Tim's Periscope

The concept of time is universal.   Lunch follows breakfast, noon chases dawn and the morning after wearily treads in the footsteps of the night before. The lateral ticks and tocks of the world's clocks all move in the same direction, knowingly pulling us into an unknown future. 

Nobody has yet passed this message onto the Fijians however, a nation of people happy to measure time by their own standards, Fiji Time.

It was due to Fiji Time that I found myself sat in a rickety dingy full of beer boxes, leisurly cruising my way through the lush blue, island spotted waters of the south pacific. 

Three hours previously I'd been standing in the hotel lobby, waiting for a minibus to take me down to the port, where I was due to be taken by speed boat to the island paradise of Mana, a small speck of land located west of main land Fiji. Having been told to be ready and waiting for a 10am pick up, I was eagerly punctual.  By 11am, I was still sat in the same lobby.  The receptionist cheerily reassured me that the minibus wasn't late but was merely running on Fiji Time, an approach to time much more casual and laissez faire than my western upbringing had made me used to. Eventually my carriage arrived and dutifully carried me down to the beach, just in time to see my booked mode of transport to Mana go wizzing over the horizon. "Don't worry" I was told by my bus driver, "the beer boat leaves soon, I'm sure they'll be able to give you a ride."

"The beer boat?" I said, "sounds ideal."

That's how I found myself sat in the rickety dingy, riding shotgun to paradise.

The journey to Mana took a little over two hours, a lenght of time that seems in the grand scheme of things to be insignificant, but which will stay with me for the rest of my days. The azure water was scattered with tiny mounds of white sand, each lined with coconut palms, I felt like I'd been sucked into a post card, such was the beauty of the landscape.

Even the greatest minds of Hollywoods couldn't conjure a scene as breathtaking.

Once we'd arrived at our desination, I headed up the beach to book myself into the hostel. The Ratu Kini Backpackers was to be my home for the three days I was to spend on Mana, a hostel so welcoming and friendly that it's a suprise people ever leave. The bar and eating area, where the guests meals are served free three times a day, is overlooking the beach with the guest dorms lying just back from the beach in amongst the palm grove. Although not air-conditioned, the dorms are kept cool enough to be comfortable by the gentle breeze blowing in from the pacific and the beds, despite not being the comfiest are soft enough for a good nights sleep.

The entertainment on Mana is the island itself. Whether you want to snorkel over the the coral reefs just yards from the shore, climb up the hills to take in the panoramic island-scape or simply lounge of the beech sunning yourself while listening to the sound of mild rolling waves and distant falling coconuts, there's always something to keep up the warm feeling of contentment.

And when the day is done, Mana has one more suprise, the most perfect sunset I think I will ever see. The kind of sunset that will not only make you happy with your lot in life but will instill in you a wonderous awe in the world that created us. A present from nature, one that will never be forgotten as long as you live.