We're all going on a little holiday

So we have just returned from the beautiful beaches of Fiji! Oh. Em. Gee. That place is amazing! The beaches are divine and the food scrumptious! I have put on at least a kilo! 

So as the story goes, I went nuts cleaning the house prior to leaving! I scrubbed and vacuumed and mopped and ironed until I could no longer stand (literally!) right up to the hours before we were leaving! 


Arriving at Melbourne Airport at 7pm Saturday night, we checked in and made our way through customs and immigration before taking our seats in the lounge to watch the half of the football ... one last fix before taking off for a week!

The flight was rather quick being only four and a bit hours and the girls slept the whole way! As we approach Nadi airport we are greeted with the most stunning sunrise and this is how it all began ...

The rest of the story is a combination of sleeping, swimming and sunning! 

We stayed at the stunning Shang-ri La Fiji, which is its own island. Surrounded by the most spectacular views and crystal clear waters I've ever seen. 

We stayed in the Family Deluxe Ocean Room and they left little to be desired! As the Resort is quite old it was starting to show a little. But the detail was there with all amenities and  even a turn down service in the evening. The room comprised of a double bed, two couches that doubled as single beds, a unit housing the TV and a small desk/table. There was also room for the portacot too. However the amount of time we were in the room, it hardly mattered! From our room we had a private sitting area with table and chairs, looking right out on to the ocean. 

The view from our outside area

Hubby and his girls at the Pizzeria

So as I said we swam in the large lagoon style pool and waded through the waters of the beautiful beach, played games that the beautiful staff organised and drank fresh juices on the lounges. We ate breakfast buffet style every morning and some lunch and dinners too! Hubby found the pizzeria and loved the wood-fired creations they served.

The lagoon pool

 
The girls enjoyed feeling like princesses and loved the beautiful shell necklaces they received from our driver who drove us to the resort ... many uses for these babies!

The island was filled with beautiful palms and Frangapani trees ... this beautiful flower grew outside our room and was a fav of Miss 4's

The family shot

Swimming in the ocean

Thumbs up for Fiji

As well as relaxing and swimming we also made our way into town and experienced the lifestyle the Fijians live. It was ... an eye-opener. The girls were a little scared, I can only describe the place we were in as the Bronx of Fiji! We can laugh now, but we were bombarded in a small Fijian market by the traders in there, Miss9 saw a lady at the bakery with a gun and poor hubby was getting the stare down from all the men! So lets just say that trip was short lived and we then decided to stay within the resort!! In Fiji's defense, we did find the areas closer to the airport more touristy, and more travelers out and about!

Coconut climbing

 On the Wednesday night they had a big dinner and show, that we sadly missed as the fire dancing was something that hubby and I wanted to see! But as luck should have it, as we were returning to our room they were doing a fire lighting ceremony that included the wonderful and talented man who climbed a tree to retrieve the coconuts and the fire dancing. These guys were absolutely amazing! Twirling and whirling their fire lit sticks wowing the crowd that gathered!

As you do, before we left we had to do the touristy thing and the girls got their hair braided, bought souvenirs to keep our memories close and had our final swim so we could all smell like chlorine for the plane ride home! We ate lunch at the beach side restaurant that we saved for our last day and said goodbye to the beautiful place that was our home for the week. 

Here we are on our way to the airport, all pool water and braids, sad to say goodbye but thankful for the memories and the thought of my own bed was very enticing! It's hard to tell but the rain started to fall quite hard as we headed back, which meant a half hour delay due to bad weather! So we ate dinner at the airport (and then again on the plane) before boarding the plane for the journey home.


Our wonderful holiday had come to end and the long sunny days were finished. We had seen all the beauty that Fiji had to offer and were very grateful for every minute. The plane trip home was restless and long, as every child on the (except mine) cried and sooked the whole trip, while my babies slept like ... babies! 

But now we have arrived back to our home, to the comforts of our beds, and separate rooms, hot showers and all the amenities that we take for granted. I think of watching the poor children walking home from school in the rain, to their small damaged homes and remember how lucky we really are. Thank you to all the beautiful people who drove us round, the staff at the Shang-ri La Resort who were friendly and full of smiles and the flight attendants and pilots from Air Pacific/Air Fiji who got us there and back safely! Definiately worth the trip as it was more beautiful than I could ever had imagined, I hope that you can visit one day too!

Thanks ... MCM xxx