Fiji islands- Your ultimate Guide to the Perfect Itinerary

Last year I took the most amazing 2 week trip to Fiji and thought I would post our itinerary because it isn't the easiest trip to plan as Fiji has soooo many islands so it can take a while! I would recommend this route for couples or solo travelers in order to see the best of the Yasawa islands.

We started off by spending a night at Bamboo in Nadi before we set off for the islands in the morning.

We decided to go straight to the north of the Yasawa Islands and work our way back (you could also do the reverse of course) so the quickest and most fun way of doing that was on a seaplane!

We used Turtle Airways departing Nadi and headed to Nacula Island as our first stop of our island hopping- taking 35 minutes compared to 5 hours on the Yasawa flyer ferry and were taken directly by boat to 1. Blue Lagoon resort on Nacula Island.

Blue Lagoon was unreal and as the name suggests, I have never seen water so blue! We spent three days there and it was a truly relaxing start to our holiday. They offer free kayaks and paddle boards to enjoy the beautiful water and snorkeling was fun too plus the food there was so good.

2. Barefoot Manta Resort | Drawaqa island 

We headed to Drawaqa island in the hope of swimming with manta rays but unfortunately due to the wind we did not spot any! As this is the main reason for going to this particular island we had only booked to stay there for one night/ two days and kept things moving as other than that, there is nothing else to do on Drawaqa so i'd recommend just a night to anyone whether you see the manta's or not.

3. Octopus Resort | Waya Island for 3 days 

Octopus resort was our favourite place on our trip, reason being that there is the perfect balance of relaxation, activities & excursions on Waya Island.

A highlight for us was visiting a local primary school on the neighbouring island of Wayasewa where you meet the children who have the most amazing dance moves!! You can also donate toys/ equipment or money if you like too. Seeing the kids so happy and interested to meet people from all over the globe was fantastic.

4. Naqalia Lodge | Wayalailai 

Naqalia Lodge we included in our itinerary to truly experience an authentic Fijian home-stay (no wifi!) including home cooking, traditional Fijian dancing and adhoc activities throughout the day; this is a far throw from the luxury we had already experienced but a great insight in to Fijian island life in an authentic family environment.

We booked a shark diving excursion where we were taken out in a small fishing boat and jumped into the ocean to snorkel with reef sharks- none any longer than a meter thankfully! 

The family host a range of excursions from this to night snorkeling, a 2 hour sunset hike to the viewpoint on the island and they also offer a school visit to a different school that Octopus took us to.

I'm glad that we added Naqalia Lodge on to our itinerary as it encouraged us to get involved in activities and get to know the rest of the people staying there- you end up becoming a small family! However it is worth pointing out that we paid just as much to stay here (you have to purchase their cooking in order to stay too) as we did the Octopus Resort so as great as it was to experience this aspect of Fijian culture, we certainly paid for it too!

5. Beachcomber Island | Mamanuca Islands

We chose to end our island hopping on Beachcomber as we had heard that it was the party island so thought we would end on a high; unfortunately the island was actually nearly as quiet as the previous and not as party at all during the particular time that we went (September). 

The island offers a wide range of excursions to places such as Cloud Nine- the floating bar, snorkeling trips and a turtle conservation. The standard of food there isn't the best (school dinner kind of food!) but there is plenty of it and this is a great island to meet people and make friends so I recommend this is a first stop if you are a solo traveler as you usually end up bumping in to people on the next islands!

Beachcomber is a beautiful scenic but small island and attracts a younger (20's/early 30's) crowd compared to the rest of the islands.

From Beachcomber, we headed back to Nadi to the initial hostel that we stayed in and spent our remaining day there. 

Overall Fiji was the best holiday and the most beautiful place I have ever visited; if you are after a relaxing holiday just be advised that this is not a destination for those on a shoe-string budget- but it is worth every penny!

Delpozo SS17

 My absolute favourite NYFW show was Delpozo SS17. Under new creative direction of Josep Font, the show feaured an amazing use of contrasting colours, feminine frills and beautiful embellishment which inspired me to create a collage where I took some of my favourite elements of the collection to build an outfit.

 

Perth Milky Way

Here's another snap of our trip to see the Milky Way in Lancelin just south of Perth. We're holding a torch to add a cool contrast to the photo, but mostly so you could see us in the forefront. I recommend anyone who's staying in Western Australia to get out and see it!

Homepage Animation

 

This is my favourite of all the collages I designed for the Leivankash fine jewellery website, I think the styling looks great with the statement jewellery and the animation looks really clean on the white background of the homepage as you can see above.

Interactive Invitation Commission

Earlier in the year I was commissioned to produce this interactive invitation for an event held by Fofolles, featuring collage and a hand drawn pencil illustration of a unicorn and balloons. I think the moving image invites are a great way of adding character and attracting people to view the event invite online and via email, and can also be printed as a still image for hard copy invitations.

East Coast Australia in 3 Weeks

This time last year my two friends and I set off for a fun trip to the East Coast of Australia for 3 weeks, flying into Melbourne, then to Sydney, next Brisbane and then began a road trip up the Sunshine Coast, stopping off until we reached Cairns. 

I thought I'd share some of my snaps & tips from along the way

Melbourne

We started our trip from South so that we could brave the cold first and our trip would get warmer as we headed North, so flew into Melbourne on September 1st, and it was in-fact freezing!

Because of the cold weather we rented a car and set out for Great Ocean Rd, where you will find the Twelve Apostles and the beautiful coast line en route- be warned it's a full day of driving though, we got to the Twelve Apostles at sunset!

St Kilda is a cool area to visit, complete with Luna Park and I recommend going there in the day rather than night time during the winter as we did, it was pretty quiet! 

The Crown casino strip is also worth a visit, plus a trip up the Sky Tower at night to get the most beautiful (but scary!) view of the city.

St Kilda

The Twelve Apostles

Sky Tower

Sydney 

We took a flight to Sydney from Melbourne where we had an Airbnb apartment in Darlinghurst waiting for us. Our host recommended we rent a car and head to the Blue Mountains, so that's exactly what we did! The views there were amazing but it was so cold there! The Museum of Contemporary Art is a cool gallery that is worth a visit and a drink overlooking the Opera House on their terrace, plus Manley Island via the ferry from the Opera House harbour for a few drinks on a Friday or Saturday night. Of course a trip to Bondi Beach is a must, where you can spot the stunning Iceberg pool overlooking the beach. 

Rusty Rabbits in Darlinghurst is great for breakfast, The Print Room is a super pretty destination for lunch and dinner at Apollo or Almond- if you fancy Greek or Middle Eastern food.

View from the Museum of Contemporary Art

                                                           Fraser Island & Whitsundays
From Sydney we caught a flight to Brisbane and picked up our car rental, we stopped off at Noosa and stayed in a farmhouse for the night and then headed for Rainbow beach in the morning where we were picked up by our Cool Dingo tour guides for our two night stay on Fraser Island. This was a tour recommended to me and it was the best activity we did on the East Coast, you have two days (one if you like) of exploring the island, including paddleboarding on Lake Mackenzie, the Champagne Pools and whale watching from an aeroplane if you wish.

Lake Mackenzie

 Whitsundays was our next stop, we drove to Airlie beach and booked our yellow speed boat to the islands from there. It's the most stunning view when you're there and the water is clear blue; you can do helicopter rides over the islands, however they are very expensive and we were saving our money for the Great Barrier Reef...

Whitsundays

Cairns

 Cairns was our final stop, this is the best place to swim and dive in the Great Barrier Reef. We booked a catamaran tour that stops off in a safe (shark free!) area and you have the option of both snorkeling and diving. As you can see, the views are amazing and the different types of fish you see there are incredible.

Daintree Rainforest is a must while you're there so that you can see the waterfalls, lakes and meet the aboriginals in the rainforest itself.

Crinkle Swimwear

In light of the launch of the collaboration between vintage swimwear brand Hunza G and Pandora Sykes, I wanted to talk about my favourite trend right now- crinkle swimwear! 

I love the girley frills that Pandora has added to the swimsuit collection as well as the colour palette- the yellow is such a great colour fit for complimenting a summer tan.

I managed to find a great brand named Boho Rose who design really cool updated versions of the crinkle cut swimsuit as well as the traditional one piece. I purchased a coral peach & a white swimsuit and I love them because you can wear them as swimsuit and as a body/top- so they are super handy for the Australian weather plus my trip to Bali!