Malolo Lailai - "The Island"

Being on the island of Malolo Lailai made me feel like I was in an episode of "Lost"... as soon as you left the confines of the resort, you were in the wilderness. The only sounds were the wind blowing and the birds chirping. It felt like "Others" were going to jump out of the bushes and attack me.

Malolo Lailai is a beautiful and mountainous island surrounded by amazing coral reefs. Hiking trails cover the island and there are many hidden coves and beaches that you can journey to. There is also a relatively large local population that lives on the bigger island (which you see in the distance in picture 2). In this case, the "Others" were extremely friendly and helpful. Hope to come back some day!

Sunrise Hike at Malolo Lailai

I took these photos on my last day in Fiji. I had woken up before the sun in order to go on one final surf mission. However, the wind was blowing the wrong direction, it was raining, and the swell had dropped... so I decided to not go. As I was walking back to my villa (to go back to sleep), I noticed a break in the clouds... and it looked like the sun might peak out. Therefore, I decided to grab my camera and go for a hike. The cool thing about the island of Malolo Lailai is that it is one big hiking trail and you can basically go wherever you want (granted you have the energy). I started at the base of a beach and climbed over a little mountain to a clearing I spotted the day prior. From what I saw, it looked like a good spot to watch the sunrise over the big island of Viti Levu (which you see in the background). I'm not sure if these pictures do it justice... but the sunrise was spectacular. I would have liked to go surfing one more time prior to my departure, but this was a pretty decent consolation prize. Hope you enjoy!

My Fijian Adventure - "Island Life"

This gives a whole new meaning to "taking the bus to school"

One day while staying in Fiji, we decided to hire a boat and go to one of the local villages: Shell Village. My mom wanted to do some shopping and I thought it would be cool to check out the local culture. When we got to the village, school had just gotten out... and instead of waiting for the bus to take them home, the children were waiting for a boat to take them home. I thought that was pretty rad! Imagine going to school on the beach... and being barefoot in the classroom! Everyone I met in the village was super friendly, had great smiles, and made me appreciate the warm Polynesian culture. The craftsmanship on the local goods was also very nice... especially the wood carvings.

barefoot classrooms 

A local craftsman hard at work... Fiji has some amazing wood carvings.

Kids being kids

These flowers were everywhere... actually got kind of sick of them after a while