Cruising Resort Life

Restaurant/lounge deck, Bure deck, Jungle behind the Bures, Matanivusi Beach, Walkway in front of Bures

Shark Encounter//

Spearfishing in Fiji has been pretty mediocre considering I had expectation of massive fish everywhere when in reality it is like an aquarium full of fish up to about a foot and a half. You are surrounded by 20 different types of parrot fish, puffer fish, rainbow colored wrasses, goatfish, squid, clown fish, a wide variety of triggerfish and many others. So one afternoon on low tide I took out the Stand Up paddle and paddled a kilometer over to the channel and beached the board on a small sand island. I geared up with my snorkel mask, churchill fins, and 8 ft JBL metal pull spear with a single headed break away spear tip. Jumped in the water and ventured out to the channel where I would begin my hunt. After chasing a few snapper that would quickly lose me in the coral reef I came across a dark shadow off in the deep. I began to turn my focus on this shape to soon discover a 7ft white tip reef shark lurking in the distance observing my movements. I placed the reef shelf behind me as I slowly swam in the other direction with my sling ready to shoot in the case of a charge. Luckily I had not speared any fish yet for he would have taken a great deal of interest in me with the blood sparking the hunger in a shark. After I made it back to my little island I decided it best to leave the fish to the shark today. When I began my paddle back to the resort it was almost dead low so I had to paddle far enough in front of the board to keep the fins out of the water because they would hit the reef and jolt me into the water below. Stand up paddling around this part of Fiji is similar to looking into a aquarium from above because you are able to see all the life flourishing on the reef. I soon took notice to a unique pair of eyes looking at me from a hole in the reef below and right away knew what it was, an octopus. Since I still had my spear on my board I harpooned it directly into the creatures hiding spot. After being inked on multiple times and having this octopus crawling all over my board I managed to get him back to the resort to be used for an evening snack.

Bula from Fiji Pipe! July 16-17th

Woke up to the sweet sound of waves breaking along the shoreline meters from my Bure. Considering we are located on a coral fringed lagoon, the sounds of waves breaking on the shore is the indicator that the surf will be pumping. Went around and woke all the guest up to prepare them for some of the best surf they might ever experience. Before venturing out I made a quick smoothie from Papayas and Bananas grown right here in front of the rooms and local grown guava juice to prepare me for the day. We passed J’s (peeling right hand reef break that is unforgiving if you find yourself stuck on the inside for it is less than a meter deep with a sharp coral bottom) on the way out and because of its closing end section we decided to go check out Fiji Pipe. We arrive to 6-8 ft and occasional 10 ft perfect barreling lefts that would spit out into the channel. We surfed for about 6 hours before having to retire due to pure exhaustion and hunger. Luckily only 3 out of the 6 people got cut up on reef. I put just a small hole in my heel from trying to jump off the bottom after being pumped on a closeout. George who was using a go pro camera on the inside and was dragged on the bottom and sliced his leg open pretty deep. Paul landed some nice scratches all down his arm from brushing the coral heads. It was so good that I probably caught over 50 barrels in 6 hours and only got 2 closeouts. Overall it was a epic day in Fiji.

Island Life.

Fun day at J's

This was a mediocre day at the closest spot to the resort. That is my boss Brian in the second photo.
J's//

Mango Bay Adventure #1

Mango bay hotel is a backpacker resort tucked away 30 km West of Matanivusi Resort and is always a good party I was told. This adventure started while Lesi, Seva Apeli and I were finishing the roof of the employee housing when one of us had the great idea to go out for a little party. We bailed on the roofing and walked to the village so the boys could grab their clean clothes and “canvas” (Fiji term for shoes) considering they only wear sandals. We grabbed the local bus and after many dirty stares from the Indian bus driver at our crew and 30 min later we arrive at the entrance to Mango. We played volleyball all afternoon, then ping pong and pool all night until retiring back to the road where we soon discovered that we were going to have to walk home because there were no cars or taxis in sight. We walked over 3 jungle mountain ranges in the dark and over 30 km at 1 am at night arriving back at Vunaniu village at 4 am where we stayed at Lesi and Seva’s house. Before retiring for the night we all sat on the floor, grabbed a large pot full of rice and another full of Fiji chicken curry ( boney pieces of chicken, kasava root, onion and spices) We finished off about a kilo of rice and curry then all crashed at Lesi and Seva’s house. I was raised from the dead by Lesi who was on his way to work at Matanivusi, so I began my journey by feet again to walk the 3km back to work at 6:30 am. Never again will I walk 30km unless I am with 3 crazy fijian friends who made it an interesting experience. \\

Bula Friends!

When was the last time anyone has had to experience third world dial up internet... Definitely not user friendly... Fijian people have to be the friendliest group of individuals I have ever come across, always smiling and treating you fairly. Traveling to a country where you are the significant minority for a period of time definitely gives you a different perspective and helps give you an idea how minorities back home must feel. The good thing about being a minority here is there is no prejudice towards you unlike back home where everyone has something to say about anyone who is different then them. I can't say I am not guilty of this, but now I might not jump to quick conclusions about others as I previously would.

I am beginning to fall in love with this place and wondering how it will be possible to go back to school and listen to some close minded RWS professor tell me how to read a book and write about the ethos and logos. It has also been very nice to not have a cellphone while in Fiji because I never am worrying about anything, everyone I need to talk to on a daily basis lives here at the resort and the rest I can reach by e-mail at my leisurely. I have been surfing twice a day because there has been two high tides; one in the early morning then another in the late afternoon. The waves have been incredible, perfect barrels and long walls. Two days ago this big wave surfer Alex who received second in the biggest paddle in awards by the Billabong XXL by riding a 52 ft wave at mavericks got caught on the inside at J's (the dredging righthander over live coral) and shredded his back open like he had been attacked by an angry cat. Later that day I went down hard in the barrel and split my knee open on some coral ripping by boardshorts in the process. There has been swell for about a week now, and tomorrow should get even bigger. This afternoon I am taking some guest out to go fishing for Trevelle and Yellowfin tuna, hopefully we catch some for sashimi tonight.

I am still working on this Vodaphone wireless card malfunctions so hopefully I can post some more stuff soon.