In January of this year I flew to Fiji with my sister to photograph a wedding. An opportunity that turned into an experience I will never forget. I was going to go alone until about December when Olivia was (very) easily convinced to book a flight and come with me. The most spontaneous of holidays. But sometimes these make the best memories. And it did.
Brenda and Ryan's wedding was amazing. You can see their wedding photos and read about it on my website. We arrived two days before the wedding and got to know our surroundings and went for a location scout. We stayed at Bedarra Beach Inn on the Coral Coast. The perfect spot for us. We quickly became friends with the amazing staff, the food was delicious and we could walk 50 metres to the beach and not see a soul. I'm always a bit nervous to do too much before a wedding incase I break something or become unwell. Photographing a wedding is so physically, mentally and (at times) emotionally draining it's hard to imagine doing it with anything less than 100%. But within a day we knew Fiji. There isn't too much to do there except relax, play and wander. We were on "Fiji time"!
I rambled my feelings into the notes on my phone at 2am after the wedding. It was only two days into a week long trip but I already knew the experience we were going to have. The wedding was epic and I was in Fiji. I thought about rewording it into this blogpost, but maybe my 2am raw thoughts are what I should share. So, I wrote this, and in hindsight I couldn't agree more..
"I have tired feet from photographing a wedding for 13 hours. I'm waiting for my cards to load so I just went onto Instagram and Liv has posted a pic of me on my way to my first international wedding and called it a "proud sister moment". But I feel more proud. I feel proud that I have a sister who is proud of that. I feel proud that I'm following my dreams and it's leading me to places like Fiji with my sister. An experience I never would have had if I didn't follow my gut. So many people give me a special type of look when I say what I've done and what I'm doing. But I've learnt not to care. It makes me happy. Kind of like I know something they don't know. They don't know how good I've got it. How doing what you're passionate about is the most rewarding experience ever. It opens up my mind and makes me want more. I'm constantly thinking of what else I can do. It's like I'm addicted to this feeling of freedom and passion. It's not all pleasant though. I feel completely overwhelmed and out of my comfort zone everyday. Sometimes I have no idea where I'm heading and I work hard. But it's all for me. And that is just so worth it all."
After the wedding we headed to Robinson Crusoe Island for a new adventure. This place felt like the real Fiji. We stayed in a bure and that in itself was definitely an experience. It had one small ceiling fan that turned off with the generators at 11pm, and if any of you have been to Fiji you can probably imagine how much we laughed when we found that out. We were there for two days and it felt like a week - in the best possible way. We spent the days exploring, swimming, resting in the hammocks, snorkelling, kayaking, paddle boarding, drinking from coconuts, taking photos, jet skiing, and becoming friends with the staff. There were only 15 guests staying the night. Most of the tourists go only for the day, an absolute loss to them and an absolute score for us. As night settled on the island we sat on palm woven mats and drank kava, listened to our new friends singing their beautiful Fijian songs, talked and played games.
Holy moly. It makes my heart swell just remembering all of this. I could not have asked for a more perfect experience and I could not have asked for a better travel companion than my little sister, Olivia. I don't think we have ever laughed so much. So, here are some of the photos from our trip. Better late than never hey?
[Equipment: Canon 5Dmarkiii, 50mm 1.4, 24-70mm, iPhone5.]
Oh and did I mention that Fijians are the most friendly, generous, welcoming human beings we have ever met? We became good friends with so many of them and we are still in touch with most of them now. If you ever go to Fiji, treat the staff and locals as your friends and your holiday will be a completely different experience.
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