Our next stop was Mantaray and we were feeling slightly homesick being away from our Naqalia family!

We were greeted once again by the Bula song and the staff gave us a warm welcoming and showed us to our Bure – A cosy bungalow in the trees with a balcony!

This was definitely more of a resort, there was a beach bar with lounge chairs and sofas, a large dining hall up in the trees and many more people staying on the island. It still had a very friendly feel, the staff were lovely and we were looking forward to relaxing in one of the many hammocks on the beach.

We had a yummy lunch and then went snorkelling. It was AMAZING! So many gorgeous fish, so many different colours and it was only five metres off the beach! Absolutely no need to go on a snorkelling trip when you have such amazing coral and sea life within walking distance. Our new Norwegian friends said that this was actually better than the Great Barrier Reef – being so untouched and the fact that you basically had it to yourself!

 

The majority of our time here was spent relaxing or eating! The food was very yummy and there was a lot of choice. Daily dinner menus (four courses) big lunches and buffet breakfasts – we ate very well!!

In the sun we relaxed on the beach in hammocks watching the world go by and in the rain (one afternoon) we drank gin and played cards! It’s cyclone season here at the moment so rain is expected.

After two nights we were packed up again and ready for our next stop – Navatua village home stay. We were extremely excited and keen to get a slice of the village life. Having such a great experience with our Fijian family in Naqalia we couldn’t wait to meet everybody on the new island.

We had booked through Airbnb and there were a group of bungalows that the village had built for the Homestays, they looked basic but pleasant with lovely views of the beach/sea, so we booked one for three nights.

Unfortunately we didn’t have quite the experience we were hoping for and I must point out that we were completely aware it wasn’t going to be luxurious, we knew there wouldn’t be electricity or a proper shower however we did not expect to be living in an old bathroom…..

Oh yes, it seemed they had overbooked (which is apparently pretty common) and shoved us in to a make shift room, next to another make shift room where another guest would also be sleeping. Our temporary walls and flooring were made of cardboard (paddle board packaging) and our bed was a piece of foam on top of a wooden plank (It was also damp)

So, as Ryan probably expected, I had a bit of a moment when we arrived (trying not to lose my ship) Shortly followed by him having a moment when he stood on a staple that was left sticking up from our luxury flooring.
Don’t worry mums it wasn’t a rusty one and he has had his tetanus!

I am very aware that this is a Fijian village and that their way of life is much different to ours and if this is what we had expected then I guess we would have either prepared ourselves or would have chosen to stay elsewhere however we had paid to stay in a bungalow and in reality we were sharing a room made of cardboard.

Luckily the weather was nice and we were still in Fiji so we had a dip in the sea and had a rant about the current situation. We had to laugh and it was fine whilst the sun was shining but we weren’t looking forward to spending three nights here!

Breakfast and afternoon tea were served over by the homestay bungalows and a lovely lady called Melle took care of us – her and her husband were very hardworking and seemed to be the most genuine people we met on the island. Lunch and dinner were cooked by different families each day and we got to meet and chat to lots of the women about life on the island – most had family over from the mainland for Christmas so little kiddies were running around everywhere and playing in the sea – very sweet.

Night one was pretty sleepless and by the end of day two we had booked to leave the island the following day and spend what would be our third night at Blue Lagoon (where we were booked in after the homestay anyway)

Ryans new Slovakian/New Zealand friend (another guest) had been on a hike the day before with his girlfriend which was a bit of a disaster from them getting very lost and spending hours finding their way (because the ‘sign posted’ trail obviously had no signs what so ever) and him loosing his sunglasses whilst fighting off wasps (standard – he got stung about seven times) so Ryan went to help find the sunglasses whilst there was light rain in hope that the wasps wouldn’t attack again! It seemed no one was having a good time on this island!

He also found out that his new friend was in to triathlons and he had been swimming for the last few days a kilometre over to honeymoon island. He roped Ryan in to it although the water was a bit choppy and so they set off with their masks and snorkels as there was a reef near the other island. One of the local guys had said there were sharks in the water nearby so I obviously assumed he was going to be eaten by sharks which would have been a real inconvenience and it turns out he also thought he was going to get eaten by sharks. Luckily no sharks turned up, which was good because that would have just topped the trip off!

 
The second night should have been a better night sleep as we moved in to one of the now vacant bungalows, leaving the wet cardboard behind and Jeff to have a room to himself. Though the rat in our room and the fact the single mozzy net didn’t actually fit over our double bed was a bit of a pain. Though it was quite hilarious watching an angry Ryan stretch the mozzy net over the double bed with his head torch on. I think it was time to leave!!

We met an Australian woman who was helping the village by doing aid work – we had various conversations with her and the other guests and it seemed like the feeling was mutual between us all.

Unfortunately the Homestays once great reputation was slowly fading and all it would take were a few bad trip advisor reviews to kill it (I will be writing one) It was a real shame as it was an income for the village and a great way for the guests to see how the locals live.

But hay, there were always going to be ups and downs, and on the upside we saw dolphins on our boat trip to Blue Lagoon. Best part of our trip!!

I was so happy to be at our next place and couldn’t get off the boat quick enough!! We had a yummy lunch, chilled on the beach and I did yoga!

Dinner was amazing and we had steak! Custard tart was on the menu for dessert (I knew this place was for me) so I was overly excited and it was awesome! Haven’t had one in ages and I reallllly miss the M&S ones!!

We joined in with the entertainment and did the weekly quiz with six others. We were under dogs and came through in the final round winning a champagne breakfast on the beach! Not bad!! We did however decide to drink the champers then and there and just go with OJ for brekkie! Nice treat for us budget travellers with our usual in room g&t’s !

Snorkelling is on the cards for tomorrow (Christmas Eve) The decorations are up around the resort and Christmas songs are playing but it still didn’t feel quite right!

E&R xx