But first, the Hawaiian adventure continues... Justin and I decided to extend Hawaii a few days to catch a nonstop flight to Fiji, otherwise the flight has multiple layovers and takes 30+ hours. So, Alicia, Justin, and I flew to the Big Island to spend a few days in Kona.
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| Very few beaches around Kona, and super rocky but beautiful! |
Flying into Kona I definitely realized what other people had said in that the Big Island looks very different from Kauai and Maui... less lush and rockier. Parts of it honestly looked like Mars - especially towards the south end of the island, but still very beautiful and Hawaiian!
Kona
We had fun exploring downtown Kona throughout our stay... loved the outdoor markets, all the shops, the acai bowls, shave ice, and of course our favorite... poke bowls! I think all three of us might've turned into a poke bowl if we had any more...
Diving with Mantas
The main reason for going to Kona was to do the 2 tank manta dive. This is something you hear a lot about being in the diving world, and Justin's Dad, Tina, Brandon, and Brittany had just done it before coming to Maui and said it was amazing! Our first dive was a late afternoon dive where we saw the area we would be later in for the night for the mantas (basically a large light on the ocean floor with rocks surrounding it, looked like a campfire underwater lol). We checked out the reef and had a few manta sightings out in the deep blue.
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| A manta teaser on our afternoon dive |
Next it was time for the main event! There were probably 10+ other boats surrounding the "campfire" with tons of snorkelers on the surface with lights too. We could see mantas underneath the snorkeler's lights from our dive boat while we did our surface interval.
Then it was time to dive - we all jumped in, and as we were swimming up to the "campfire" I was paused for a second and was blown away... mantas were flipping and cruising above the lights of other divers and the center light. I honestly teared up a bit it was such a moving scene. It had sounded like a cool dive but there's really nothing like experiencing it live... it's definitely one of my top 5 travel experiences like Alicia said as well. These mantas are HUGE, and literally will bump into your head they swim so close to you! They also swim with their mouths open to catch the plankton, and the dive masters ask you to try not to exhale and send your bubbles into their fins as they swim above you. Justin took some videos, this is the best one:
Manta video 1
Manta video 2
It's by far a dive I will never forget... we had to head back to the boat when the first person was low on air and it was such a bummer to leave. These creatures are so majestic and it feels like you are on a different planet! They are so graceful and seem playful too with their back flips.
Kona Coffee Farms
Alicia and I headed out one morning to taste test the famous kona coffee scene. We had fun stopping at several farms and even got a private coffee farm tour at one of our stops!
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| View from one of the farms |
It was so interesting learning about the coffee bean process... I didn't know much about it so it was cool to see the beans drying and the machinery that separates the shell from the bean. It's a much more complicated process than I ever realized and it makes me wonder how someone discovered how to do that in the first place lol. We learned about the different coffee plants and the other produce on the farm.
Sadly, as Justin and I were going to Fiji and Alicia back to Mexico, we weren't able to take any Kona coffee with us :( Thanks very much customs!!
Adventure to Green Sand Beach
We were limited on time so had to make the decision... do we go to the black sand beach or the green sand beach on the south side of the Big Island?? Justin said there are less green sand beaches in the world so green sand it was...
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| We stopped at the Pu'uhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park |
We made a few stops on the way south, it was about an hour and a half drive and this it the region that looked like Mars in some places! We passed one stretch of land that looked like it had ash covering everything.
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| "South Point" - The southern most point in the USA |
There are two options to get to Papakolea, the Green Sand Beach, and that is to walk there or to hire locals will a 4WD to take you to the beach. It was about a 5 mile return walk, and I'm sure you can guess which one we did...
The walk takes you down a sandy dirt path that somewhat follows the cliffs, it cut inland a lot depending on what path you followed. There are tons of different paths criss-crossing from where the cars have dug various ways out. It honestly was confusing which was to go but they all lead to one place. After 2.5 miles it was pretty amazing to see the green sand beach and know that we made it!
The guidebooks don't tell you once you get there you have to then climb down the rocks! But it was really neat now there was a path through the grooves of the rock. The formations surrounding the green sand beach were amazing. It's hard to tell in the pictures but the sand was an earthy green color!
After enjoying the beach for a bit it was time to make the return walk... we got offers from the locals for a one way ride back but we said we'd walk... they called us their heroes lol. We ran into one couple on our way to the beach who were walking also and said it makes the destination that much sweeter. We then saw them on the back of the car when we were almost back to the parking lot! The guy told Justin "sorry man, we wimped out". (Although Justin and Alicia will tell you I was not the most pleasant walking companion on the way back hahaha... maybe I should've taken up the offer for the ride!)
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| Last Hawaiian sunset for now... |
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| Gorgeous beach for our last hours in Hawaii |
Fiji
Alicia dropped us off at the airport, and after we said our goodbyes it was time to head to Fiji for our honeymoon <3
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| Flights at 2am kind of SUCK |
We flew into Nadi and took a hopper plane to the island of Taveuni... tiniest plane and airport I've ever been on/to!! I was a little nervous not going to lie on the hopper plane.
Views flying into Fiji...
Paradise Taveuni
A driver from our resort picked us up at the tiny airport, and we then began the journey down the bumpiest road we have ever been on. Justin and I weren't sure how long the road was, and at one point kind of looked at each other both thinking... this is the most remote we have ever been lol. It took over an hour bouncing the whole way but we finally made it to the resort! Plus it was neat to see one whole side of Taveuni Island from the road and to drive through villages along the way.
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| This view is even sweeter after the road to get here... |
The resort has themed nights so we got there and immediately were told to dress in our sulas (Fijian sarongs) and to join everyone for Fijian night! It was the perfect welcome to Fiji. We had a traditional Fijian meal followed by a dance performance by the owner's daughter and more dancing with everyone. A kava ceremony capped off the night. Kava is the unofficial national drink of Fiji, and it's said to have sedative effects (although I think only in large quantities). A kava ceremony involves a chief and a caller, the caller announces another round of kava and the chief is the first to drink. In this ceremony Justin was the caller and another guy staying at the resort was the chief. It has a very earthy, dirt-like taste... we were given lollies to help sweeten your mouth after.
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| Tired but happy to be at the resort! |
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| Kava Ceremony on the first night |
In Fiji the houses are called "bures", and we loved the one we stayed in.
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| Outdoor shower... one of our favorite parts! |
We spent almost every morning out on the dive boat, then we would have lunch and relax with a spa treatment or lay by the pool.
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| The best view :) |
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| Pizza in paradise! |
Another themed night was India Night, we learned about Indian traditions and had a delicious Indian meal. There are many Fijians whose ancestors originate from India, so the culture and influence is very evident around the island and through the food. We loved trying Fijian and Indian dishes throughout our stay. Everything was so delicious!
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| Getting henna done for the first time |
The first part of our stay was pretty rainy, which was actually very relaxing, but we were even more appreciative when the sunset decided to put on a show :)
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| We loved all the amazing people of Paradise Taveuni! |
Rainbow Reef
Most of our dives throughout our stay took place at Rainbow Reef, just a 40 minute boat ride from Paradise Taveuni. We were blown away by Rainbow Reef... definitely ranks in the top if not the very first place of the reefs we have been to. At some points it felt like you were in an aquarium there were so many fish! We will definitely be back to enjoy more dives here.
Rainbow reef video
White Wall
If the tides are right, there's a chance you'll dive the White Wall - basically a vertical drop-off that goes down beyond 130 feet. Usually the current is too strong to dive the wall, and when there is no current the coral closes up... so the dive masters time it so we dive it right when the current slows down so the coral is still open. We were fortunate enough to dive the wall twice and I'm so glad because it was gorgeous and honestly the first time I was a little nervous so I wasn't able to soak it all in. We dove the wall at 100 feet depth.
White Wall video
These next few pictures were taken by a fellow diver who was kind enough to give us his pictures (don't want to take credit for them!):
These are our pics :)
At the end of the wall there's a really awesome swim through which takes you back up to 50 feet depth which is a fun way to finish the dive!
Cabbage Patch
This was a really fun dive site! It's a regular reef until bam! A huge patch of coral that looks exactly like... well you guessed it :)
Cabbage Patch video
Other Sites
We loved all the sites we dove on Rainbow Reef, can't wait to go back some day.
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| Another day in Paradise |
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| Hey sharky!! |
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| Tons of nudibranches on Rainbow Reef! |
Meridian Line and Bouma Falls
On our last day/no-dive day we chose to do the Bouma Falls and Meridian Line tour. Taveuni is one of the few places in the world where you can stand on either side of the 180th Meridian - so it was Sunday on the left and Saturday on the right! Although technically Taveuni falls into two time zones, the island chooses to use one time zone to avoid confusion.
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| Between yesterday and today... |
We continued around the North end of the island to where the hike to Bouma Falls begins (and yes this meant 1.5+ hours back up the incredibly bumpy road). Bouma Falls consists of three waterfalls, the first is at the end of a really nice grassy path.
Getting to the other two required a bit more work... If you look closely in the left photo above we hiked up to the little house at the top of that mountain (hill?) to continue on...
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| View from the little house/rest area |
It was all worth it though :)
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| Swimming at the third waterfall :) The water was pretty cold!! |
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| Some areas had ropes to help with the climb |
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| Trying some wild fruit |
We were sad to say goodbye to Paradise Taveuni... it is such a special place. Since it is a smaller resort everything feels so personalized, everyone working there greeted us by our names and asked how we were doing. I highly recommend the dive shop and dive masters, the food, the setting, it was all so wonderful and we will definitely be back!
Westin Fiji
While Paradise Taveuni was intimate and authentic, the Westin was huge and special in it's own way. Walking into the lobby really made me feel like we were on our honeymoon. I guess it was my first official resort stay as well which made it fun. I still highly recommend getting out to the smaller islands and experiencing true Fiji, but what's not to love about an awesome resort??
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| We chose one of the spa suites with a private plunge pool! |
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| Very sweet gift from the Westin |
Port Denarau was a short walk away so we went down there most nights for dinner... it had a fun atmosphere and better prices than the resort restaurants!
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| Traditional Fijian dish, wrapped in taro leaves |
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| Fire Show |
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| Gorgeous skies on the walk back |
On our last night in Fiji we decided to do a special dinner at the resort on the beach. It was the perfect ending to an amazing honeymoon, I'm so thankful for this time we had together and for being able to experience the beauty of Fiji.
The Fijians are known as the friendliest people in the world, and we truly experienced that throughout our entire stay at both resorts. On our final night, a group from our restaurant sang us two songs... one was a congratulations/honeymoon song and the other was a farewell from Fiji song. They wished us happiness and that we return to Fiji and the Fijian state of mind. We both teared up during the farewell song, their voices were so beautiful and we were sad to leave.
Vinaka for everything Fiji, we truly loved the land, the water, the
people, and the food. I guess you could say a piece of our hearts will
always be in the South Pacific...
We miss all of you!! Hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!
Sarah
"Surely, of all the wonders of the world, the horizon is the greatest."
~ Freya Stark
