Our honeymoon - In the beginning, there was Fiji

For those of you unaware, Michael and I went on our honeymoon over the December/January holidays. The plan was to go to New Zealand for 3 weeks, catch up with friends I hadn't seen in over 4 years, and go adventuring in the South Island. We wound up scoring tickets that flew through Fiji on Air Pacific. The more we thought about it, the more stupid it sounded not to take advantage of being in Fiji and decided to spend a few days there.
But wow, really? Fiji? Seemed to be one of those dream destinations that you fantasize about going to "someday" but never actually consider a reality. I mean, going to New Zealand was enough of a dream of ours, but Fiji just sounded surreal.
I did a little research and found out that we would be there during Fiji's rainy season. Well, we thought, of course. But screw it! Let's go anyway, and the worst case scenario would have us hunkering in our bure (Fijian for cabin) while the skies rained buckets down on us for three days. That actually didn't sound half bad.
So we went!

The TV screen as our flight arrived in Nadi Airport, Fiji Islands

5:15am Fiji time. 22 hours of traveling

Our horse and carriage (we were on the upper deck)

Fiji airport: hot, tired, and excited

Upon our arrival to Nadi, we got our first dose of Fijian culture. The first thing we experienced as we stepped off the plane was the ground crew shouting "Bula!" to each and every passenger. It's the standard Fijian greeting, and is used often. Very often. And it's the awesomest welcome ever.

We were then greeted by our driver from Matanivusi Surf Resort, which is where we'd spend the next 3 days. It was a 2-hour drive to the resort, and as we watched the sun rise from the back seat, we started getting an idea of what we were in for.

The drive to the resort

 

The village next to the resort

We drove through all sorts of terrain, passing multitudes of dogs, goats, cows, and people traversing the roads. The last 5 minutes gave us a bumpy ride through the jungle - no joke. It turned out that the resort was nestled between the jungle and the beach.

Our arrival at Matanivusi

Paradise!

Shot from the deck of our bure

A honeymoon treat for us from Donna & Brian, the kind owners of the resort

Fresh flowers and mosquito netting

We got settled and immediately started exploring what would be our home for the next few days.

Our bure as seen from the beach

Our beach (and Sadie!)

More beach

Happiness

Sadie playing fetch

There were native bananas growing outside our door. Small, green, and super sweet

The path from the main bure to our own little one

Matanivusi is billed as an eco-resort. From their website:

"The principles being to make as little impact as possible during construction, implement best sustainable operating practices and integration with the local Fijian villagers. Minimal clearing was done to allow for the main building and the 6 bures. Using post and beam construction there has been minimal disturbance to the area.  The native vegetation along the beachfront has been maintained and new plantings will protect the beach from any erosion & rising storm surges."

The structures were built from trees that had been cleared to allow room for the resort. The resort collects rainwater in tanks for use throughout and special worms are used to deal with "refuse".

Another view of our bure

Crystal-clear water

Enjoying our honeymoon gift before lunch

Paw-paws (papayas) growing throughout the resort. 

At night we would hear them *thudding* on our roof after the fruitbats would gnaw them off the tree

Our first activity - heading out to snorkel

And attempt to fish

Our little lagoon

Pretty

View of the pool from the main bure

Relaxing after a very hard day

Dinner! Fresh tuna caught earlier in the day

Me and Shirley - a real hoot and Donna's mother visiting from Oz

Sunning area at the main bure

Dinner was communal and usually held outside (with the mosquitoes and bats).

Beach time before dinner

Our first Matanivusi sunset

Our first Matanivusi rainbow

Sadie doing her thing (namely playing fetch over, and over, and over, and over...)

This bull shark was caught by another guest and friend of the owners

Mike having his moment with the shark

The shark was given to the family next door

That's a moth. And a gecko.

Next post: Fiji Day 2!