Week 55 - Yasawa Islands, Fiji

Arriving in Nadi, Fiji we explored the area with a rental car. We hiked in the Koroyanitu National Park to a waterfall, visited the Botanical Garden 'The Sleeping Giant,' and went to the market in Lautoka to try out local delicacies. Unlike in Vanuatu, Fiji offers plenty of vegetarian dishes. Additionally, we visited the Sigatoka Sand Dunes, the largest dunes in the Pacific region. In Fiji, you can fly drones everywhere, so we took advantage of that and ended up with a lot of drone pictures.
After that, we headed to the Yasawa Islands. The island group is located directly off Nadi and is very well connected by ferry.
First, we went all the way to the end of the island group to Nacula Island to stay at the Nabua Lodge. The accommodation is very basic, the food excellent, and the other guests so friendly. For a few days, we formed a close-knit group consisting of a couple from Vancouver, Canada, a YouTube couple from Brazil, a few Australians, and an American couple. We especially took the couple from Vancouver under our wing and asked them all the questions that came to mind. One day we went diving (with no notable sightings), snorkeled at the famous Blue Lagoon Beach, hiked to the viewpoint, and had a great time.
After that, we continued to Wayalailai Island. The resort here is also basic, but the people are so warm. Someone is always playing guitar and singing somewhere. Here, we met a number of people from all over the world again. With Tatum from Sri Lanka, we had the best conversations, and with the long-term traveling couple from Switzerland/France, we found some common interests. The girls from California were also super nice.
Here we had a special dive: diving with bull sharks. We are generally unsure if this is a good thing, as the sharks here are fed snacks. However, the money collected is used for reef reforestation and further research on the sharks. During the dive, you sit in front of a coral wall, so the sharks cannot come from behind, and you hardly move at all. You just sit there and watch the sharks. The visibility was good and our view was great. We saw several bull sharks and one reef shark. Next time, we hope to see sharks without feeding.
A short hike to the spectacular-looking rock that towers over the island was also a must. In addition, we could go snorkeling directly at the reef from the beach and attend a service in the nearby village.
Today we moved on to one of the most expensive resorts in the Yasawa Islands - Barefoot Manta. To afford this luxury, we rented a spot in an 8-bed dormitory. We really wanted to go here because right in front of the hotel is a passage through which manta rays swim during their annual migration.
We are curious to see if we can spot mantas and how the resort is.