The Reids Down Under: Fiji

We arrived back yesterday from 11 very relaxing days on Castaway Island, Fiji.

This was our third trip to Castaway and once again it delivered just what we needed. Each of us had a great time - in fact James cried for about 2 hours after we left as he just wanted to stay on Castaway forever.

If you are an 8 year old boy - Castaway is heaven. It's safe - so your parents give you pretty much complete freedom - the only rule was do not swim in the sea without us. Other than that James could go to kids club, go to the pool, have lunch, hang out with the resort staff, play tennis or just chill out. I think he rather enjoyed that amount of freedom.

Olivia loves Castaway for different reasons. Yes she loves the kids club and pool but she also loves lying on the beach reading a book - in fact we ran out of books after a week and she then read all of James books as well. She is a very different person to sporty James - a good book and a lounger in the shade is what she enjoyed the most.

For Emma & I it was just relaxing. No phone, no email and most of the time - no kids. Bliss.

The photos should give you a taste of what Castaway is all about.....

Ken

Olivia had the compulsory hair braiding on day 1. Just 6 braids - not patient enough to do the whole head.

Castaway is a small island - only 65 rooms. You get there by boat, helicopter or sea-plane. This time we arrived by boat.

We went hand-line fishing on day 2 and had the most amazing sunset. There is no filter on this shot. Oh - there is only 1 fish caught (by me) but everyone had a great time.

Olivia tried her hand at the latest Aussie sports craze - paddle boarding. You stand up on a surf board and paddle along - without falling off.....

Olivia's typical morning activity.

The kids took part in the weekly 'show' of Fijian dancing and singing. James and Cooper were brave enough to get dressed up in tribal gear.

This little sea snake was often near the shore at low tide. He is about 4 feet long and an inch thick. Thankfully his mouth is very small so they can very rarely bite people - if they did you have about 3 seconds for any final thoughts/messages to loved ones before you die. We tried to put that out our mind as we snorkelled with the kids......looking out for sharks was a good distraction from the sea snakes.

Every boat that arrives at Castaway gets greeted by the staff who sing the 'Castaway' song. It's cute at the start of the week but after 11 days and 2 boats arriving each day you get a bit sick of the "Bulla, welcome to Castaway!" ending.

There was demonstration of weaving with coconut palms. To demonstrate the versatility of these leaves they 'weaved' James into one. He was trapped but kept calm - at least until three large spiders appeared and starting jumping towards his head. If I had not ran away so quickly - I could have helped him.....