Saturday, 05 October

There are pros and cons to flying Fiji Airways out of Christchurch:

Pro: The flight leaves in the afternoon, meaning no 4 a.m. wake-up and rush to the airport, with that awful “I woke up before I should” feeling for the 6:30 a.m. departures to Australia (which also means long security lines due to multiple departures).

Con: You miss the entire day by the time you arrive at 5:15 p.m. This is fine if you’re staying on the mainland, like we are, but annoying if you’re heading out to the islands—unless you’re willing to pay for a private transfer.

Pro: It’s a direct service—just four hours in total, with no transiting in Auckland or having to switch between terminals.

Con: The aircraft used during shoulder and low seasons have somewhat archaic onboard facilities—no seat-back entertainment, just overhead screens, which aren’t ergonomic to watch and obviously don’t give you a choice of what to view. To make up for this, you can tap into their online entertainment system on your own device; however, the options are fairly limited, so I’d recommend pre-downloading shows onto your device.

All that said, the service from the staff is always great, and the food is okay.

Pro: Again, it’s a direct service—the best option when young kids are involved.

Con: They are part of the Oneworld alliance, which means if you’re a Koru member or Star Alliance Gold, you can’t use the Koru Lounge.

Pro: We were able to use the Manaia Lounge, and I have to say, the food was pretty good!

After an hour having lunch in the Manaia Lounge (because we were the only ones going through security, so we had plenty of time), we settled into our seats and used a trick my colleague told me about for when you don’t have seat-back entertainment (and haven’t bought one of those special phone holders for planes). The trick is to pop a tissue inside your phone case, jam it under the tray table latch, and it holds your phone up for watching—so good! Perfect for when I was knitting and eating!

Jessie got her kids’ meal, and they’re always quick to get these out, which is great, as we all know how impatient kids can be when it comes to meals. She was pretty happy with her bun, chicken Alfredo pasta, caramel dessert, and packet of Chex (I think Craig and I were more excited for the Chex than she was… I haven’t seen those things in ages! So good!). She said to me, “I love airplane food, mummy.” Me too, Jessie… It’s like a cozy little TV dinner, like you see in American movies. You’ve got your tray, all the little bits and pieces you need, entertainment in front of you (maybe), and best of all, you didn’t have to cook it!

We landed in Nadi ten minutes early, at 5:10 p.m., so it was still light (just—no daylight saving in Fiji), and the heat hit us immediately, as always. We had to walk across the tarmac, which I don’t remember doing before in Fiji, but it was fine for us, and it was cute watching another family excitedly take a photo with the Fiji Airways tail in the background. We did the same when we walked through the open-air part of the terminal, which looks out to the tarmac.

Unlike last year (during peak season), there was no line at immigration and customs, and we practically walked right through into the melting heat, where’d Fiona, my step-mum, was arriving in her people mover to pick us up. Fiona had arrived on the morning flight from Auckland and had been getting the house ready for our arrival. Her house/villa is on Nalamu Beach and is used by First Landing Resort when she and her family aren’t staying there. It’s impressively large—a great option for multiple families to stay together—and has a lovely long lap pool with a shallow end, perfect for kids. Fiona gave us the grand tour, and Jessie delightedly put her things in her massive bedroom and got straight into the pool while we had a couple of drinks and enjoyed the stunning sunset, with music from the wedding just down the beach loud and clear enough for us to enjoy. Jessie had her first encounter with toads (Colin, Rossa, and Pooper, as they’re now called) and also some reasonably large hermit crabs, which were very easy to find. Jessie was quite frightened by these but fascinated.

After some drinks and snacks, Fiona headed back to the airport to pick up her last two guests, and we unpacked our gear into the wardrobes and drawers (because if I’m anywhere for more than a few days, living out of my suitcase gives me anxiety) and got Jessie into bed. She impatiently waited for Fiona’s partner’s wee girl to arrive, who was sharing the room with her.

Sunday, 06 October

The girls woke at 7 a.m. New Zealand time, which wasn’t too bad given the light, birds, and excitement, and were ready to start the day. I felt quite ready myself… Isn’t it funny how at home, I could happily sleep in until 9:30 or so, but on holiday (especially in a warm country), I’m ready to go at 7, no worries. Craig got up and went for a run, the girls headed outside to look at the beach and have a little paddle, and when Craig got back, I went up onto the deck and did a little Pilates session. I know that sounds idyllic, but I actually got bitten to bits by the mosquitoes, so tomorrow I’ll need to douse myself in repellent before heading out.

We eventually wandered down to the resort for brekkie, which offered a continental buffet or a cooked breakfast. I happily had the continental with delicious pineapple, watermelon, and pastries, of course. It’s a lovely spot out on the deck, overlooking the “Left Foot” that First Landing is known for and where the wedding was held the previous night.

After a day of relaxing, the girls learning to use their snorkels and flippers, a bit of knitting, a game of TACO CAT, and a coconut being husked and (very slowly) gnawed at, along with a few Fiji Bitters, we headed down to Vuda Marina for dinner. What a super cool wee spot! It has a covered bar/restaurant overlooking the marina, plenty of outdoor seating (which we opted for), a kids’ play area (although Jessie was more focused on finding pretty frangipani flowers to wear on her ear), and a band playing. The food was great, the two buckets of Fiji Bitters were great… highly recommend to anyone staying on the mainland.

After Jessie made introductions to Colin, Rossa, and Pooper, the girls went off to bed, and Jessie’s head certainly hit her pillow hard and fast.

I’ll check in again in a couple of days after we’ve been on our trip out on SABRE, which we’re really looking forward to.

Ni sa moce (goodnight) 🌺