Jun 10, 2014
Flight: Nadi, Fiji (NAN) to Christmas Island, Kiribati (CXI); Fiji Airways FJ822; 737-700 economy
We were up about 3:30AM and my daughter wanted to go down to the beach and go swimming! Luckily there was enough light from the open-air restaurant shining down on the beach so we could see. The sea had calmed considerably since yesterday and there were only tiny waves coming in. After the beach we went for a swim in the pool which was quite refreshing. We went back to the room and fell asleep again for a few more hours, waking up around 8AM when I went to eat breakfast again. The open-air restaurant had an OK selection for breakfast, omelette station, pancakes, sausage, etc. Fruit and yogurt were kept in a chilled display case. The chocolate croissants were particularly very good.



Sheraton Tokoriki

There was still considerable construction going on at the hotel.. we couldn't hear anything from our room but I felt sorry for some of the other guests staying there as they were constantly cutting tile, sawing wood, hammering etc in the unfinished bures. They were constantly bringing up supplies from the beach as well which tore it up a bit at the access ramp.

The hotel had a list of activities posted for the day, coconut harvesting, Fiji language lessons, etc. They also show movies in the afternoon/evenings in the small cinema. Spent most of the day relaxing yet it still went by too quickly. I was planning on heading back to the mainland this afternoon to catch my midnight flight to Kiritimati (Christmas) island. You must prearrange the ferry transfers through the Sheraton, I had already done this via email but they still seemed confused that I would be going back to the mainland without checking out, mrs&miss hauteboy would stay on Tokoriki until I returned in two days. When I asked at the reception desk about my transfer, they were still confused and couldn't find record of my booking, but they would sort out the paperwork before I left. The launch departed early before I received anything, and when I got on the ferry they asked for my boarding pass. I told them I'd booked it through the hotel but the hotel hadn't given me anything! I was prepared to pay cash if necessary, they said sit down and we will sort it out.... (in the end I never did get charged for my return ticket)

The ride back to Denarau was quite rough and took nearly 2 hrs as we stopped off at other resorts. The Hard Rock Cafe Fiji is right at the Denarau port, so I stayed there to pickup a shirt and eat dinner. Either Fiji/Denarau is very expensive (likely) or I'm just used to travelling much cheaper. I still had a few hours to kill (flight didn't leave until midnight) but I wondered about taxi availability so I decided to head straight to the airport. They wanted 40 or 45FJD but managed to talk one down to 30FJD. Once at the airport I settled in for a few hours wait as the checkin desk wasn't yet open and you can't checkin online. At checkin there were many i-Kiribati heading back home with lots of luggage. The checkin desk next door showed tomorrow's Our Airline flight to Nauru, one of the countries I still have to visit.

Once through immigration I checked on the lounge situation... they had free access for QF Gold members (I'm only silver, and didn't have my card anyway) but no luck for AA Platinum. The main waiting area was pretty empty though as the CXI flight departs at 23:59. There were several groups of Aussie fishermen waiting on the flight... Christmas Island is supposedly a great place to go bonefishing. They were planning on spending several weeks on the island and were discussing tides, weather, etc. Finally it was time to board the 737 for the 4.5 hr flight. I had a window seat on the left side of the plane.

Jun 11, 2014
Flight: Christmas Island, Kiribati (CXI) to Nadi, Fiji (NAN); Fiji Airways FJ823; 737-700 economy
Hotel: Mercure Nadi; Nadi, Fiji; $44
The flight started approaching Kiritimati just as it was getting light. Kiritimati (Christmas) Island is part of the nation of Kiribati (pronounced Keeruh-bahs) and is the world's largest coral atoll. Despite having 70% of Kiribati's land area, only 5% of the population lives here.. most i-Kiribati live in overcrowded Tarawa (read The Sex Lives of Cannibals for a view on life there). The island also has a huge lagoon where the tourists go fishing. Due to the International Date Line snaking around it, Kiritimati is one of the first places to celebrate the new day (it's due south of Hawaii yet a day ahead). The island was used for thermonuclear testing by the British during the 1950s (Operation Grapple) and the US in the 1960s. The airport was originally one of the British military airfields. I got a great view out over the light blue lagoons as we approached the airport, then into a circle pattern before landing. As the flight continued onto Hawaii, everyone had to disembark so they could do a security screen. The airport 'terminal' has to be one of the smallest I've been to.

Kiritimati airport

Since I only had a few hours to spend, and there aren't any taxis on the island, I had pre-arranged a day tour ($170) through the Captain Cook hotel (http://www.captaincook-kiribati.com). My driver/guide met me outside and we drove to the hotel to pay. The hotel had motel-style rooms and some bungalows and was right on the beach. We soon set out and drove to Ronton (London), the main town on the island about 20 minutes away. Kiritimati is flat, flat, the highest point is barely 12'. We passed by kids on their way to school, past several open-air churches and schools, then did a circuit around the town (such as it was) and to the point overlooking the opening to the lagoon. There was a good view out across to Cook Island and the other side of the lagoon, about 5km away. To drive to the other point would take hours as the road loops all the way around the island. Offshore there were several foreign fishing vessels (Spanish, Korean, etc).

Captain Cook hotel

Next we drove back towards the town of Banana (where the airport is) and down to one of the lagoons. Along the way we passed a worker carrying a jug of coconut toddy.. I wanted to try some but it wasn't his toddy to sell! We ended up at a little picnic spot for locals on the lagoon, they had a BBQ grill setup, a thatched hut, etc. The water was a gorgeous blue color from the limestone. The lagoons form quite a maze in the center of the island and you really need a guide to find your way around if going in a boat... my guide was telling me of one tourists who showed up and decided he didn't need a guide in the lagoons. He was finally found two days later without any food or water. The climate there is pretty hot and humid. Mostly covered with palm trees though there are pine trees around Banana town.


Lagoons

Next we drove to a salt-processing pond. The road here was covered in pure-white seafoam (Kiribati snow according to my guide). From there we drove around some more, eventually finding someone who would sell us a cup of toddy (palm wine) as I'd never tried any before. It smelled pretty sour but had an interesting sweet taste. Went back to the hotel for lunch, $15 for a huge lobster. A bit of a rest and we were off again, heading over to the windward coast where a fishing boat had run ashore. I hadn't gotten much sleep on the plane the night before, and was still jetlagged a bit so I actually nodded off in the car for awhile. The coast here was lined with plates of old coral, worn smooth by the constant surf. We still had plenty of time (and really there isn't much to see) and my driver took me back to London again to see the main pier, built by the Japanese in the 1990s.


Trying Palm Wine for the first time


Church

We got back to the airport about 2PM for the 4PM flight. For it being such a small airport, it was complete chaos on arrival. The checkin area was full of Chinese, Ecuadorian and El Salvadoran fishermen from the ships headed back home. The checkin process was pretty chaotic too. There were two or three lines and wasn't sure which one I had to wait for. Wait in line, they check your name off on a list and take your passport. Then a line for checked bags (I only had my daypack), then another line to pay airport departure tax ($20). I was one of the last in line and by the time I finally got my passport back, the person taking departure tax money had already left. They wouldn't let me into the 'waiting room' until I had my receipt. Meanwhile the plane back from Hawaii lands and still no sign of them. I walked out of the terminal and down a path to a store to buy a cold drink. No amenities in the terminal at all! Eventually the tax person shows up and was able to go through security into the waiting room. Ended up sitting there nearly 30 minutes in sweltering heat before they finally let us board the plane.

The flight back to Nadi was pretty uneventful, arriving back about 7PM. I had forgotten to bring the document from the cruise line saying I didn't have a return ticket from Fiji, but they didn't ask for it this time at immigration. The last ferry back to Tokoriki had left at 3PM so I had booked the Mercure hotel for the night in Nadi. It had an airport shuttle and shuttle pickup for Denarau Port in the morning, so that worked out well. I was pretty starving by this point and had noticed an Indian-Thai restaurant down the street. It wasn't too far (350m) so I decided to walk it (checking the book later, it says don't walk at night in Nadi!). I was propositioned at least a dozen times just in that short distance...

The restaurant turned out to be pretty good (http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restauran...Viti_Levu.html) and decent price.