The Fiji Islands.............

  We arrived in Fij and decided to rent a car rather then find a cab to take us to the Hilton on Nadi.  We decided to stay on Nadi because we thought we could get some diving in and we would not be far from our hotel.  The car was a good choice in that we could drive all over the island to shop and just look at all the beautiful water, etc.  Our hotel was located on the other side of the island.  Several hotels were located in the same area.   The picture below is from the restaurant of our hotel.  We expected the water to be blue and tropical.  We were told they ship the sand in for the tourists as the sand is normally a volcanic black.  You only had to dig a few inches to see the true color of the sand.  No chairs were put out so it was a little weird for us when we were expecting white sands and blue water. 

              One thing we were not disappointed with was our room.  The view above is the kitchen area along with the living room.  We each had our own television with DVD player. 

 

 

This picture was taken from our table at the restaurant at the Hilton.  A beautiful hotel and the amenities were wonderful but as you can see, no one was in the water.  They told us the water was full of weeds and no one swam.  Swimming was done in the pool only.

 

 

 

 

The pictures above are of the pool and restaurant from the Hilton.  A beautiful place to stay but if you want to see tropical waters, they suggest you go to one of the surrounding islands.

 

As I said earlier, we rented a car for the few days we spent in Fiji.  The pictures below show how some people live on Nadi.  It was very sad to see.  How blessed we are to live in United States of America.  

 

 

 

 

 

The day we were leaving Nadi, Liz and I drove around the island and did some last minute shopping.  While in Port Denarau, we thought we had found a piece of America when we saw a Bonefish restaurant.  But, alas, we were going to have to wait a few more hours before we would taste food and drink that we had grown up enjoying. 

 

 

 

 

Port Denarau is where some cruise ships come in and also where you can travel from island to island. 

We left this area, returned the rental car and at 10:50 Fiji time, we left the island.  We arrived in LA the same day we left, going across the date line.  Our vacation of a lifetime was over but the memories will always be with us.  We took over 2000 pictures and will never forget one of the best vacations we will ever have.  We both would love to return to New Zealand, it's one of the most beautiful places in the world.  

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