Day 4: Waterfall tour
First day of the Nanny service = EIGHT hours of NO KIDS. Dropped the kids off at 9am after a delicious breakfast at the resort and promptly loaded into a van for our much anticipated waterfall tour. A 15 minute bumpy ride to pick up 2 other tourists, and then up a hill and onto a dirt road that lead us to the Fijian Village that owned the land the waterfall was on. We got out of the van and had a great glimpse of how traditional Fijians lived. We were invited into their village community hut for a kava ceremony which allowed us permission to the waterfall.
Let me just explain a little bit about kava... The roots of the Kava plant, when ground and then mixed with a little water produce a serum that should be marketed in the US. In fact, I believe it is in pill form! According to Wikipedia: Kava is sedating and is primarily consumed to relax without disrupting mental clarity. PERFECT right? Devon and I bought some so we can all try it when we get home. :)
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| Kava Ceremony |
The eldest of the group got to drink first, and down the line until it was my turn - the only lowly female! You had to clap 3 times, say something in Fijian, take a big gulp (tasted like muddy, dirt and numbed my lips) then clap once and say thank you in Fijian. They all sang a song and said a bunch of stuff I couldn't understand and then we were allowed to see the waterfall. Overall, very interesting experience.
Then, it started to rain - more like pour. But that's fine, we can manage that. We walked around the village, people waving and saying BULA to us. Then we got to visit the preschool.
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| These kids learn English, Fijian, and their specific village Fijian. Take that USA! |
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| One of the nicer houses in the Village |
After the visit to the school, we were off on our long trek to the waterfall. We followed a very rough trail that crossed the same river NINE times. I was wearing the wrong sandals, therefore I decided to go barefoot. Over mud, rocks, roots, you name it. My feet are tough from all my running, but still OUCH. The walk was beautiful all the same. Through the deepest and greenest forest, tall trees, vines, tropical bird noises abound. Ahh, paradise.
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| Crossing the river for the first of many times |
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| We had two dogs that were our constant companions. They were there to scare off wild boar. I kid you not! |
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| At the waterfall |
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| COLD WATER |
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| Getting ready to jump. |
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| Climbing the rock ledge |
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| There he goes! |
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| I got to ride back down in style! It was so awesome to go back to the village on the horse. |
What great fun we had! Thank goodness I stayed on the horse without falling off AND there were no wild boar sightings. All was well.
Day 5:
We woke up, ready for another day of fun and adventure! First was kayaking and paddleboarding. Didn't take many pictures because I took part in the fun.
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| Devon on the stand up paddleboard |
Then we took the kids down the beach to our friends who prepared the sea urchins. They also own horses that give cheap rides down the coast.
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| The helmets were a little large |
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| Hi Isla! Her horse was named Snow White. She was very pleased with this. |
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| This horse was called chocolate. The boys kept saying "I want to eat chocolate!" |
After the horse ride, the kids were again dropped off with their nannies for another 8 hours of parental bliss. :) I don't even remember what we did that day except mull around the reservation and have dinner at our favorite restaurant again.
Day 6:
Kids with the nannies again. Devon and I did the reef walk and a few other activities at the resort. All in all a great and relaxing day, ending in another Lovo meal.
Day 7:
Booked a trip to one of the Fijian Islands called Robinson Crusoe. It was an all day event that began early in the morning. A bus ride to the boat launch, and a boat ride to the Island. We swam, and played, and hiked and ate all day long. It was really a great time!
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| On the boat |
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| Our Island for the day |
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| Another example of how much Fijians LOVE kids. |
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| Crazy Medicine man explaining all the plants and their medicinal qualities |
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| Baby lizard on Isla's back |
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| The thing crawled all over her and she loved it! |
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| Another Lovo dinner! |
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| Boys taking a nap. This is just before Drew fell asleep. |
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| The boys with one of the dancers |
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| FIRE |
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| More Fire |
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| Lots of fire |
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| Juggling Fire |
The kids LOVED the fire dancing. Isla claims this was her favorite part of the Fiji vacation. Glad that it made an impression on her. It's not often a 5 year old (and 3 year olds) get a chance to do these type of things. What a fun memory for them to have!
It was an extremely long and fun day, and a very late night when we got back. We packed up our stuff and headed back to Melbourne the following day.
Fiji is a fantastic tropical destination for Aussies. It's just a 4-5 hour plane ride away, the people are extremely friendly, and double bonus if you have kids. They treat you like royalty. Other than that, Hawaii is just as beautiful and not as third world. Both Devon and I got some sort of nasty bug that lasted a week after we got home (must have been all the lovo), and Isla was bit by some very strange insect on her head which got very infected. We will not go into any more detail than that. Have you ever heard of a bot fly? Well, it wasn't one of those but seriously almost as nasty - look it up, I dare you.
It is good to be back in Melbourne, where we are home for the time being. It's funny, when the kids are here, they ask to go 'home', back to Red Cherry Circle. When we were in Fiji, they asked when we were going 'home', back to Melbourne. We were twice removed from home while in Fiji. I wonder if they got that at all? Just a thought.
Ok, time for bed! This weekend we get to Ride on Thomas the Train.. you don't even know how absolutely cool that is! :P And then Devon and I are going to the Formula 1 Grand Prix for the day while the kids get to be babysat. Halleluia!
Love you and miss you!
~Mary
