5am is early, but I was ready to go as soon as daddy woke me up. We headed down to the activity shed and found out we were actually late because it was daylight savings. Oops. We followed our guide Wise to the other side of the island to get out of the wind and boated out to try to catch some fish.
Man did we try. The funniest part of my dad’s fishing extravaganza is that he’s flown over 17,000 miles to catch False Albacore, which is exactly what he catches in our backyard. My fly-fishing skills need a tune up but after a few casts I started getting my groove back. I then tried for a while with our spinning rod but we were having some issues with the line. We trolled, we cast directly in the feeding pod of Albies and dad cast his flies right into the mix. No bites. Eventually we did catch something though. See below.
Yes, we caught a helpless little bird. Luckily my dad has a little experience with animals and got the bird loose quickly with no harm done. After a few more attempts we decided to head back to shore. Although we were unlucky fishing, the sunrise was breathtaking and it was fun to spend some time with my dad doing what he loves. I’ve been gone so long and missed out on a lot of fishing trips.We met mom for breakfast and then dad headed out fishing again. Mom and I went snorkeling on the reef for a good hour and could see dad on the shore fishing. The reef was amazing again and I even saw a baby stingray. Our guide picked up a sea cucumber and let us touch it. It felt like a huge squishy slug with little suction cups. I of course got my mom’s attention and put the cucumber in an inappropriate position and freaked her out. Totally worth it. Telling my dad the story later, he was mad we didn’t get a picture. After lunch, mom and I sat by the pool and had a cocktail while dad went fishing. My new friend that works here came by me and said he wants my email before I leave. I guess that’s international talk for “can I get your number.” Why not? Then we went to the spa for our full body massages. Although it does feel good, I’m slightly ticklish and had a few issues with the massage. When she got to a ticklish spot I tried to focus and the first thing that came to mind was Telletubbies. I think the reason for that is because the hills in New Zealand reminded me of them. Anyway, I tried to name them all and remember their colors and shapes so I wouldn’t bust out laughing in my massage. It lasted a full hour and I was spent afterward. We came back to the room and after a quick shower I passed out for a few hours.
Dad returned from his fishing excursion where he had gone out in a kayak to have a go at the fish on the reef. While he was about 1,000 yards out, the wind picked up. It took him about an hour to get back to the shore. Needless to say, he is definitely getting a workout here. We had drinks by the pool and then a delicious dinner. Each meal we have gets more delicious. We’re in bed early again tonight, but considering I was up at 5am, I’m not too upset about it.
Day 4
Dad was out fishing early again and mom I slept in until about 8am. While we were getting ready, dad got back from his morning trip. He had ice on his leg where he had fallen on the rocks. He was all smiles but decided to take a break from fishing for the afternoon and try out the tourist lifestyle. We had breakfast and then lounged on the beach. At 10:30am they were doing the daily fish feeding where they throw bread in the water and it attracts big schools of fish. We all wandered down and fed some of the fish. Dad said next time he fishes, he’s bringing some bread. It got pretty hot on the beach so I went snorkeling right off the edge of the beach. The reef comes really close to the shore and I got to see it as close as I would if I was scuba diving because its so shallow. Looks like scuba diving isn’t going to happen for me here. They scuba dive every Thursday and wouldn’t it be our luck that we’re here Friday – Wednesday. Snorkeling is still fun though. I was followed by a big school of Piper fish, saw some sea urchins and lots of little fish. Mom and dad gave it a go after me and then we headed up to the pool to cool off.
We had some cold drinks by the pool and got in the water, which was a relief from the heat. I think today was the hottest day we’ve had yet. Around 1pm, dad and I headed back to the room to get his fishing stuff and my snorkel gear. Then we all headed to the activity shed to get ready for our romantic afternoon. We had a prepacked seafood lunch and drinks and were boated over to the small island next to our beautiful island. The first 30 minutes I stood by the shore and watched 4 black tip reef sharks swimming side to side. They were small, the biggest only a few feet, but my first sharks in Fiji! I took tons of pictures. Dad was fighting the wind trying to fish so mom and I ventured around the backside of the island to take some fun pictures.
I was a true photographer on our little island. I saw some great shots that were slightly out of reach, but I decided to go for it. Holding my camera far over my head, I traipsed through waste deep waves over to another rock with my mom yelling the whole time that I was going to drown my camera. I did get some fabulous shots and even saw another sea snake. He had been dead a little while but I took some pictures anyway so you could see what they look like. A few pictures later I headed back to where my mom was anxiously waiting. We walked back towards where my dad was to see if he’d caught any fish yet. Of course he hadn’t and was starting to get frustrated with the fishing prospects on the little island. After some more shark shots and feeding bread to fishies, we relaxed by our table on the beach. It was a perfect opportunity for some family time. Just as we were sitting there talking, my mom screamed “OH MOTHER F*****!” and jumped into her chair. She was looking behind me and with that reaction I had pictured Jaws coming of the water ready to eat me. As I turned my head to the right, I burst out laughing. My dad and I were almost to the point of tears we were laughing so hard. An itty bitty baby sea snake was a few inches from where my feet had been. Being that that is my third deadly snake encounter, I’m starting to think they are more common than they let on. We got away from the snake and I am still living thanks to my mom’s quick reaction. Having done a little research, I’ve learned that these snakes are called Sea Kraits and while their venom is ten times as strong as a rattlesnakes and it only takes a dose of about 1.5 milligrams to be fatal, their mouths are quite small and their fangs are short so getting bitten is unlikely. After that event, my mom was ready to leave to island so we called for our pickup.
Although I’ve had my run-ins with deadly snakes, the real thing you have to be cautious of on the island is falling coconuts. Seriously. If one hits you in the head from one of those tall trees, it is very likely to be deadly. Walking with my parents the other day I had quite a close call. I was in the lead and heard a rustle in the leaves above me and stopped. About two feet in front of me, a coconut fell. Good thing I stopped I guess.Tonight we had drinks by the pool and then delicious mud crab for dinner. It was a messy dish, but I do love some crab. We’re dead tired after a full day and looking forward to our last full day on the island tomorrow.
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