FIJI CRUISE: Monday 5th December 2011 - Port Denarau- Cruise South Sea Island

We arrived at Port Denarau early morning and today we are going on an excursion to South Sea Island...which is only 30 minutes from Port Denarau. It is surrounded by coral reefs and crystal clear water.

We stepped on to a huge high speed catamaran for our tropical island adventure.

During the cruise to the island we had a guide telling us all about the surrounding islands..

The Island looked magnificent as we got closer to it

We had a warm welcome as we step ashore onto the sandy beaches. The islanders were singing welcome songs..

So many activities to enjoy. The hardest part was choosing what to do first!

You can do snorkelling, sailing, kayaking, have a massage or just laze around on the beach. It is one of the few islands where there is still good access to the sea at low tide or take a dip in the swimming pool.

We first got ourselves established under a cabana for shade as it was a very hot day today.

Then we all ventured into the crystal clear warm water for a snorkel...just beautiful...
After a while we came in and decided to have a row around the island in a kayak... I sat back while john rowed me around :)

I got talking to the locals and one of them was weaving bracelets out of the palm leaves ...he made me one plus he made me a beautiful hat out of palm leaves...which I took back to the ship with me ... but unfortunately when we arrived back in Sydney the custom took it off me as they said it was too green.

After relaxing for a while the drums were played to say lunch was ready.... and a tasty barbecue and salad lunch was served under the beautiful palm trees, also provided was unlimited beer, wine and soft drinks throughout the day.

While having lunch we were entertained by the islanders, singing and dancing.

After lunch we went for a ride beneath the waves in the semi-submersible vessel to explore the coral reefs and see the magnificent tropical fish life in the surrounding marine sanctuary.