The life and times of Libby Withnall

We woke up to rain. Nice for a lazy Sunday morning but not motivating to get out and explore.

So we stayed in and played on our laptops before making breakfast in the most poorly equipment kitchen I have EVER come across (having only crockery, pots and a few large utensils does not make for easy cooking).

At 11am we checked out…

and drove over the Star City Casino. We were to meet Nan, Pop and my Granny but they were caught in traffic, so had a bit of wait for them to arrive.

We took some photos while waiting.

Eventually they arrived and with less than an hour for lunch we made a mad dash for the buffet. The food was great but everyone was a bit stressed with the fact we had to eat and run. There was hardly any talking, just eating.

We arrived at the theatre to the chimes ringing. I grabbed a quick photo as we moved promptly to find out seats.

We had barely 5mins till the lights dimmed and the show began.

It was a wonderful musical and we all thoroughly enjoyed. Christy, who is a big fan of the movie, was a bit confused that some parts were different but she just loved the show – esp. the kids and Sandy (Annie’s dog).

We should have stayed for a cuppa afterwards but we headed to the car and back to Wollongong. It was a fun weekend away and lovely hanging out all together.

We had leisurely start to the morning and eventually left home just after 10am. First stop was Gloria Jeans for iced chocolates (and coffee for Kevin).

We went via Sarah’s home to drop her off, had a bit of a chat with Noel and Leanne, and a play with Russ (who has grown so much). Then it was on to Sydney where I was excited to find us a prime parking spot.

We then walked over to the Powerhouse Museum…

for the Harry Potter Exhibition.

We were early for the tour time (be sure to book beforehand if you’re going as the rest of the day was booked out) so headed to the outdoor cafe to get some lunch.

A friendly pigeon was minding a table for us.

My baguette (with brie and tomato) yummy, the coconut water horrendous.

We headed for our 2pm tour 15mins early (which I think was a good move). The audio tour was so-so but I think still worth doing, it definitely told you a lot more about the movie making but we agree it could have been done a lot better.

We had a bit of wait in line till we got through. It was crowded, but manageable. Unfortunately you weren’t allowed to take photos. Which was a real bummer as Christy was one the children chosen to be  sorted into a house by the sorting hat. Her house – Gryffendor.

We took about 1.5 hours to go through the exhibit and it was so fun seeing all the props from the movie. We all really enjoyed it. If you love the Harry Potter movies then you’ll love the exhibit. There is, of course, a shop at the end. Christy got a sloppy joe and Amy a t-shirt. Then Christy had a tantrum over not getting a Hermione wand…… which cost $60!. She wanted it to play with and I had to explain it was more of a souvenier. Well at the price it was one expensive toy.

My feet were really feeling it  by now (I find 2 hours is my limit) so I found a comfy couch while Kevin & the girls explored a few other things in the museum

We then had a short drive to our hotel – the Radisson Plaza. We had booked a 2 bedroom apartment, and while the space is nice, I really don’t think this room was good value for money.

We hung out for a bit while Kevin and Christy sorted out their Bertie Bott’s beans. Kevin was brave and tried ALL the flavours.

Apparently vomit and ear wax wasn’t too bad, but Rotten Egg  was pretty bad!!!

I then took the girls to the indoor pool for a swim.

Then there was computer time. Kevin was concentrating on his game.

Christy made herself some toast for dinner…

and Kevin was kind enough to go and get the rest of us Pie Face.

He also picked up some mini apple pies for dessert.

Around 8.30pm we all got sick of the couch – which wasn’t the most comfortable, so headed off to our beds (with computers or i-pads). And I made myself a cup of tea…. or two …. as the cups were so small.

After a bad nights sleep I got up at 4am, read some blogs on my i-pad and went back for a little nap around 6.30am. Eventually we all got up, dressed and packed. Then headed for our last breakfast.

I’ll miss having breakfast cooked for me every morning, and I’ll especially miss the smoothies and juices – without the clean up.

As we were leaving we ran in Brendan, my childhood friend – who has been sick the last 4 days. I didn’t get to have much of a catch up with him but I did have a few chats with his lovely wife.

We took a stroll down to the beach…

then back to our room. On our way up to reception Christy said farewell to one of the kids club ladies…

When our bus arrived to take us to airport we recieved our last “bulla”….

and scenes of island life…

At the airport we got checked in….

had some lunch and did some shopping…

before boarding our flight (and  having to dispose of the 4 bottles of drink we had JUST bought )….

Our last glimpse of Fiji….

Reading, watching TV and relaxing on the flight home…

On our approach to Sydney we spotted one of cruise ships heading out to sea…

One last limo ride home….

and we’re nearly home….

I can’t believe it’s our last day in Fiji – so sad. Since it’s “do what you want” day it’s only fitting that we operate on Fiji time. Those of you who have been here will totally undertand the saying. Basically means turns up when you’re good and ready and don’t worry about it .

With that in mind we eventually headed to breakfast around 9am, after stopping to visit with this little fella.

Today’s breakfast saw me indulge in both a smoothie and a watermelon juice. Plus the usual.

It was during breakfast that we noticed one of Christy’s eyelids swelling up. She’s obviously had a reaction to a bite. Luckily Kevin had some lotion and  medicine for her.

The girls headed off to do some jewellery making and we headed for the pool. As you can see we pretty much had it to our ourselves.

I read a couple of mags by the pool and started the latest Janet Evanovich book, which I had been saving for this trip.

At 12pm Kevin and I took the girls to do some more craft but the lady never turned up (she’s on Fiji time as well) so Christy made another necklace.

We then went to the beach….

to watch the coconut husking demonstration….

It’s so amazing, and wonderful, that every part of the tree has a use.

We got to try some of the coconut as well. So fresh and moist. Check out Christy’s eye in this photo .

Then it was back to the pool to have our last poolside lunch delivered.

I had the messy and most delicious veggie wrap again.

After a swim and time for lunch to go down I ordered my very last Fijian virgin pina colada.

Christy went to kids club for the afternoon session, and I met her back at the room (where Kevin & Amy had been enjoying the air conditioning – it was really hot today) in time for her horse riding.

She went on a hour long ride today and seemed to love it just as much as yesterday.

Sprinter is a gorgeous horse…

and Christy got a little teary eyed knowing she wouldn’t see him again…

The girls ordered room service for dinner.

And at 6.30pm we went to watch the torch lighting ceremony. The torch lighter was on Fiji time so the drumming and shell playing went on for quite some time, which meant Christy got to play along.

Eventually the torch lighter turned up and Christy was able to light some (got it on video, not photographed).

After the kids went to kids club (for the last time) the rest of us went to pick up some last souveniers. While up at the reception we saw the most gorgeous sunset. And, of course, for the first time ALL week I didn’t have my camera. We raced to get it and down to the beach but the sun had already sunk below the horizon.

The resort is just as beautiful at night as it is during the day.

Back to the room to find our last after dinner drink had arrived. Mum & I don’t drink them but we enjoy the treats .

We had planned to go out for our last dinner – just us adults but it was SOO hot today/tonight we just wanted to stay in the air-conditioning, so we ordered some room service. I had a lovely salad.

The food here has been fantastic. We would just have liked a takeaway cafe to be able to grab a snack for  dinner.  We had no internet tonight so ended up heading to bed around 9.30pm for some reading. No one wants to pack up and go home in the morning.

Another magical day in paradise. It seems to be harder and harder for everyone to get up, even I had trouble after being up for a couple of hours during the night (I’m battling the start of a cold). But Kevin & Amy were off early for a scuba dive. It was Amy’s first proper dive and she loved it.

It was after 9am by the time everyone was up and dressed and ready for breakfast. Since our Village Tour left at 10am we only had time for the buffet. Fine by me as I love the selection. Today I had the most delicious Paw paw smoothie.

And a selection of my other favourites….

We couldn’t linger today, and headed up to reception, only to have to wait over 15 mins for one of the guests to turn up – even her family wasn’t happy with her. The Fijians didn’t worry at all. I do love their relaxed, carefree attitude.

It was just a five minute drive to the village of Malevu, with a population of 342, where many of the staff come from. Uncle Jim was just supposed to take us there but the village guide didn’t turn up (here’s where the relaxed attitude isn’t so good) so he ended up doing the whole tour.

We didn’t really see a whole lot of the village but enough to give us an idea what it’s like.

When you live with a view like this wouldn’t you be happy all the time like the Fijians?

We also came across the smallest pup I’ve ever seen.

Which of course all the kids wanted to pat, and like dogs everywhere it quickly demanded a tummy rub. The dogs here are pets or used for hunting wild pigs.

We were then invited into the meeting area where we got to sample some kava. It really does taste like muddy water but isn’t overly bad.

Christy did really well trying it and actually “says”she  likes it. Both her and I even accepted a second bowl (which is really just a mouthful). Unfortunately I didn’t capture Nan’s expression. Horrified was how we’d described it. She was aiming for a blank look . I’m sure they’re used to tourist but you aren’t supposed to refuse it – just taste and smile in thanks.

We then bought a few things from the locals and Christy posed for a photo with these gorgeous Fijian girls. Isn’t the little one in the red the cutest thing ever?

The Fijian society is really a wonderful thing. Love how doors are left open till evening, family and clan is everything, neighbours help neighbours, children are even adopted by brothers if they can’t have kids. Western society could certainly learn a lot.

At 12pm we boarded the bus back to the resort and sent a message to Kevin to meet us at the Sundowner for lunch. I had the tapas again.

We then headed to the room for a quick change and off to the pool for a swim. It was really rather hot and muggy today. After a swim the girls wanted to tie die a shirt.

Unfortunately Christy couldn’t wait to see her shirt being down as she had a date at the beach…

a date with Sprinter….

She went on a guided 30 40 minute ride up the beach….

and absolutely loved it. So much so she wants to go for an hour tomorrow.

We then headed back for another swim, and relief from the heat. Then back to the room before it was time for the fire walking show.

Uncle Jim was on hand to (repeat) tell us info about the culture of Fiji and about the fire walkers.

Kevin said the stones are about 60deg cel. Don’t think I’d want to be standing on them.

After the show we headed to the buffet dinner for a Fjian feast.

Mum was nice to enough to buy flower leis for us girls.

I snapped this cute pic of my Mum & Dad…

and of Christy… both of whom looked very tropcial…

Kevin enjoyed his nightly cocktail…

The buffet looked lovely… lots of yummy salads (that I enjoyed) and local (meat) specialties.

My first plate. The second contained some rice and the yummiest ever ratatouille.

And once I’d spied the desserts I made sure to leave some room for them.

But I was so keen to dig in I forgot to take a photo until after I’d started eating! The key lime pie, mango slice and coconut macaroons were all delicious.

After dinner there was a traditional meke show with dancing and singing.

It was really enjoyable and the girls, who were right down the front, had fun being frightened by lunging warriors and (fake) spears. At the end the kids were invited to dance and join in.

It was a lovely end to our culture filled day. Kevin, unfortunately hadn’t been feeling well and I was developing a cold-induced headache. So it was back to our bure for a bit a quiet time before a relatively early night. We’re all feeling a little sad that tomorrow is our last day. We’re declared it “everyone do what you want day”, except I’m guessing Kevin & I will have to go along with what the kids want to do .

We had preordered breakfast to be delivered at 8am….

because we had a date with the beach for some snorkelling…

Is this a postcard or what?

We got our gear and headed out. Kevin gave instruction to my Mum (who only once snorkelled)

I took video and photos – but underwater it’s hard to see what you’re shooting so I only have 2 photos to share…. which is probably a relief to you all . There were lots of fish – some big, some colourful, some slugs, gorgeous blue starfish…

and a pretty cute eel….

After about a hour exploring we headed back to land…

and promptly sat in the sun to dry off and enjoy the view….

while the girls went for a kayak…

Doesn’t this photo just scream FIJI?????

We had wanted to go a tour of gardens but after waiting 15min gave up on the guide turning up. So we headed poolside for some swimming and reading…

Christy had fun joining in aqua aerobics.

It was pretty hot out today and we felt we’d had enough sun. After getting changed we headed to the poolside restaurant Bavari for lunch…only to discover it had the same poolside menu! Not that it mattered very much.

I chose to have the mango, avocado and macadamia salad that Kevin’s had a few times.

At 2pm Kevin dropped the girls at kids club and went spent some time reading indoors and in the air conditioning. I think it’s the first time we’ve hung out here all week, except for early morning and the evening.

At some stage Kevin wandered off to get himself a cocktail. As you can tell for a normally non-drinker he’s really gotten into the spirit of a tropcial holiday.

After kids club Christy put on some the fake nails from Santa (a bonus is she now can’t bite her nails) and headed back out to swim with her friends.

Around 4pm Nan, Pop and I went for a walk to explore a bit more of the resrot.

Just the four of us went to dinner tonight as Mum & Dad weren’t yet hungry but we needed to feed the girls before they went to kids club. We headed back to Baravi, and discovered they had a different menu at night.

Look at how brown Christy is getting…

We received some complimentary dumplings to start…

and enjoyed some of the night-time torch lighting ceremony…

I had a vegetarian chow mein. It was nice but a little bland. Unlike Amy’s chili dish which I sampled!!!

Then it was a quiet night back in our bure. We had planned for a post dinner swim but we were much too full. Maybe another night.

Christmas morning was almost like at home. It was odd having no tree to put presents under but the girls found a place to hang their stockings and Santa was kind to enough to visit us here. I got up around 6.30am and next up was Christy at 7.30am.

She quickly roused everyone else out of bed for present opening.

They didn’t get a lot this year in physical presents but tickets to see Annie from Nan & Pop and tickets to the Harry Potter exhibit and a night in Sydney from us (all co-ordinated to be on the same weekend).

After presents we got dressed and went to have breakfast at the buffet again.

Today I had a strawberry smoothie shot – actually I had two . And there were chick pea patties today. Of course, I had some of the rye bread and a pastry.

We’ve really enjoyed the live music during meals. Today we had Christmas carols.

Christy had to leave during breakfast to finish having her hair braided.

Then it was time to go watch for Santa’s arrival at the beach. The girls (bottom, right of photo) went down to sit in the water, and you can see Santa right near the reef line.

He arrived via kayak, after a big walk along the reef line (poor Santa), and handed out lollies to the kids.

Such a fun idea. But I have to wonder what the kids(used to a fat, white Santa) thought of this black Fijian one.

While we were there our old neighbours found us. They are currently living and working in Fiji and stopped by on their way to a Christmas lunch. I haven’t seen them in many years so it was lovely to catch up and I know Mum & Dad really enjoyed the visit. Kevin spent the time giving i-pad lessons to their daughter .

When they left at 12.30pm we headed for the pool and scouted out some lounges in the shade.

We went straight in for a swim, then read…

while waiting for lunch to arrive. Today I had a BBQ wrap, it was chicken but they made it vegetarian. And OMG it was delicious. I’ll definitely be having this again before we leave.

After a few more hours of swimming, reading, trying to sleep, and an ice-cream, we went back to the room where I showered and got ready for tonight (including makeup!!!) and enjoyed a cup of tea and a magazine. We didn’t see much of Christy today as she spent much of it with a new friend.

We had our turn down service early today (I assume due to limited staff).

And at 6pm headed to the Sundowner bar and grill for our Christmas dinner.

Loved the special Christmas cocktails – how cute are they?

The table was set beautifully.

We took some photos just as the rain pulled in.

I don’t know why Kevin always looks so unimpressed. I promise he is having a good time.

He looked a bit cheerier when his Santa’s Kiss cocktail arrived.

The first course of our four courses – bread. Yummy. The lighting is very dull EVERYWHERE indoors here in Fiji so you’ll have to excuse the dark photos.

Time to pull the crackers and tell some corny jokes.

Course 2…. On my goodness….SOOOOO much food.

We loved the guitar player. He was amazing. There was a mix of Christmas music and classics.

The girls had ducked out half way through dinner but Amy came back towards the end.

Third course…. we asked them to bring less food… not sure if they listened…

My plate….plus more potatoes…

Fourth and final course….dessert….this yule log was my favourite….

Christmas pudding…

and ice cream….

A very delicious and delightful end to Christmas Day in Fji.

Hope you all had a wonderful day, wherever and however you celebrate.

I was up early again at 4.30am. But do you remembemy request for blue skies???? Look what I saw when the sun finally rose?

Kevin headed off for a scuba dive at 7.30am. Amy was up around then and Nan & Pop not till after 8am. Christy was sound asleep. We started trying to wake her up gently at 9am with natural night, cuddles, etc but it took shaking and loud talking to rouse her. Poor thing, we were just getting desperate for some breakfast.

As we walked out Nan’s door we realized that they actually have a water view – look carefully through the trees….

Christy had opted to stay in bed while we headed off to the buffet breakfast.

Such a great selection with smoothie shots, made to order omelettes, fresh fruit, a juice bar and more of those yummy pastries. I’d had my first (small) plate when Christy arrived covereed in bites, so I had to rush off up the hill to get some stop itch. I think this is the first trip in forever that I haven’t packed any!!!

Itching problem solved I could finish my breakfast. The juice was pineapple and ginger. Nice but a little too gingery for me. The citrus steamed potatoes and baked beans were my favs.

We were still doing breakfast when the girls headed off to do some (paid) craft. Shortly after Nan, Pop and I headed for the pool, and pretty much dove straight in.

We were still in when the girls arrived back with their creations….

and then joined us in the pool. With Kevin showing up not long after. He enjoyed his dive (and was the only one on the trip) but had sinus problems so postponed his second dive.

The girls found the hair braiding lady. Amy had a just a few put in but Christy conned Kevin into letting her get her whole head done. It’s such a long procedure (unlike in Mexican where Amy had her whole head of long hair done in around 10mins) and she’s to go back for the second half tomorrow morning.

Remember me telling you about the little touches – here is the poolside toilets….

Ah…. must be time for another mocktail….

After an hour in the chair Christy returned. She loves her braids – I’m just not sure about the little antlers from her fringe .

Life certainly passes at a slow pace here on the island but eventually  it was time for lunch. Today we headed to the beachside grill.

Great service….

A great view….

and great food. Kevin and I shared a tapas (my first) which is why you might spot meatballs and prawns on the plate.

Everything was delicious.

And here’s the beach photo I didn’t take yesterday… will definitely need to come hang out here sometime this week…

Back to the pool while Amy does an intro to scuba class in the pool. I get a few hair braids at Kevin’s suggestion and find the only unfriendly staff we’ve come across. Then enjoy some tea by the pool.

Around 3pm the clouds rolled in and unleashed a considerable amount of water so we headed back to the room. Here’s Christy pretending to be Santa guiding his sleigh.

Not sure how well I captured the rain….

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but here’s the path off the verandah….

The best part of the rain, besides giving us this lush landscape, was all the frogs we saw hopping around. It was so cute. Not sure if you can make this one out – he’s the brown blob in the middle right of the photo.

We spent  a bit of time hanging out in our room, then (while Kevin had a sleep) we walked up to check out the shops and visited the ladies from the nearby village who come in to sell their homemade items. Christy was excited to get a grass skirt and this sarong, necklace and head band. Amy also got quite a few goodies.

We made sure to organise dinner before the girls had to head off to kids club. Pizza via room service tonight. Yum.

We dropped off the girls, who were going frog hunting tonight and head to carols by candlelight. We weren’t sure what to expect and didn’t really want to sing ourselves, so were thrilled to just be able to listen to the resort/village choir. No music, just their wonderful voices.

While there Kevin enjoyed his cocktail of the day, them promptly felt unwell (don’t think it was related to the cocktail).

The resort is just as beautiful at night as it is during the day…

Back in our room we shared a cheese plate and waited till the girls to come back from kids club.

Which they did at 9pm happy and dirting after catching frogs and watching them race!!! Time to hang out the stockings for Santa and drag out bedtime as long as possible by tracking Santa on the Nordic tracker site. It was after 10pm before both girls finally fell asleep. It wouldn’t be a problem except Christy has a 9am appointment to get her braids finished off….

Oh, here’s a photo showing some of my braids

NOTE: There are constant greetings of bula all the time, whenever you pass or see a staff member. It really is lovely. The Fijians are a very friendly bunch.

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Some things never change and I was awake about 4.30pm and up at 5am having a cup of tea and catching up on blogs. It was dark when I got up and it didn’t get light until after 6.30am.

Quite a nice view when it does.

One by one everyone else eventually woke up but it wasn’t until 9am that everyone was up. Rather than go out to eat we decided to order room service for breakfast. We got 4 meals for the 6 of us and it was still a ridiculous amount of food. We actually kept 3 of the plates of fruit and 2 of the pastry plates to have later!

My breakfast was a poached egg, toast, some fruit and a couple of the pastries.

Love the fresh cut flowers that accompany everything – even breakfast!

Before breakfast I’d taken the girls and registered them for kids club and at 10am they went back for the their first session. We weren’t sure how Amy would be (being that it’s for 12 and unders and she’d be amongst the oldest) but when we saw her later she seemed to be having lots of fun.

On our exploration walk we ran into an childhood school friend. I knew he was here (thanks to facebook) but didn’t expect to run into him so quickly. It was lovely to have a little catch up. We saw the girls heading into the pool for some pool games and went down to have a look at the beach. It’s a rather overcast day (still warm, but not stinking hot) so I didn’t take any photos here – saving that for a blue sky day.

Kevin found the dive shop and got some info, and we headed back to our room. We got there just as the cleaners did so hung outside. It was getting rather warm and we were keen for a swim so after picking up the girls at 12pm, headed for the pool. Our room is in a great location, right beside kids club, which is right beside the pool. It really couldn’t be any better for us. The bures by the beach looked nice but there was no privacy from people walking past, they only sleep 2, and are further from the pool.

Once at the pool it was straight in for all of us. The water is a wonderful temperature, one that is lovely to be in for some time. Refreshed we got out and promptly ordered some drinks. Another cocktail for Kevin and virgin pina coladas for Amy and myself. Not quite sure why my family all cover themselves with towels. It wasn’t that hot and the sun wasn’t out!

I was sitting under an umbrella so had no worries.

We spent quite a few hours hanging out by the pool. We enjoyed lunch delivered to our sun lounges – falafel wrap…

and later an ice cream….

I must have been too relaxed to take many photos today. The kids came and went – Christy loved hanging out in the hammock outside our room – later she told me she was Santa and it was her sleigh . Kevin went back to the room for a sleep and later booked himself a dive for tomorrow. Even I had a little nap by the pool. Around 4pm we headed back. I showered and changed and Kevin and I went up to the shops for a few things.

Shortly after our return our talei (butler) arrived with champagne softdrinks and a plate of canapes (with chicken). We read and chatted and were still here when he returned with night caps. We hadn’t had dinner yet, but Kevin happily had his drink anyway .

The only problem we’ve had is that the rooms are quite dully lit. The middle lounge area is probably the brightest but as dusk fell even that proved a little dark for Mum trying to do a crossword. Kevin to the rescue. Those who know him will not be surprised….

Of course we all died laughing when Mum put the headlight on – but at least she could see. She was giving me the “don’t you dare take my photo” look. But I did and think it’s priceless .

The kids went off the kids club again and we finally ordered some room service for dinner. Amy had pizza, Kevin chicken wings, Dad a club sandwich.

Mum & I had veggie stirfry (hers with chicken). It was so yummy. We ordered a bowl of rice for Christy who was still at kids club (Amy had come back early).

Then more chatting and reading before everyone got tired and headed off to bed. I stayed up with Christy who was still eating her dinner and we headed to bed around 9.30pm. It’s been a near perfect day with only rain in the morning and evening, but I would like to see some blue skies tomorrow .

It was a  very early wake up this morning and it was lucky we had the alarm set for 4am as we were both fast asleep when it went off. After a quick cuddle with the pups we dragged ourselves out of bed to get dressed and do a final pack. We put the dogs outside ready for the puppy sitter who would be arriving later in the morning and just on 5am are limo arrived and we were on our way. It was still dark when we left so we were able to enjoy the sunrise as we arrived in Sydney.

With 6 of us in the limo is was surprisingly not very comfy but we managed. Mum, who is a nervous flyer (and hasn’t flown in over 10 years) was relaxing.

We arrived at Sydney airport… and yes I agree a limo with a trailer is not quite so glamorous

got checked in for our flight…

and went through immigration and security with little wait. Christy was sad to have missed Santa in the duty free shop but we did see him wondering around later (and only had photos taken with yesterday!).

She did, however, get to make friends with the Milka cow and ring his bell.

After a bit of shopping – Opi nailpolish and Locataine – we found a Gloria Jeans and got some breakfast.

An egg sandwich and iced chocolate for me.

Then just after 8am it was time to board our flight.

It was uneventful flight, which Mum coped with amazingly well. I used my i-pad to get caught up with Google Reader.

And I had to laugh when I saw what happened to my chip packet .

Roughly 3 and 3/4 hours later we were flying over Fiji…

Suddenly we weren’t complaining of being cold anymore!!! After clearing immigration and collecting our luggage we meet up with our transfer company, where we received a lei greeting.

After a short, but seemingly long wait, our mini bus departed for the 1.5 hour trip to our resort. I really loved seeing the lush landscape, the clouds rolling in, the cows beside the road, the roadside fruit stalls, the lines full of drying clothes outside each home,

the homes of the locals – both wealthy and poor,

and the vehicles FULL of pineapples!!!

Christy (and Amy) both nodded off…

but Kevin and I really enjoyed the passing view…

Then finally we were arriving at our resort and hearing “Bulla” yelled at us in greeting as we drove through the entrance.

At reception we were greeted with refreshing cold towelettes…

and iced tea….

Then we got to check out the resort. We were told where everything was and made our Christmas dinner booking…

before being taken to our family bure…

which is just gorgeous…check out that ceiling…

and the detailed touches…

which might just have come from the tree outside our bure…

We have two bures with an interconnecting lounge area – perfect for two families. Nan & Pop have the bure with a king bed and sofa (but no bath in the bathroom). After getting settled and Kevin sorting out the internet (his main priority upon arrival) we headed off for some much needed dinner. We had missed lunch (only having cheese & crackers on the plane) and with the time zone difference of two hour it wasn’t quite as bad as it sounds, but we were all ready to eat . It was raining, so we grabbed our complimentary umbrellas and headed off. We got to meet (and pat) a gorgeous lizard from the local wildlife park upon our entrance to the buffet resturant.

The place is beautifully decorated, with some subtle Christmas touches which I love. Yay, our first family dinner in Fiji!

The theme changed here each night but as soon as we heard it was Mexican tonight my family was rather excited. Now, I could have started with the cold selection….

but instead I headed straight to the Quesadilla bar

where a very friendly Fijian made me a delicious vegetarian quesadilla, which along with the rest of my meal was delicious. My second plate looked almost the same as the first .

Kevin enjoyed with first cocktail of the week and Amy enjoyed her first mocktail.

I barely had any room left for dessert but once I saw the selection I just had to give it a try.

It was all lovely but by far my favourite was the mango mousse – the blob at the front of my plate. Yummo!!!

It was dusk when we left, after handshakes and farewells from the bar man, and the torches had been lit.

The girls had left before us and were already in the pool, which they said was lovely.

Kevin headed back to the room and Nan, Pop and I went to check out the general shop, and pick up some essetials, and replace Christy’s kids band which was ripped. When we got back I looked in our window!!!

Our bure is very secluded and private and just magical at night with the lights on. I’m sure everyone will sleep well after such a long day. And tomorrow we’ll get to explore the resort some more and check out the beach.

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