It was a really muggy night last night which brought memories of Thailand flooding back to me. Despite being in a dorm which equated to just £6 a night, it was a perfectly adequate hostel, although the fans were a little noisy. It did take a little getting used to using a bed sheet again after using a duvet for so long prior. Unbelievably breakfast was included in the price of staying at my hostel which was toast and condiments, sitting outside by the pool beneath palm trees on a really sunny day.
In an ideal world I would have been starting my Feejee Experience tour today, but as you know that is not the case. This therefore gave me two free days round Nadi to explore the place. I wasn't very optimistic however as my travel agent said you literally come here to fly in, being the sole international airport of Fiji. After a quick shower I headed out to the beach which was right behind my hostel, and I could see what he meant about the beach not being as spectacular as the islands. It was nice with palm trees and sun, although the sand was grey.
The basic plan for the day was to explore Nadi, with the off chance of two potential geocache finds. There are two active caches around Nadi, although they are both 8km or so in either direction from my hostel. After a short walk down the beach with the aim of getting to the town, I soon had to turn around and come back. Despite my hostel being geographically close to Nadi, the airport runway prevents a short cut in. This meant I had to go back to the hostel and follow the road out to the main road. My hostel was down a remote road next door to many other hostels, offering a more resort like accommodation on the beachfront.
Without a map of Fiji or any idea of my bearings, I naturally assumed that Nadi town would be the direction of the airport. Following the road, which included the sight of a dead dog on the road side, I eventually reached the shops I passed when driving in which included a supermarket. After a quick look round I continued out towards the airport. I had hoped whilst being here I would find a free WiFi hotspot, although I was without luck. Even when reaching the airport which I knew had free WiFi, I was restricted because security were checking flight details before letting people access the airport.
I soon realised after speaking the locals that I wasn't in Nadi town and was in fact just in the airport area which is out of town. Due to the fact I had walked well over an hour from the hostel to the airport I decided to continue walking outwards to find a geocache which was 8km away. The fact I was still 8km away gives you an idea of the sheer size of the runway having to walk round it! Walking over precarious bridges and small villages, I got an increased taster of just how friendly the Fijian locals were. Literally everyone I passed would say Bula without fail, and I lost count of the number of times I stopped to talk to the locals.
Continuing along this road, passing so many little businesses and houses, I eventually reached a turn off down a gravel track which was within a km of the cache. This was an obviously poor area of Fiji with very basic housing, and I was slightly worried about walking through. My worries were soon extinguished however as I met some young Fijian kids who were only too happy to show me round. Despite being unaware of the geocache they guided me up the hill to where it was meant to be, although we couldn't find it. I was even invited back for a drink by some locals on my way back although I thought I better not!
Despite not finding the cache I had such an insight in Fiji already. It was touching just how pleased the locals were to see me in these small villages I passed through outside Nadi. Even these guys doing road works remembered me passing on the way when heading back to Nadi. In addition I even got offered lifts back to the airport, although I didn't risk it! I probably should have accepted though because I got caught in a rain shower which got me drenched, although the sun did come out after.
After eventually getting back to the airport I thought I found some free WiFi as I managed to somehow refresh my Facebook page, although I didn't get as far as reading my messages before it cut off. From here I checked out the big supermarket I missed on my way past. Despite some things being cheap such as deep fried food, branded products are really expensive in Fiji. From the supermarket I took a slow walk back to the hostel looking at the shops. The hostel itself was a half hour walk from the main road, although I got lost going back. I ended up on the beach which was actually a nice detour, walking along the dark sands to the hostel back entrance.
When returning the first thing I did was just jump into the pool as it had been a pretty sticky day. The fact it was gone 5 when I got back meant after a refreshing swim I settled down on the beachfront and watched the sunset. Dinner this evening was chicken fried rice and chips, and the portion was massive! I didn't have much option other than to eat in the reasonably priced hostel restaurant as the nearest supermarket was a half hour walk back to the main road! From here it was all a pretty relaxing evening, once again having an early night.
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