We spent the first week of this sojourn at Castaway Island in the Mamanuca Group off Viti Levus west coast. It was all very peaceful and relaxing. We spent most of our time lazing on the beach or by the pool, interspersed by the occasional family table tennis tournament. We still think that this is one of Fijis very best islands - just rustic enough whilst still being great food, excellent beach and snorkeling, and super friendly and relaxed staff.
After a few days Issy and I decided that wed been overdoing the relaxing just a bit too much, so we made the brave decision to leave our offspring sleeping and head off for a morning hike up to the islands peak. The path was steep and rocky. Would we make it to the top, we thought, as we forged our way ever on upwards through the thick jungle, struggling to catch our collective breaths. It was tough going. Surely the snow clad peaks of the Himalayas would be a breeze Suddenly we heard some rustling in the undergrowth behind us. No one had mentioned anything about dangerous animals on the island, but what
I hope the Fijian lady wasnt getting some perverse pleasure out of Emmas pain, but Its hard to be sure from the photo...
else could it be. The rustling got louder and closer. We huddled together nervously, and grabbed some sticks to try to ward off the imminent attack. We spotted some bright colours moving very quickly towards us through the thick undergrowth. Excuse us, said the leader as he sprinted past, followed by a large group of fellow tourists decked out in full blown athletics gear. Most of them didnt seem to have raised a sweat. .... Well we thought it was a tough hike, but maybe the Himalayas would need to wait.
We scrambled down to the shore on the opposite side of the island. There was a frenzy of activity in the shallows. A group of very small sharks had managed to herd a large school of small fish into an inlet between some rocks, and were now feeding on their prey. There was no escape for the poor fish. Id always thought of sharks as being fairly solitary creatures, and it was perhaps just slightly concerning that they seemed to be working so effectively as a team to corner their breakfast. I wondered what might happen when they got a bit bigger? The idea of teams of three
metre Great Whites herding groups of hapless snorkelers against a cliff and then munching into them wasnt an attractive one. We stayed very close to shore for the next few days.
Emma decided to do the Fiji tourist thing and get her hair braided. I hadnt realised that this might be a bit painful, and if the winces and looks on her face were anything to go by neither had she. I hope she thought it was worth it in the end.
We spent an evening at the resorts weekly guest talent quest. We knew what from at least one of the acts, and so did most of the rest of the resort. The young lady had been practising in her bure all day. It was an excellent rendition of Norah Jones Dont Know Why, which leaves me again wondering why I can remember this minute detail from a decade and a half ago and not what I just came into the living room to do. There was a short delay in proceedings while one of the acts got ready, and one of the very innocent looking middle aged female staff members filled in the time
We were very excited to get a written invitation to the Managers Cocktail Party around the pool. What had we done to deserve such privilege we thought. Had the staff perhaps got wind of the fact that Id won the sack race at the school athletics carnival back in 1964 (I think all the fell over)? Who were we kidding? Of course all the resort guests were invited. It was very pleasant nonetheless.
