Sunday 23 July 2017
Bula Bula
Some last minute observations from our eight days in Fiji:
Tides and Happy Hour
When arriving at a resort you are provided with all sorts of information on how the resort operates and what is on offer over the coming week. Some of this information is interesting but of little value and some is of great significance and must never be ignored. Some examples
- Restaurant times are of minimal interest since the time allowed is quite generous.
- Pool hours are meaningless since they are opened pretty much all day.
- The timings for tours useless since we did not sign up for any local tours.
- Of greater interest is tide times so you know when you can snorkel to see the magnificent corals and all sorts of wonderful fish.
- Of critical value and not to be ignored is Happy Hour. This is a quite constrained period and not to be missed when half price cocktails are on offer. With much cheering and gusto the bar staff announce happy hour has started and so the waiting staff are run off their feet taking orders. The value of the discount is soon negated by the number of cocktails you end up enjoying.
Drones
I was always intrigued by how people from remote tribes when first photographed would become anxious and angry in the belief that their soul was somehow diminished by the taking of a photograph. I now understand how these people felt.
Early one morning we heard a high pitched whine which I assumed was from some piece of equipment being operated by the gardeners. To my horror as I stepped out on our balcony I discovered a drone just few metres off our balcony with its lens facing directly at me. I was appropriately dressed and not doing anything unsavoury however was not happy at the thought of suddenly being a social media sensation. I think my soul was diminished in that moment.
My feelings about being filmed by a drone are unresolved.
Adult Pool
In my previous Fiji log I mentioned the serenity of the adult swimming pool. This serenity was not always an enduring experience. The definition of over 18 years as the defining limit for adulthood ensured there were days when bombing and leaping into the pool by excited and testosterone driven twenty-somethings was the order of the day. Maybe the adult age limit could be redefined as over 35? I know, I am becoming a grumpy old bugger.
The High Ground
Taking the moral high ground at a tropical resort is difficult but the process is something like this:
- Good breakfast with lots of tropical fruits.
- A session at the gym for the purpose of generating a sweat.
- A quick lap of the pool.
- All this accomplished in the late morning so you can allow the day to go down hill from about 12.00noon and finishing about 10.00pm.
This pattern has me considering an alcohol free month when we get home.
A New Skill Every day
They say you need to learn new skills to keep the brain active and to forestall ‘old timers’ disease. It’s difficult to to do this at a resort but it was accomplished.
Our new skills are:
- Making cocktails using Fiji coconut vodka.
- Entertaining lots of kids in the pool hour after hour.
- Making sure granddaughters are appropriately covered up in the hot tropical sun.
- Ensuring you are at the right bar in time for happy hour.
- Not embarrassing yourself when encountering a sea snake.
Scary Encounters
I was returning from a forty minute snorkelling adventure and was getting close to the shoreline when I felt something brush across my shoulder. It was a gentle touch; maybe a piece of floating seaweed had touch my shoulder. I turned my head slightly to see a sea snake glide over my shoulder and down to the sandy bottom. My heart raced, was it going to turn around and confront or attack me! Maybe it was just an eel and not harmful.
The snake glided on and left me to deal with my inflated blood pressure. I got out of the water and walked up to the dive attendant to describe my encounter. Oh, that was a Banded Sea Snake he explained; they are very poisonous but attack only if provoked. This is Fiji after all and everyone and everything is pretty relaxed – my words.
So it wasn’t some harmless creature of the reef but something that brought the threat of death. Certainly made for a tale that will be told for many years to come.
The sea snake was about a half metre long and about 20mm in diameter with distinctive black and white stripes.
On reflection what I appreciated was the absence of signs all along the beach warning of sea snakes and scaring people from adventuring into the realm of a coral reef. Sometimes we need fewer warnings and more opportunities to enjoy the risk.
That’s it for a few weeks. We are now on the approach to Sydney and winter.
Vinaka
A Traveller's Tale 