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Of course it poured with rain on our arrival day, leaving us with a gloomy foreboding that we'd be having a wet cruise, however, it turned out it was the last day of a wet perio and we were set to enjoy some magnificent weather.
Fiji has won a special place in our hearts. We all agree that this trip was probably the best holiday we've ever had. This despite the slightly inauspicious start at the less than glamorous Club Fiji with it's dated decor, indifferent reception staff, and heavy downpours (not their fault I know).
Our departure was delayed for some reason so this added a subtle layer of trepidation to our excitement, we were thinking Oh no, please don't let there be an issue with the boat. Well, it turns out there was an issue with the boat, actually, lots of issues with the boat, but these didn't delay our departure and only came to light during the cruise. I got the sense that the 'issues' are constantly under management and so were not really a problem. This was things like, flooded rooms, doors falling off hinges, leaking celings (Abbey and Elley's room), and failing aircon in the dining room. Who knows what was goinf wrong in the behind the scenes areas like the engine room, kitchen, hull!?!?
Regardless of this, we had an incredibly memorable trip and came away with a deep affection for the Fijian people. They are proud, intelligent, educated, noble people.
People like Sali, who was the entertainer on the boat, he had given up a career as an Environmental Scientist with the Fijian government to become cruise ship entertainer, he was incredible. His singing and instrument playing were wonderful. He was also a magnetic MC who made us all laugh. It is please to know that he signed a contract to record a song he has written with Sony in Sydney later this year - we really wish him well for that. His wife also works for Captain Cook Cruises on the tall ship, also as the MC on the boat and also with a charming personality. We know encountered her on the changeover day when we got on the tall ship to go to the Tivua private Island.
Nicky was the senior tender driver, I say senior not because he was old, but because he was the more experienced of the two. The other tender driver was a younger lad called Illy, Abbey's Beau, maybe more on that later. Both of these guys were very skilled, this was evident when getting the glass bottom boat back onto the ship via the lift system at the back. On one occasion there was a 1-1.5m swell running which made this activity very tricky (and unnerving for us passengers), but Nicky managed it with skill and an air of calmness that made us all feel at ease. Both Nicky and Illy were also very engaging, witty and very interesting to talk to. They were both at maritime colege studying to become mariners. This meant that they were away from the boat on occasion to head to a lecture block, presumably in Nadi, or maybe Suva.
These guys were the ones who made the biggest impression on us, but just about every body else on the team was wonderful. A few seemed a bit more reserved, but still very friendly, and genuionely so.
The diving and snorkelling were fantastic, however, it was notable that there weren't any big fish around. Thinking about this now, I surmise this is probably because the villagers catch the fish for food before any really big ones can grow. Consequently there weren't any big sharks either. It is of course quire reasonable for them to be catching the food to eat, especially when you see how remote some of the communities are.
Highlights included two moray eels close together on one dive, a very busy Banded Krait (Sea Snake), a smallish Chinese Football Cod, amazing coral, and seeing elley on her first two dives.
It was also very pleasing to witness that there wasn't much rubbish floating around, in fact none. This wouldn't be the case had we been in Bali or somewhere else in Indonesia. I can't figure out why there is a difference.
The meals were very good and they generally catered for Abbey's gluten free needs without too much difficulty. There was a bit of a hiccup on the first night but they chef was clearly onto it after that.
Abbey and Elley made some friends, Abbey with one of the 'Able Seaman' (IIlly he tender driver mentioned above, and Elley with young Corban, from Sydney. In fact, we become very friendly with his whole family and ended up having meals with FIona and Adam on a few nights and then even caught up with them for dinner on our last night in Denerau.
A very entertaining event was the most awesome Crab Race, won by Fran with her $5 crab, Hermione. All of the other crabs cost $40 +, but Fran managed to snag the outside winner for $5!
https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipP6-bwPQ-g8A_aGzaYRh1BlC9zdqVN6t-j6oa6T
All in all, this was one of the best, if not the best holiday we've ever had. Frev even paid a deposit for another trip, probably to the Lau group on an 11 night cruise. We have to commit to a date within the next year and we will get 35% off at least - sounds pretty good to me.
