Barefoot Manta #Day6

This morning was our first sleep in. We got up at 7:30. It is extra muggy today after a little rain last night. 
We went for a kayak and caught some waves in which was great fun until we almost got swept onto some rocks haha 

Then we went for another snorkel before lunch. 

Today was a presentation about sharks! I learnt lots of facts including that sharks have over 30 thousand teeth in their lifetime. There were only 101 shark attacks last years and only 6 deaths worldwide where as humans killed an estimated 100million sharks. Sharks have an incredible sense of smell and rely on electrical senses to map out where they are rather than relying on eyesite. 

We went to a traditional Kava ceremony tonight! Kava is a narcotic tree root used to welcome people to the villag. It is grown for 5-7years (the older it is the stronger). They dry it out in the sun and put it in a mesh like bag and sooke it in water. The water becomes a brown muddy colour. Men must sit cross legged and women sit with both legs to the side. You clap twice before receiving the liquid in a coconut bowl and say bula! You drink the whole thing, hand it back and then clap another 2 times. It had a weird taste and made my tongue feel a little bit numb but only for a few minutes haha was a great experience!

For dinner we had a traditional fijian bbq. Desert was a cake made out of cassava.
Then after dinner they danced and sang and we got up and danced too, it was so much fun! Couldnt stop smiling the whole time. Such a perfect way to finsih our last night on our 1st island. Tomorrow we catch the ferry to blue lagoon. 

Barefoot Manta #Day5

We went snorkelling again with the Mantarays this morning! It was really windy and choppy and the current was strong. Spent the first 20mins waiting for them to come back and a lot of the time swimming against the current! They didn't stay near us long because there wasn't as much plankton. But it was still really amazing and we saw a white one this time. We are going to make the most of the sun today as it is meant to thunderstorm tomorrow eeeek! 

The best part about where the resort is located, is that if one beach is windy with sea lice and not much sun you simply walk over to the opposite side within 2 minutes for better weather. 

We went snorkelling on the reef and got cut a few times on the coral ouch! Would be a good idea to bring water shoes next time. 

We went to another presentation talk by the marine biologist Rob about reef realationships and all the interesting ways underwater creatures reproduce. 

We went out snorkelling again and swam all the way around the corner on the edge of the reef to the other side of the island. Again it was just so incredible. I think Laura would stay in there alll day long if I didn't say let's turn back. 

When we got out of the water there was this beautiful little fijian boy and we started playing a little tag with him running through the plam trees until all of a sudden he picked up sand and threw it directly into my face! I had to run into the water just to get away from him because he wouldn't stop. 
Child: 1
Maddie: 0

We met loads more people from across the globe again at dinner which was lovely. 

Barefoot Manta #Day4

We woke up at 5:15am this morning for the sunrise hike up to a view point. Unfortunately it is very cloudy but it was still such a pretty view! 

It was super windy today so we were sure to be careful for falling coconuts! 
I sat in a hammock and read my book before going for a little kayak. The water is crystal clear and it's so shallow you can see the coral and fish. 

We went to a Mantaray talk by the marine biologist that lives on the island. We learnt that Mantarays are a kind of fish and they are the smartest fish species due to their brain size and behaviour. Coral mantarays are identifiable by the patterns on their bellies and are on average 4 meters in length. Their mouths have been evolved to the front of their bodies so that they can hunt in open water and near the surface. They have filters inside their mouth to shift through the plankton. They can swim the furthest depth of any fish which is 1.5kms down. The females are stronger and faster then the males. They only reproduce every 2 years and have a uterus and give birth to only 1 offspring. The flipping we saw in the water is to help them stay in the one spot to feed and is also a social behaviour. The rays we saw were 'residential' because they have been seen over the years. They are happy to be around humans. It is quite rare to see new individuals and they would swim through very fast. There is no telling how many will come through the channel and when. Their only predators are killer whales and tiger sharks. 

It's so peaceful lying on the beach listening to the palm trees in the wind sounds like rain and watching a white crab run across the sand when it thinks I'm not looking. 

At dinner we met a Scottish girl who had just lived in a really poor village for 2months and she had some really amazing stories. We also met a Canadian who lived in Toyko and 2 other Canadain guys and french guys. It was amazing that all the different nationalities came together to chat. 

I have come to peace with the alien looking geckos as there is simply no avoiding them. Im telling myself that they are cute and they are my friends. 

Barefoot Manta #Day3

We woke up this morning just before 7am to the locals shouting 'Manta, Manta, Manta!' This means there was a Mantaray sighting. We quickly leaped out of bed, put our bikinis on and ran down to the boats. The boats took us out to the channel where the Mantas migrate trough. They were absolutely incredible. We got to get so close where you could really tell just how huge these creatures are. They did backflips through the water again and again. It was the most amazing experience. We came in an hour later in time for breakfast absolutely ecstatic. 

Laura alongside the mantarays, you can see just how big they are!

We grabbed our snorkel gear and headed to the reef right off the beach. I couldn't believe my eyes. The coral was so colourful and there were soooo many beautiful fish. Everywhere I looked I saw a kind of fish I hadn't seen before. Unfortunately sea lice/tiny jellyfish were being pushed in by the current and we got stung so much that we had to come in. We are now covered in lots of little red dots. 

For the rest of the day we swam & sunbaked. We went out to the reef again and were much better off this time and even saw a reef shark! Its apparently quite rare to see them here so lucky us! 

Went on a Sunset Cruze where the little tiny floats slowly around while one of the locals serenaded us with his guitar. 

We had dinner at this beautiful area by the beach with a fire and music playing. We ate an Indian buffet under the fairylights! We sat with our roomies Jackie from Germany and Georgia from England. 

I tried to have a shower but a gecko stared me right and the eyes so I'm going to bed sandy. 

Nadi #Day2

We got up at 6:30am to catch our shuttle bus to Port Denarau at 7:15. We arrived at the port at 8, checked in and had 20 minutes before boarding our ferry. We grabbed some banana cake and coconut rolls from a bakery for breaky! 

It was a 3hour journey from the mainland out to our first destination, Barefoot Manta. It was beautiful scenery seeing all the other islands along the way. We payed a little extra to stay in the Captains Lounge which was so worth it because we got to sit in an air-conditioned comfy room with free food and wine! 

On arriving at Barefoot Manta we were greeted by Fijians singing and dancing! We had a small tour of the island and checked in to our cute little 4 dorm hut! 

We went for a swim and had a sunbake. Then we went for dinner and cocktails. As I was getting ready for bed, brushing my teeth in the outside sink, I saw a clear gecko with bludging black eyes and I promptly headed to bed and placed my bug net tightly around me and called it a night. 

Flying to Fiji! #Day1

Bula! (Hello) 
Flying Melbourne to Nadi, Fiji. 
12:10 flight. The flight left 5minutes early and was only a 4 and a half hour journey. 

We collected our bags within 5 minutes and walked out of security to find our driver waiting for us. It was a quick 15 minute journey from the airport to our hotel, Smugglers Cove. 
Smugglers Cove is in an area where lots of other resorts are so heres wasn't much to explore. We had dinner at our hotel and went to bed!

Flying Home

Sunday the 18th 
Flying home 

We left the hotel at 10am for our 2:30pm flight. Our first flight is a domestic flight to Guangzhou in the South of China. It is a 3 hour and 30 minute journey. We have a 3 hour stop over in Guangzhou. 
Our flight home to Melbourne is 9 hours and 30 minutes. We land at 9:45am on Monday the 19th. 

Across this trip I have learnt that Chinese people are very hard working and highly value education. They also have an awesome sense of humor and are very friendly! 
I have loved this trip, we have had some amazing experience and met some lovely people. The tour is amazing value for money and we got to see so much. The highlight would have to be the Great Wall! I've also gotten really great at using chop sticks woohoo! 

Now to come home to 29 degrees, full of far too many dumplings and noodles!