When it came to our honeymoon location it was all in Josh's hands. I actually didn't know where we were going until the week of the wedding and the only reason I knew at that point was because I had to get my passport renewed real quick and that required having a copy of my itinerary. I actually thought is was fun not knowing. Josh had provided me with a very specific list for packing, so I wasn't too worried. A week before we left I found out we were heading to Qamea, Fiji. I promised not to do any research, so all I knew was that we were going somewhere tropical and from what Josh said, remote.
It was the most amazingly beautiful place I have ever been. And remote it was, after a 10 hour plane ride to the city of Nadi we took another 90 minute ride on the tiniest plane I have ever been on to Taveuni, and finally a 10 minute boat ride across the water to our destination, Qamea Island. Qamea is a small island with only one small resort, Qamea Resort & Spa and a few villages. The resort is very private and the entire time we were there, there were only 4 or 5 other couples.
Our villa is going to need its one paragraph. It was amazing!!. Our house was at the end of the resort and a bit away from everyone. We had our own yard, and access to the ocean. We had a private pool and hot tube, which we used every night to relax before dinner. At 5:30 every evening we were brought cheese & crackers and a fruity drink, that never got old. At one point Josh and I planned how to kill me off, so Josh could get my insurance money and then he would have to return to Fiji because he had to be closer to my body. We could have stayed in paradise forever.
The resort had so many things to do if you wanted. We took a trip to a nearby village, hiked Bouma Falls, and went to Honeymoon Beach. We also, very reluctantly on my part, learned how to scuba dive. Josh was a pro and caught on really quick. I however, took a little longer. I didn't like the idea of taking my mask off under water, breathing and then putting it back on. I kept getting the mask caught in my hair and the first few times breathed water into my nose. Once I finally got it, it actually wasn't too bad. We also had the best instructor in the world. Stevae is a marine biologist from South Carolina and has been diving for 30 years. That made me feel better about diving and I was intrigued by his background. The fact that he was a marine biologist made it ideal for me because he is able to handle organisms that other divers are not allowed to touch. The fact that his specialty is sharks made me feel even better. On our first real dive after getting certified we saw a sea turtle and watched a 6 ft. white tip reef shark hunt down a grouper, very exciting. While we were training Stevea brought a beautiful, yet very poisonous, lion fish over to us. We also got to pet a sea cucumber. Unfortunately we don't really have any pictures of us learning how to dive or of the animals we saw.
Bouma Falls was also beautiful. It's a series of falls that you hike up to. The first falls were a pretty easy hike, but the higher falls required hiking up a pretty steep mountain with narrow paths and uneven stairs. We also had to forge a little river to get to it. It was awesome and the views on the way up were amazing.
Honeymoon Beach was probably the only time Josh and I just sat and relaxed during the day the entire week. They boat you out to a secluded beach and leave you there for a few hours with a picnic lunch and two lounge chairs. I felt like we were on an episode of the bachelor. It was a great way to spend the afternoon.
The Spa could not have been more perfect. It's called the Jungle Spa, which couldn't have been more fitting. The spa rooms are all separate little huts with separate pathways and stairs in the jungle. In other spas I've been to the music in the background has sounds of water and birds chirping. This spa didn't need the background noise. You could hear actual birds chirping, waves crashing, occasional rain fall, and water running. The messieurs were amazing and all trained in Paris. Needless to say Josh and I took several trips to the spa.
We also attended church while we were there. One of our favorite employees, Louisa, was LDS and when she found out we were as well she invited us to church. Josh ended up teaching the lesson in Priesthood and we both were asked to bare our testimonies in sacrament. It was truly one of the highlights of the trip.
The people of Fiji were so kind and friendly, the food was always delicious, and the scenery was breathtaking. I couldn't have asked for a better place to spend my first week of marriage with my wonderful hubby, it was beyond my wildest dreams. It is definitely a place we plan on traveling back to. Below are a few more random pictures from the week.
