18th of August BULA BULA! FIJI AND THE CRAZY START WITH THE FRENCHIES

Here we are, left Auckland in the early rainy morning. No probs at the airports this time and no exit fees and stamps in NZ. Fiji gives a free tourist visa for 4 months. In the airport there was already the friendly mentality of Fiji, the woman was so helpful with advice and snacks. And if we get drinks in the airplane, why not asking for a bottle of champagne? Pop that bottle baby! Shocked the other passengers with the bang. 2.5 hours later I was there, hot Fiji whohooo! Looking for a hostel and no plans. Surprise that Adrien was waiting for me at the airport. We waited for his other friend Sebastien (who arrived 1 hour after me). Yeah a lot of people that tried to rip us off with deals and tours. But we managed to bargain the car rental price from 150 to 100 FJD per day (a fully insurreanced 4WD). We got a dirty half empty car, we bring it back like that. And we were happy that we rented a 4WD. The maps were crap, only some main roads. Hyper hyper, we've got a cassette player whohoo! So only radio with sometimes. 'Adrien, do you have some songs on your phone?' Only 1, 'Baby baby baby oh!'. Ok, this going to be our Fiji-song we said (and believe me it became a Fiji anthem this trip).We started around 4pm so it was getting darker. Supermarket; only crisps, noodles, cookies, some shampoo and drinks...nothing more, a basic assortment. And damn, Fiji doesn't look like all the stories and beautiful pictures. Around Nadi it's dirty and ugly. We missed the sunset on one of the resort beaches with a minute, some Fijians that wanted to get us on their horse for 25 FJD...hahahaa no way we gonna pay for that.

Plan; stay at Beachouse. But we made friends Sagi, a security guy from the 5* Warwick Resort. We went to BEachouse and booked a 40 FJD room and had some meals and drinks. But we didn't make friends :-) Adrien made a little mistake with the name/roomnr. (You don't pay cash, everything goes with receipts on name) and lucky Trevor became a little bit angry. After some threatening from Rocky VI Trevor, everyone in the hostel started to dislike us. Being extremely nice and friendly was like oil on the fire. So we went to the 5* Resort for some party party. And we started some party party there! Loads of rich families and couples and they are a little bit shy. The nightclub was not so booming so the 3 crazy backpackers started a;'caterpillar' (in Nederland welbekend als de 'polonaise'). Hahaaa, we took the whole resort out of their chairs. And followed by some crazy dance moves it was fanfuckintastic. After some hours it was time to go back to Beachouse and the gate was closed, the place was surrounded with a big wall/fence. So climb the gate, with some alcohol this was not the hardest job. What a night and what a funny start of the trip :-) :-) :-)

19th of August FLOORSURFING THE DIFFERENT SIDE OF FIJI

Early in the morning we left BEachouse without a notice. Bad memories about this place. Cruising along the Coral Coast, beautiful sometimes, but you have to take some dirt roads and climb in the telecommunication masts to have the best views. We took a dirt road and ended up in a small village called Talenaua, friendly people approached us and we asked them to show us around and tell them about their daily basic lives. Very cool and loads of fun with the kids. Yeah, this is what we gonna do guys, visit all the local stuff and show something about Fiji is in real. There are villages that you can visit by Tour Agency's and resorts, but they are used to it and do it mostly for the money. If you want, go far off the beaten track and visit them yourself. These people haven't seen travelers in a long time. Next, visiting the Sakiusa Naivalu Secondary School. Just park the car guys and walk in. They students were in an enthusiastic mood because it was the last day for School Holiday. The teacher invited us in their class and all of us had to do a presentation about their life and country. Hmmm, it's not so good to tell something about the Dutch main highlights like the Red Light District and Coffee shops maybe :-) One of the other teachers gave us some advice about where to go. Let's stop at an off-road beach and climb some palm trees! The local kids were laughing and showed us how to do it. All of a sudden they come to us with knives almost just as big as the kids. The 10 year old kids only wanted to show us how to cut the coconuts out of the trees. They taught us how to cut them open and how to make straws. Making baskets out of the leaves and drinking coconut milk. Making spoons. Time for a relaxing swim. Damn, this side of Fiji is soooo cool. And the kids know the song 'Baby baby baby ohhh!' and sing it fluently. Making more stops at beaches and do some running. And don't forget to buy some snacks and samosa's at the petrol station in Pacific Harbour! Delicious and fuckin cheap. Roadtrippin the South, entering the capitol Suva. A busy chaotic city filled with market and loads of sinking Asian ships in the harbour. NZ has too many sheep, Fiji has too many busses. Further on beaches full of garbage, this is not like the picturesque images you've seen in all the brochures. If you need a pair of flip-flops? You will definitely find a pair here on the beach. This is also Fiji...

Hit the East coast and find a beach to spend the night? Nope, no beaches here, we drove in the dark for a long time. Let's take a dirt road and see what happens. The road we took was not on the map, we drove for half an hour and ended in a village. I saw some people outside so let's join them. It were some locals having Cava with the Chief of the village. Ratu Robocca was surprised about our visit and our plans to sleep in the car. He invited us to sleep in their school. 'Did you guys have dinner today?' Me; 'NO!' A little bit too enthusiastic maybe, but he woke up his wife to make some sausages. And because we were eating like hungry dogs they made more and more. My first Cava experience...damn that stuff tastes like dirt. But it is dirt, it's crushed Cassava roots, put it in a piece of cotton and put it in the water in a big bowl. No clean water for sure! And everyone drinks out of the same coconut cup. One of the guys Cody invited us to sleep in his house with his family, he never had travelers before. A warm welcome. And don't expect a normal house...it's very very basic. Sleeping on the floor with loads of kids and dogs around you. Sebastien was in love with the cute little puppy. The house is just one room with a curtain. The kitchen and toilet are separated and even more basic. Sitting on a smelly pot with flies on your ass and in front of you the kids that look at you...funny, very funny. They arranged more Cava (6 bags in a bowl, 1 FJD for a small bag). Well, I still don't know what they like about the Cava :-)

The 20th of August THE LONG BOAT TRIP TO LEVUKA AND THE LOVELY LIFE IN THE NEXT VILLAGE, FOOD AND FUN AS MUCH AS YOU WANT

6am, sunset between the mangroves. Cody was a nice guy and the family was quite happy with us. They invited us to go to Ovalau Island and visit one of the villages there for a funeral of the local Chief's wife. But first we have to bring Cody and Johnny to Suva, they are free divers and earn their money with diving for sea cucumbers and fishing with a spear gun. 1kg of sea cucumber is about 60-80 FJD on the Asian market in Suva. Cody also showed us the turtle they ca? and killed (for decoration and food). In Suva we ended up in a sort of Ghetto styled village, people were a little bit different here. It was all about trading stuff. Cody earned around 700 FJD that day and bought a big box of Fiji Gold. Getting tipsy in the car and Johnny couldn't stop talking anymore. What about the garbage in Fiji? Oh, just open the window and throw everything outside :-) Back in the Vereta Village. A small boat from Cody had to pick up around 15 people from another village. Friendly people and some of the woman looked like men with their beard whahaa. And there was also the screaming big attached to a big stick on board. This was for the ceremonial food. Many nice islands and amazing blue colors on our way. And the bumpy trip made everyone soaking wet. Now I understand why they told us to bring a raincoat. I only had shorts and a t-shirt. After 3 hours we were finally there. A village even more back to basic but a welcome not to forget. Everyone invited us in their house, have some tea and bread with them, play with the kids. Cold shower or a dip in the river? But why is there a turtles crawling around in the shower? The kids don't really care about the animals, especially the pigs. They drag them on their legs over the streets, kick them and hit them. For them it's normal, they are going to eat it. For us Western people it looks like torture and you want to become a vegetarian... Playing rugby on flip-flops is not the best idea, Sebastian was so smart to bring his shoes. Kids dancing and singing with us with our Fiji-anthem (it's a real popular song here). Big buffets in the evening and many many bowls of Cava. The young local girls all wanted to marry us. But I slept alone in my bed, no worries :-) And I had to walk around in a Suvu (looks like a long skirt) because my shorts were too short, so the Frencies couldn't stop laughing.

The 21st of August THE OLD CAPITOL OF FIJI, BOUNTY BOUNTY, FIRST PARADISE ISLANDS AND THE NIGHT IN THE MOUNTAINS

Wake up with after a night full of ceremonial singing, screaming pigs and Cava. Breakfast and tea. The best tasting bread I ever had. Everyone makes his own bread and it's so sweet and delicious. Yummie yummie! Cody showed us how they make a Lovo, food that is cooked in the ground (sort of the same like a Hangi in New Zealand). Yeah, finally the pig is killed. Cody and Johnny took us to some other villages and the old capitol of Fiji; Levuka. No busses and too many people for a taxi. We waited for a small van, 1.20 FJD for a trip around the island. But Fiji time... Levuka; Most of the buildings in that city are still in the original European style. Everywhere you see signs that the villages and cities are crime free, why do they have so many fences and barns in the shops then? The police is an easygoing guy on a bike, cycling around with his freshly baked bread. We had some spicy food and drinks at an upstairs cafe. First time to try the dark Fijian Bounty Rum; I LOVE IT! 58% but very tasty if you drink it straight. Adrien was spitting fire after one shot. Sebeastien is still playing with dogs everywhere. Back in the village the funeral was over. Time for the Lovo, I prefer the beef. Pork and chicken is full of fat and bones. The goodbye was huge. One of the guys offered us some girls to marry them and gave us their details, whahaaa. The whole village was waving us goodbye when we sailed away. We wanted to stop at some of the paradise islands and we did. Some snorkeling and the other locals could spend some time on the resort. I think some of them had never seen a resort before. Everybody happy today... The goodbye with Cody and his family was hard. Yes, some small tears on both sides. Where on earth have we ever seen people so nice and friendly as the Fijians from the last days? We probably never see them again. But if I ever come back to Fiji, I will visit them again. Good luck in life, you were our best memory of Fiji! The ride to the North was bumpy and dusty...Kings Road was a future highway, but at the moment it was grind, flying stones around the car, drifting with a 4WD and heavy machinery all around. No lights and people walking on the road in the dark made the whole thing extra exciting. RagiRagi has nothing to offer, so we took a dirt road into the mountains and camped there. The Franchise slept in the car and I put up my tent. Pretty sleepless night because the wild horses were running around and that's not the best place to put your tent up.

The 22nd of August NO MORE FRIENDLY PEOPLE, WELCOME TO TOURISTY FIJI

Lovely sunrise over the bay. On our way to Navala Village (a characteristic village in traditional building style). As usual no road signs anywhere. So asking the way many times... 'Bula Bula' changed into the more simple way of asking the way... 'Navala?'. This because of all the Indian people in the North. Even if we saw some wild horses on the road we asked them 'Navala?' and they looked at us with big eyes 'Hihiiiii!'. After some time we say the traditional village in the valley, looked like a Smurfs-look-a-like village, the only difference was the color of the inhabitants. Kids welcoming us in the river, again a warm welcome. Only for a short time... After our 1st footsteps on the ground a woman start screaming at us; 'Admission admission now...pay 25 FJD each or leave!'. No Bula Bula over here. Okay, we go back to the river for a little walk, the kids invited us for a swim in the river. Swim shorts on and...Oh no, an older man comes to us 'Who gave you permit to be here?!' Uhm, this is a free piece of land, no fences or signs, everyone can walk along the river. But they became really aggressive and we must pay money to their chief. We drove away, more aggressive inhabitants at the end of the village. What happened here guys?! In Fiji they say 'Moce' (Mothe) and it means 'Goodbye'...well we say Moce Fucker! in this village. We drove over the top of the mountain ranges. Took the car back to the airport and the rental company wanted to rip us off. Then the office of the hostel where we wanted to stay on Mana Island tried to rip us off, but we knew the prices from the internet. The taxi and the ferry to the island were an even bigger rip off, 102 FJD for a short boat trip WTF?!

Port Denarau, we feel like tourists again. Paying shitloads of money and not welcome at all. Our stop; Mana Island. FInally something that looked like Fiji from the brochures. The Ratu Kini Backpackers was a basic hostel with a huge dorm room. No kitchen, so no opportunity to prepare your own food. The meals were good and the staff was not that bad. Walking around the island followed by the dogs. A golf cart full of girls waved enthusiastic at us. Like everything on Fiji...what we said, it just happened. We met them on Sunset Beach. A bunch of funny Kiwi (and 1 Sydney) girls, who gave us a lot of Vodka and invited us in their resort. Again a resort night guys? This is going to be fun. The staff in Ratu Kini invited me for a drinking game with the ping pong balls throwing into cups. They were looking for 1 more person to complete the last couple. It was Sarah, the girl sleeping under me in the dorm. They called us 'Team HOT' because we were the 2 hottest persons on the island. Yeah, it was true :-) A good team, but we didn't win the free day of diving. Adrien and Sebastien were nowhere to be found in the Resort, the Karaoke night was finished hours ago. So I think they have a good night with the Kiwi girls. Not exactly hahahaa, the security caught them and took them to the office. Interviewed them with torches on their face and gave them some warnings. This island feels like a prison, fences and barbwire around the hostel and we are not allowed to walk out?!

The 23rd of August WALKING AND SNORKLING AROUND MANA...CLIFF DIVING WITH TEAM HOT

Time to sleep in, relax, Fiji time. Some walks around the island, climbing the mountain of the island and good snorkeling at Sunset Beach. Snorkeling with low tide on the reef is quite a challenge I must say. But we saw sea snakes. My hot team girl young Sarah and Giana invited me to some quiet spots around the island. Beautiful places, silent beaches and a crazy spot for jumping/diving of the rocks and swimming between the fish. We had a good time together, watching the sunset at the end of the day. The Kiwi-connection loved the hostel life and food. A hot day and I got sunburned seriously. Some bonfire on the beach, the other guests can't understand how I can drink the Bounty rum straight out of the bottle. Johnny Depp did the same in Pirates of... so what's so strange about that? Crazy jumping over and in the bonfire followed by some free beers of the hostel, thanks Mitch.

The 24th of August ISLAND HOPPING

Booked an island hopping trip at the hostel with Mitch, but everything changes in a minute in Fiji. They cancelled the trip. We arranged something with another hostel. 70 FJD for a full day of visiting Castaway Island, Plantation Island, Malolo Island and the resorts there. 2 places for snorkeling. The snorkeling around Sandbank Island was the best, huge groupers and loads of fish. And they use the Sandbank for overnight party trips sometimes (minimum of 8 people). Our guides were not the most talkative guys. The old guy from Alaska that we met was a funny character. The people in the resorts were mostly families and couples, not that interesting for us. Adrien arranged some free drinks at one of the resort bars. These places are perfect to arrange a trip on a sailing boat as a deckhand. Sometimes we asked the guides 'What can we do here on the resort?'. The replied 'There is internet'. YEAH that's where we came for with an island hopping trip! Are you serious?! We pushed the guides a little bit to visit some of the private islands. Our last evening at the island means? Party!!! And we did...only Mitch and the other staff girl (both doing the Fijian dances tonight) and the Ozzy girls joined us. We completely lost our minds, making funny dance moves, dancing on bar chairs and the bar, taking our clothes off, limbo dancing, drinking drinking and drinking and the cooling down was skinny dipping with the Ozzy girls. This is how we party :-)

The 25th of August GOODBYE FRENCHIES, HELLO GERMANS. MANTA RAY ROCKS!

Again the reception changed their mind. Nobody else on the boat to Beachcomber so I had to pay 100 FJD instead of 60 FJD for a 20 minute small boat trip (they use 25 litres of petrol for a return, so they earn big money). Everything goes on Fiji time and yeah, I missed the connection with the Awesome Adventures Ferry. Luckily it was possible to jump on the South Sea Cruises Ferry. Manta ray Island was a 3 hour cruise and during the cruise the islands became more and more incredible. Manta Ray was the bomb! The food was absolutely amazing, choose your lunch out of 20 options (try the Mexican Beef). Meeting loads of nice people (couples or not). I started diving with Dave (an Ozzy guy) today. 2 dives; the first was cave diving. After my bad experiences 5 years ago this was my first cave dive again and it was magnificent! Sooo beautiful. Squeezing yourself to tiny holes and ending up in amazing cave lagoons. Murray Eels and tuna. The 2nd dive was along a big wall of coral. Lots of soft and hard coral and some turtles. Back on the Island more fun with Lucas and Kristen (US), Connor (Ireland), Angelica, Michaela, Magda, Andrea and Jessica (Germany) and Fikki and Mia (NL). Connor and all the Germans and I went for a long night of drinking in the hammocks. The staff was constantly following us. And the hammocks were quite a challenge for 2 persons at the same time :-) I had a wonderful night with Michaela. An early morning.

The 26th of August SIMMING WITH THE HUGE MANTA RAYS...THAT'S WHAT WE CALL AWESOME!

6am, here goes the drums, time for snorkeling with the Manta Rays. 20 people in the small boat, up to the small strait between the islands. You can only spot them with low tide. There it was, a big female Manta Ray (white bottom) swimming under us. Sometimes it came closer to the surface. But you have to do some free diving (diving 10 - 15 metres without a tank) to get close to them. All of a sudden 3 male Manta Rays (black bottom) joined the female and they start making flips. I tried free diving and it was sick! Making flips together with the Manta Ray and swim to the surface together facing their bottom side and very very close (10 cm away from them). The other wicked part was free diving and 'fly' with them just a few inches above their back. I loved it and they had to pull me out of the water because I didn't want to get out. It seemed that some people were hungry for breakfast. The rest of the morning was an unforgettable time with Michaela, this was one of the most interesting persons I met on this trip. She and her friend Angelica left and I went for 2 more dives in the afternoon. Troubles with the equipment of the other guys. The dive sites are not that interesting. Fikki (from Gouda) was a cool dude and the only Dutch guy in Fiji. The dive staff knew what happened last night and couldn't stop making funny references in and out of the water :-) Especially with the sea cucumbers whahahaa. The leopard sharks we maybe the most interesting of the dives, you can even cuttle them if you dare. The dive staff was happy with me and invited me to do a presentation at another island/resort. Barefoot Resort was really quiet. But the owner was a local and he and his friends had an enormous cava session. Why not, drink that stuff again...no low tide for me. I surprised everyone. Half of the locals were already sleeping after 20 bowls of Cava. Don't stop and play on! We were playing 6 guitars and some bamboo drums. They were singing locals songs. Back at the Manta Ray everyone was in panic, because they didn't know where I was. 'Vincent, maybe he died?!' Hilarious! Connor, the German girls and I went for another night full of whiskey at the beach. Staff members following us and they would only leave you alone after a drink. A bottle of Bounty rum for 228 FJD?! Are you fuckin nuts?! The dive crew couldn't believe I was still partying after all the cava, whiskey and wine. Connor started a heavy discussion with Magda and Jessica. Andrea seemed to be the coolest chick but in the end everybody went to bed halfway the night. Okay, Manta Ray is known as the party island? Not at all. But an unforgettable time here.

The 27th of August WHERE TO GO NEXT?

Manta Ray goodbye! I met more nice people, Gary (UK) was an older guy travelling with his French girl and he will definitely get a visit from me in the UK for some paragliding. Don't know where to go. A very high bill from the resort, luckily they forgot to charge a few things. I decided on the ferry that I should make an extra stop at Bounty Island. Most interesting people jumped off at Kuata, damn. The ferry was delayed with 2 hours because of technical problems. So we had to kill some time with breaking coconuts with our teeth and fists. Arrived at Bounty after sunset. This place was completely different then Manta Ray, basic food and filthy dorms. They changed the dorm because there we locals kids staying in our bed and having a sort of food fight. The evening was quiet and I talked most of the time with an old couple from the US.

The 28th of August BORING BURNING BOUNTY AND THE RAVE NEXTDOOR

Walking around Bounty in 30 minutes, snorkeling, snorkeling, and snorkeling. That's what you can do here. Or paying a lot of money for Jet Ski's. Sunbathing and jumping in the pool now and then. There were some English girls were I could talk with. Because all the German guys refused t speak English. Well guys, I understood everything! :-) These are the days when travelling on your own is lonely and boring. I missed my friends... I was walking around the island again and realized that it was already boarding time for the ferry. Lucky they work with Fiji-time so the ferry was 45 minutes late. A shuttle from Denarau to Aquarius in Nadi. A nice place with good food again. Killing time with moving and then... a big rave next door. Someone put up some tent, got a few dj's from Sydney and had a big rave party I LIKE THAT! Perfect when you have to wake up at 5am and your phone/alarm is not working anymore.

The 29th of August BULA VINAKA FIJI...MOCE!

Cute Emily and I were the only one that had to wake up early. Fiji time, the driver had to do some shopping first. The guy from the petrol station was shaking the van like a mad man to get a few extra drips of petrol in the tank...GOOD MORNING FIJI! Emily was just in time to board, I had to climb under some fences and create some angry looks to board my flight. No time to buy some Bounty Rum. A 4 hour flight to Brisbane...

Wonderful memories of Fiji. Not what I expected and the big differences between the real local life and the touristy island resorts. Beauty, relaxing and important lessons in life. Respect!