottomed boat. Who needs fish finders when you can see them directly? Jacqui, myself and another lady went on a personal snorkelling tour. Again that was fantastic. I did some duck diving to swim amongst the schools of fish. This is an incredibly peaceful exercise as there is nothing but you, the ocean, the fish and pure silence.
After snorkelling there was a quick game of beach volleyball then back to the boat for the return trip. During the volleyball game, I became covered in sand and wanted to clean off the sand prior to getting back on the boat. Our guide then informed me that I could do this by jumping off the top deck of the Schooner. An offer I could not refuse. As soon as we were back on deck and the Captain gave the all clear, I was up to the top deck for the big jump. It was a bit daunting when looking down from that height however with a crowd watching there was no turning back. It was a big adrenalin rush which resulted in me doing it 3 times. You get an appreciation for how hard water is when diving through it from around 3+ metres.
The trip back to shore was uneventful with more music and more drinks before returning back to the resort for dinner followed by kids disco. We were all exhausted after a big day and were in bed by 10pm.
Day 8 is our last full day so nothing planned – basically a last lazy day in paradise.
Until then...
