Kemp Family Adventures

 This morning we went on the most incredible snorkeling trip. We booked through Cousteau. The resort is about 15 min away. We got to the dive shop about 750 and it was a pretty smooth set up. We got the papers signed and everyone got a pair of flippers (bright our own masks and snorkels) There are two other parties on the same boat with us ( 2 and 3 people) We get on the boat for a 30 min ride out or a snorkel spot near Namena. We are so excited for what we're in for and Jeff leans to me and tells me this is worth it. The boat is fast . We get to the spot and We're instructed to keep the reef on our left and the ocean on our right. One of the guides does anti fog rinse on our masks. We enter the water and realize that we are on the edhe of a giant wall of coral! I can't even describe how amazing the snorkeling was. A huge variety of coral and fish. We even see a shark in the deep. The blue is such an entrancing color. What a world under the surface! After about 45 min the g...

 Hi everyone! It's late in fiji, but I really didn't wants day to pass  and possibly forget.  This morning we were able to have a slow morning.Around 830 we got out the door to go snrokeling at split rock. Fir st we went to towna dn got to walk around the market. Akata and her two children and hismand happened to be there in savusauve so we ran into them again. We bought 3 medium pineapples and 8 pineapple speerfs, 2 watermelon slices.  We snorkleted at split rock and saw fish we never saw at  Hidewaawy. Annie went out in the open water and held her own. She and Jonathan hada  floaties ring that helped give them a break when the yneeded it.  AFter snorkeling we stopped at hot bread kitchen for cream buns and also ended up  buying two chicken meat pies. The meat pies were a high hit-everyone loved them and wants to go back for more.  We stopped in at a grocert store and got some chips since Jonathan was craving chips.We also got a few apples. ...

(Writing this on Monday) Yesterday we went to church in Savusavu. We had considered going to Nabua where Jeff served but it was a 1.5 hour drive and considering all the traveling we did on Friday and Saturday we thought it better to stay close to home.  In Rabi and throughout other islands we have seen billboards about "leptosporosis kills".... we ignored them more or less but wondered what is lepto. I think I remember learning about it in my infectious disease class in my MPH program. We googled it when we got home and find it is zoonotic from animals to humans- contact with animal urine and urine in the rainwater being washed into puddles etc. And of course we spend the day on Rabi in wet conditions, the boys slid all over the field with puddles, etc. We weren't near a lot of livestock but it also can be spread through dog rat urine. I spent some time last night reading about lepto and thinking through how much risk we actually had been exposed to yesterday.... the boys...

 Oh my goodness, Saturday was something else! (writing this Monday morning) I stayed up late moving laundry and hanging it out. My mind was spinning about the logistics of getting to Rabi and if the boat would actually be there (you don't count on something happening until it actually happens) and thinking through what we would need for the day. The kids (except Annie- she's on the couch on the main level) are sleeping downstairs- you walk outside to the deck and down to access and since it was our first night and everyone crashed, I wondered if they would wake up disoriented and walk into the pool or what... It didn't help that there was a verrry loud Indian/Hindi party going until way after midnight- loud music and a someone talking constantly in the microphone. Anyhow, the bed and  home are comfortable but I only got a couple hours of sleep that night.  We woke up at 5 to start gearing up to go.. We wanted to leave at 6:00 to meet the man at 8:00. (we had been told it ...

This morning we pack up our belongings and after breakfast we checked out of the Hideaway. We knew it would be about a 2 hours drive to Suva... It was closer to a 3 hour drive- there many speed bumps, police and speed traps... The max speed is 80km/hr (50mph) and winding roads. It felt like such a long drive but so much to see. Ben was still struggling with stomach cramps. Two hours after breakfast we gave him a dose of Azithromycin just in case the bug is bacterial. I'm not sure. We are a loose bunch!! TMI. I told the kids you are not allowed to toot with your shorts up. We all just laugh and roll our eyes. (Misery loves company and so Grandma joined the ranks at 4am this morning)  Sorry for all those details but it has been a significant element of our adventure the last two days 🤪  I know I said it before but the scenery is so lush and beautiful! I took pictures of the views along the way. We made it to Suva and to the small Nausori airport. No lines and only about 50 ft o...

  Today ended up being another r and r day at the resort. Katie and Jon are running loose now 🥴 Grandpa is feeling a lot better after taking the azithromycin.  We snorkeled in the morning. We saw a blue flowery creature that stuck out of the lime green coral, an octopus that was reddish but retreated and changed to the tan color of the coral right before our eyes, huge sea cucumbers and more.  We had breakfast and Grandpa surprised us all that he had cut his mustache! It took us a while to notice and everyone agreed it doesn't look too different or scary 😆 Mustache or no mustache he wears it well.  Anyway, we  hung around after breakfast. Jeff played nitwit with some of the kids. We attempted to make some plans for the day but reasoned with all the sick tummies we maybe shouldn't chance too much time away. G&G and Jeff remember the hot springs nearby that one of the locals took them to 20 years ago so Jeff asked a worker who said he would send his friend t...

After such a busy day on Tuesday we had a rest day at the resort. Snorkeling in the morning and afternoon. I can't believe the variety of fish! There are beautiful live coral right outside our bure. It seems like we could snorkel forever and still see something new. After breakfast we did some time at the pool, fun playing volleyball and then lunch poolside. The kids menu is really inexpensive... Yummy hamburger and fries for $3 USD. Our friend Moses ("Mosesay") cut open coconuts for us. So delicious. The machete was definitely not the cleanest and Jeff didn't bat an eye. I on the other hand wiped the coconut rim as best as I could and then brought the coconut meat inside to wash in really hot water. The coconut meat was delicious and I think it couldn't hurt with the weird stomach stuff some of us have going on. Jeff was set to meet with Parveesh CEO of hospital here re: getting radiation onc going in Fiji. Parveesh got stuck at the hospital on a case and had to ...

We headed for Suva to meet Akata and her family at Tappoo market. Every village has speed bumps on the highway  Along the way Jeff sped up to pass someone in a passing lane on a straight away and surprise- a police was there with a radar gun at the end of the passing zone and waved us to pull over. He looked very serious but said bula ßhappily to everyone so we couldn't tell what kind of interaction this would be... Jeff talked with him outside the van, we couldn't tell what was being said... Turns out it took a while for the officer to believe we were not a public hire bus but a private hire. I will let Jeff write more about their conversation but when it was said and done we left without a ticket. The drive was so lush and beautiful with countless villages along the way. We got stopped one more time at a controlled stop and Jeff struck up a conversation with the man... asked if he was from Rabi because he looked like he could be. The man is inactive now but went to LDS colleg...

Everyone slept great. The boys were awake at 6am to snorkel! I could hear them squealing and calling to each other through their snorkels as they saw fish. The kids love the water! We had a delicious breakfast- toast, danishes, breads, fruit etc and hot breakfast menu of eggs or pancakes etc.  High tide wasn't until 4:00 so we spent some time in the pool. The sun was out and some of us got sunburned pretty quick! The resort isn't crowded at all- we had to pool pretty much to ourselves. We read that mid- Oct to mid-Nov is their low season because the Aussie is are in school and don't have holiday. (It seems like most everyone visiting us Australian) Jeff on the slide After breakfast we put on dry clothes to go explore low tide. Blue starfish! You can't tell from this picture but gray clouds rolled in and it began to rain... Lightning struck about a mile away so we decided to get off the water and see if we could wait it out. Cute Emily is literally afraid of falling coco...