Back to the Mainland and Chicken Curry

Manda writes:

Woke up without a single mosy-bite. Result! There appears to be less mosquitos here than on the mainland - or maybe we were just lucky!

Kuata Resort is a very tranquil place. The staff are very efficient and their attention to detail is spot on. They can be seen constantly arranging Frangipani (flowers) on the dinner tables, bathrooms and flowerbeds. They sing along to Christian music as they carry out their daily chores (well, on a Sunday at least). Sundays are kept as a day of rest and the vast majority of locals seem to respect this. All activities and trips do not run on Sundays as the locals go to church.

Frangipani Flowers.

I asked Nathan, the local dive master, whether there'd be any diving opportunities today but unfortunately he said there wouldn't be - 'Sunday, rest day'. Apparently, tiger sharks and white tip reef sharks can be found swimming near to one of the big rocks at high tide.

I noticed some caves at the end of the resort. These caves are inhabited by some of the locals. They have a fantastic view of the dramatic looking rocks on Waya Lailai (the island opposite to ours). The locals may have become jaded to this lovely view as they see it everyday. Maybe it is cooler inside these caves, but they sure don't look comfy!

Rocks at Waya Lailai

Cave dwellings in Kuata.

During the day, a lot of the locals congregate under a shady area and sit on the ground. They seem to like sitting together, enjoying the company, and can sometimes be heard singing. It's all very laid back!

I feel more in-touch with Fijian culture here than I have experienced on any of the other Fijian islands we have visited so far. Maybe this is down to the fact that we are living right in the middle of the small community. There was a community in Nanuya Lailai too but we didn't get a chance to mix with the locals as they lived on the perifery of the resort.

At 3.30pm, we were ready to leave the island. The transfer boat took us over to the Yasawa Flyer (a bigger transfer boat). The sun was unforgiving, even at that time of day. As a result, the air conditioning on the next boat was welcomed by all.

We went back to Nadi Bay Hotel to re-shuffle our luggage, grab some chicken curry and then onto the airport to catch our connecting flight to New Zealand.