When your Dad has ownership in holiday resorts and says "Hey, we're going to Fiji next year would you like to come too?" there can be no other answer than YES please!!!
What followed was months of saving, booking flights, and organising five passports (that whole experience could be a separate blog post, but I won't bore you with the kerfuffle that Australia Post put me through). What we thought would be the hardest part of finding somewhere to put Minnie for eight days turned out to be the easiest, when my friend and hairdresser said she would love to have her and house sit for us.
Cut to our alarms going off at 3.15am and our red-eyed, early morning drive down to Sydney to check in and board our 8.30am flight.
The kids were very excited. There were a whole lot of 'firsts' for them. This would be their first time on a plane, being responsible for passports, getting through customs, airport lounges, lots of waiting around etc. They were fantastic and took it all in their stride.
There were some butterflies as the plane took off, but they enjoyed their first flight and were too busy soaking up the experience to let any other nerves bother them. They either had their heads in a book or in their devices watching movies and before they knew it we were no longer flying high above the clouds but sighting islands and preparing to land in Fiji.
The first thing we noticed when we embarked from the plane was the heat. It hit me like the warmest of hugs. Being a cold frog myself, I was suddenly in body temperature heaven.
We hung around the airport waiting for my Dad and Tracey, who were flying in from Brisbane an hour behind us. When they arrived the holiday started to feel real.
We caught two taxis to the resort, with us girls stopping at a supermarket along the way to pick up supplies. Milly's eyes were wide open taking in the different landscapes and look of the villages we passed. Even the supermarket was very different to what she was used to.
Arriving at the resort was bliss. It was a tropical paradise. Resort living in Fiji versus the real living in Fiji couldn't be more different and was very easily noticeable. But hey, we didn't just come to Fiji for a cultural experience, we mainly came for a relaxing holiday and resort living was how we were doing it.
The kids couldn't wait to check out our villa and get into their swimmers and hit the pool. We had a gorgeous three bedroom garden villa, with full equipped kitchen. It was close to the pool but tucked out of the way, which gave us privacy and very little people traffic. It also had a nice paved outdoor area with a BBQ and sun loungers.
Our first two days were spent at the resort getting to know the pool area and the pool bar. The pool was enormous and the kids lived in it. It was perfect for cooling off. There were plenty of adults floating around on pool noodles and chilling out.
The pool bar was also a favourite hang out. The cocktails were very good and our favourite barman, Paul, was one of the highlights from the holiday. He taught and shared with us so much about the Fijian way of life and his village. He had a great sense of humour and made delicious cocktails and mocktails. The kids thought his chocolate milkshake was the best milkshake they'd ever tasted.
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