Our Last Stop – Fiji!

Although we are home and struggling to adjust to the 17 hour time difference, we wanted to share our adventures in Fiji with everyone. Let’s just say we wrote this entry in “Fiji Time – no worries, no hurry”!

The last leg of our trip was 9 days in Fiji just to relax and enjoy the sunshine and beautiful weather. Our adventure started with a short flight from the local airport in Coff’s Harbor near our friends Greg and Carol’s house. It was a small turbo jet, a first for Cory. She was fascinated with the propellor on the engine. We arrived in Sydney smoothly and made the trek from the domestic terminal to the international terminal in time for our flight.

When we arrived in Fiji we discovered that our luggage missed the flight and was still in the domestic terminal at Sydney. After filling out all the appropriate paperwork we finally departed for our resort.

Our Radisson Blu resort was on the island of Denarau. It’s a manmade island separated from the city of Nadi by a small river. Originally it was a swampy land mass filled with mangroves. Some smart business men decided to fill in the land, plant trees and build luxurious resorts. It was a beautiful island filled with big name hotels.

We were welcomed by our host pounding on the wooden log in the open air foyer and the greeting, “BULA!” We soon learned that bula was the way to greet everyone in Fiji!

The next day we had a tour of the city of Nadi. It started with a visit to the Sri Siva Subramaniya Temple ( a Hindu temple). It was a beautiful structure filled with art work. Our guide explained that the worshipers brought coconuts and bananas and walked around the temple 7 times before presenting them to the monks who then blessed them and shared them with the worshipers. In respect for the temple, worshipers leave their shoes at the entrance and sarongs were wrapped around those of us wearing shorts. Our feet were not prepared for the hot walking surfaces and we ou’ed and ah’ed as the smallest pebble ground into our sensitive feet.

Next was a stop in town at the local shops. We were welcomed with the traditional “Kava ceremony”. The root of the plant is ground by hand against a cone-shaped block of dead coral. The hand forms a mortar and the coral a pestle. Pounding is done in a large stone with a small log. The ground root/bark is combined with only a little water, as the fresh root releases moisture during grinding. The product is then added to cold water and consumed as quickly as possible.The root of the plant is used to produce a drink with sedative, anesthetic and euphoriant properties. Don’t worry, we only consumed a small amount so that we would be officially welcomed into their “family”.

From there we hit the local store to stock up on those essentials that were in our missing luggage – underwear and something to wear to dinner! The clerks were very happy to help four desperate travelers fill in the blanks in their wardrobe!

From there we visited the local fruit market and handicraft market and the Garden of the Sleeping Giant. Interesting fact – The gardens are nestled in the cool shadows of two giant mountains and offers over 30 to 40 varieties magnificent Asian Orchids and Cattleya hybrids which was once the private collection of the late American actor Raymond Burr (aka Perry Mason).

On two of our days we took trips to two different islands for the day. Both were beautiful settings where we enjoyed lunch, drinks, and entertainment from the local people. We almost got captured by the natives but later found out they were actually friendly!

We, like most people we suppose, think of Fiji as “The Island” where, in fact, it is a group of 305 islands and over 500 islets spread over thousands of square miles of ocean. Also we discovered that many of these outer islands host mini resorts for those who need to get away from their getaway. We heard that some of the mini resorts can cost as mech as $1,500 per night.

We decided to do tours every other day and take time to relax and enjoy the beautiful resort and water. Our favorite spot to sit was a covered porch on the waterfront. We were surprised to see so many families with small children at the resort. There were lots of activities for the kids and a family pool and a kid’s pool. Not to worry though, there was an adult pool with a hot tub that could boil a native for sure!

When sitting by the water we would hear the activity director bound the log as a call for the children to assemble for fun. They all ran quickly yelling “BULA” along the way. We enjoyed their trip to the water everyday to feed the fish with the old bread. It was amazing to see the fish jump out of the water ready to eat! Within minutes all the bread disappeared! Other actives included tug of war, water volleyball, and torch lighting.

We loved our time in “paradise” and on “Fiji time”. The days were filled with relaxing by the water, reading, knitting and visiting with Carol and Greg. All off our dinners included water views filled with amazing sunsets.

A visit to Fiji has been on our bucket list since we first tried to go to Guadalcanal in 2020 but were stopped by COVID. It’s a beautiful place and the people are nothing but friendly and helpful and so welcoming.

After a flight back to Sydney and a day there we started our long trek home. The first leg from Sydney to LA went well and we were glad to be in business class with lots of room and the pods for napping. When we arrived in LA we discovered that our flight to Chicago was delayed for 4 hours. So we were able to visit the lounge where we spent 24 hours on our way to Sydney back in July.

We boarded our flight to Chicago blurry eyed but hopeful that home was only 4 hours away. However, Mother Nature had other plans for us. Upon arrival west of Chicago we noticed our plane flying in circles passing the same sights over and over again – never a good sign! First the pilot announced that there was a “weather system” and we would have to circle and wait to land. A little later the announcement came that we weren’t sure when we could land so we need to head to Madison, Wisconsin to refuel so we could fly in circles again. So we landed, refueled, moved the plane so more planes bound for Chicago could also refuel and just waited. We were told that after 3 hours they would have to let us off so we could enjoy Madison at night. However, we lucked out and after only 2 hours we were able to fly to Chicago to land. We were amazed by all the lightning we saw as we were approaching O’Hare.

So after all our travel adventures and delays we offer this word of advice to ourselves and all future travelers – put on a happy face, expect bumps in the road and make them part of the adventure, and most of all – leave some extra days in your plans and spare underwear in your carryon bag to assure you arrive in time for your next adventure.

We also wanted to share with you our miles and hours of travel. This was, by far, our most extensive adventure leaving us with many memories and laughs along the way. Thanks for traveling with us. See you for our next adventure next fall that includes Oktoberfest and a cruise on a 5 mast sailing ship!

That’s a total of 30, 098 miles – a definite record for us!