After being here in paradise for 5 days now, we finally decided to sign ourselves up for an excursion. At 8:20am we left the resort for the first time on the small boat they own.
Our driver Walu, and guide Appy told us to be prepared for the swell as we headed north along the coast of Nacula Island up to the Limestone Caves. Nothing however, quite prepared us for the soaking we both got, we were wet through before we arrived!
The island that the caves are in is uninhabited, but the caves themselves are owned by a clan who live in a village on the neighbouring island.
Judging by the cost of the trip, they are making a tidy profit, and according to Appy they all have large bures (houses) and big TVs!
As we pulled up and disembarked in the sheltered bay the crystal clear waters were picture perfect.
We were slightly dubious about the cave trip, as the owner of the resort, who does the briefing each night on what is going on the next day, described it as a trip that would not pass safety standards if it existed in any other country!
As we climbed down into the cave system we were entertained by the fact that the only safety warnings were about protecting the rocks.
Once in the large main chamber we jumped into the water to explore the surroundings.
It was then that we were given the option of ‘progressing’ through two cave systems. Now being ‘old hands’ at caving (or so we thought after our experiences in NZ) we thought, “this can’t be too bad”…until we saw the first cave, called ‘Pregnancy Cave’ that we had to climb up to, and then through!
You might just be able to make out from the above photo, that our guide Appy, in the blue t-shirt is helping one of the group slide sideways through the cave.
Once through we were then hit with the next challenge, to slide down through a tunnel cave system to a cave that was partially underwater….all of this whilst only having a dim torchlight shone at the ceiling.
Once down in the water we were instructed on how to dive down and swim through an underwater cave to get back into the main chamber…which we are pleased to say we both achieved with minor cuts and bruises! The small hole in the middle of the below rock is all that can be shown of the end of the ‘Pregnancy Cave’.
Once out, both being self proclaimed adventure junkies we entered the ‘Speaking Cave’, in much the same fashion as we left the last cave…diving through an underwater cave/channel.
Once inside the acoustics were amazing, hence the name ‘Speaking Cave’.
Back out, and safely back on the boat we compared war wounds and enjoyed a less choppy ride back to the resort.
After a delicious lunch we watched the Monday afternoon coconut demonstration, conducted by our friend Appy.
It was fascinating to learn about the importance and uses of coconuts to Fijian people. We got to taste several fresh coconuts, and learnt that the outer layer can even be used as toilet paper…its no andrex quilted mind you!
After an informative afternoon we headed back to our lodge room for a shower and change ( and a couple of sneaky rum & cokes ).
Dinner tonight was a Seafood extravaganza, we felt thoroughly spoilt with an amazing choice of fresh seafood and fish. Carrying on the seafood theme after dinner, we picked our two crabs – numbered 13 & 14 and entered the crab racing competition.
It was a number of ‘knock-out’ rounds where the first so many crabs that crawled out of the circle (which you may be able to make out in the sand above) qualified.
Our crabs were unfortunately out at the end of the first round – the slow coaches!
It was fun to watch though, and everyone got very into the whole ‘racing’ feel…a free bar tab was at stake after all!
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