Bula! If you’ve been following along on our journey to Fiji (you can catch up here), we left off after just touching down in Nadi, after our 11-hour Fiji Airways flight from Los Angeles. Once off the plane, we cleared immigration, which took 30 minutes since we were among the very last passengers off the aircraft (we sat in the back of the plane) and stopped to take a couple of photos, including the one below.
When we finally got to baggage claim, our bags were waiting for us. Airport staff looked like they were just about to put them in storage since they hadn’t been collected.
Next we went through customs (they scan all bags including carry-on) and then looked for our driver from Rosie Holidays, a local tour and transport operator. He greeted me, my wife and our two kids with a shell necklace each, grabbed our bags and together, we made our way to the parked electric van.
Good to know: There’s a Westpac ATM on the way out and I was going to get some Fijian Dollars ($1 US Dollar = 2.27 Fijian Dollars) but I keep my ATM card locked and T-Mobile service was so slow, I couldn’t get online to unlock it. Plus, the ATM fee was $15 FJD and at the time, I didn’t know how much Bank of America would charge me so I decided to just use my credit cards. I later exchanged US dollars at my hotel for tips (or taxis if you plan to take them).
It was a 20-minute drive to Port Denarau where we were going to catch the first ferry of the day to Castaway Island. The South Sea Cruises boat departs at 9:30am (boarding is at 9:10) and it was only 7:50am when we arrived.
We checked in at the counter, checked our luggage and went to the grocery store that had just opened at 8am to get some air conditioning, cold drinks and snacks.
I later discovered an even better place to grab food. If you go out the back door of the grocery store, across the sidewalk is The Hot Bread Kitchen. It’s a small local chain and boy, do they serve the best meat pies you’ve ever tasted!
Get the chillie (that’s how it’s spelled) chicken pie ($6.31 FJD = $2.76) and a coconut roll ($1.89FJD = $0.82 USD). You can thank me later. If you have a sweet tooth, next door is New Zealand Ice Cream and they serve Hokey Pokey vanilla with caramel swirls and honeycomb.
South Sea Cruises uses a high-speed catamaran and it made a couple of stops (at Malamala and Mana islands) before reaching Castaway. We sat upstairs, which is open air but covered but it was still quite hot. Downstairs was air conditioned. Either way, the ride was smooth and enjoyable. Despite our long journey to get there, me, my wife and our kids were all just in awe of being in in the South Pacific. It felt like a dream.
FYI: My T-Mobile cell service worked well on ferry for the duration of our journey but the data speeds weren’t very fast.
We arrived at 11am and because the water around Castaway Island is quite shallow, hotel guests are picked up in tenders. The transfer of luggage and guests was seamless. From there, just sit back and enjoy the welcome ceremony because it’s very special. There were at least 20 staff members, some playing guitars, and all welcoming us in song and dance and finishing with a loud Bula (welcome in Fijian). It was truly AMAZING. Above is a short video to give you a taste of what to expect.
Part Three: Hotel review: Castaway Island Resort
Part Four: Nanuku Resort Fiji
KEEP READING
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–How to get a full bottle of water through airport security
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