It was nice to watch a cracking sunrise this morning on the beach, although this was not planned as I somehow pulled off an all nighter for perhaps the first unplanned time abroad. With an 8am pick up this morning I decided not to go to bed after sunrise, instead waiting for breakfast. Breakfast this morning was another buffet continental breakfast including fruits which is always a nice way to start the day. The problem this morning however was getting everyone up for the bus as they had all gone for a 'ten minute nap'.
Eventually everyone woke up, although it didn't really matter as our bus transfer to the ferry terminal was late anyway. I was pretty content though because the free WiFi from the hostel down the road reached our pick up point! It wasn't all good for everyone though because some people had problems checking out in terms of getting their key deposits back. To be honest as far as hostels go, I stayed at a pretty naff one last night.
By around half 8 we were eventually picked up to begin our journey out to Beachcomber Island which we are staying at 2 nights. There were just 10 of us going here though as the tourism Fiji guys had finished their business trip and the two South Koreans on their honeymoon were going straight to Mantaray. We also lost the two Canadians who are doing their own thing. After loading up the minibus starting with ourselves followed by our stuff, it was a pretty cosy and very muggy ride to the ferry terminal, leaving from Anchorage which operates ferries just to Beachcomber.
After checking in my stuff we had some time to kill before boarding this ancient looking ferry. It was pretty nice when finally boarding though, getting decent views of the mainland and some of the islands. Beachcomber is just around 30 minutes from the mainland, and it wasn't long after a quick ride when we arrived at the island. We kept passing sandy islands en route and thinking it was our stop, but we got the smallest one in the end! As there was no pier on the island we had to transfer to another boat which had a clear bottom! The water was crystal clear so you could see the reef and everything.
When finally landing on the island we had to check into the island, and upon check in we were given an hour of free WiFi. I thought I would use it tomorrow though as I had used it today already. In terms of bed I was in an 84 bed dorm, although it was by no means full. After dumping off my stuff I thought I would take a quick walk round the island. This only took me like 5 minutes though! Beachcomber Island is more commonly known as the party island, and has facilities such as a bar, snorkel shop, souvenir shop, swimming pool, mini golf course and more extreme activities for an additional cost on offer amongst many over things.
One of the nice things about the island was fact you could just relax which is exactly what I did, heading round to a more secluded part of the island with a few others and going for a swim. It was nice sitting on a rock and letting the waves come in because it was just so warm yet refreshing. I eventually relaxed in the hammock to pass the time before lunch. One of the positives about my trip package is that all meals on Beachcomber are included, which was just as well being $90 a day otherwise. Lunch was an all you can eat bbq including sausage, lamb, chicken and fish amongst other extras. It was really nice!
After lunch I continued relaxing on the island, going out for a swim in the sea in a less rocky part compared to where I was earlier. It was cool because there was this platform you could climb onto in the sea and relax on. After a swim in the sea came a swim in the islands pool which I ended up staying in for a fair while both practicing my swimming skills and sitting in the shallow end talking. When getting out the pool we went inside in the shade and played cards, playing rummy 500 which was some more complex version of rummy. I got pretty good at the end!
Another quick swim in the sea followed before heading back round to the hammocks to watch the sunset which was pretty special as it sunk beneath some other islands. Shortly after this it was time for dinner which this evening was another buffet consisting of chicken, pork, spinach, cassava and salad. It was ok although I thought lunch was better! This was all followed by some interesting cake thing. From here I took a really early night as I had not even slept yet. The fact I am here two nights meant I needn't worry about missing out on a night on Beachcomber.
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