Early on, we did catch some truly rough weather that made the three-hour ferry ride from Denarau to the Yasawas an Olympic-level mental workout in keeping everything inside from leaping outside (if you get my drift). And for a chap who doesn't get seasick, it shows how bad the 7m swells were.
The rough weather also forced us to cancel a boat trip to the village of Soso, where we were going to investigate a sustainable food programme taking root in the islands.
However, some bright spark volunteered us to walk there instead. And I can tell you it was not me, folks.
The trek involved clambering for 30 minutes up a steep hill to a ridgeline, continuing down the other side and then along a sandy beach for just under an hour.
Sound like fun? Not when it's 30C, 80 per cent humidity and you are carrying 11-plus kilos of camera gear on your back.
While I may grumble about that, it did lead to an amazing encounter and interview with the paramount chief of the island, Ratu Kitione Vuluma, sitting under a shelter on a woven flax mat drinking freshly made sweet lemonade from his own crop of fruit.
More of that at a later time ...
There were also the many hassles involved with modern-day air travel, the biggest being the carry-on luggage Nazis that airlines have turned into.
I set off with a clothing bag weighing about 8kg out of my 23kg limit, a laptop bag of about 4kg. and then my camera bag, which I confess did make me look a lot like Yurtle the Turtle and his shell. But in my defence, it does fit easily in the overhead luggage area.
However, no self-respecting photographer would allow baggage handlers anywhere near his cameras and lenses, and so I just paid an exorbitant $100 to be allowed to take it on board the Fiji Air jet.
That left me wondering about the baggage allowances of gals with handbags big enough to outfit a house with the contents, and those who clank on and off with three duty-free bottles of booze, ciggies, perfumes and giant Toblerone bars.
But then I guess that's different.
Anyway, the Yasawas is a fabulous chain of islands that have some truly wonderful people to meet and places to see.
The sands are white, the water clear and the marine life spectacular.
The place that really stood out as a way of getting more of a handle on Fiji village life was the resort at Wai Lailai. It is run by the local village and is so serene your blood pressure drops as soon as you put your bags down.
The people in the Yasawas live in touch with nature and the sea is a major part of their life.
While we were there we took out the masks and flippers on many occasions and I had great pleasure in reconnecting with the delights of snorkelling.
Our first venture was part of a Crown of Thorns starfish hunting expedition - the scuba divers bagged 29 of the blasted pests - then we were thrilled by a snorkelling adventure with giant manta rays in the channel off Drawaqa Island.
The current was fast but the mantas sedate as they passed by. Gosh they are huge - one was at least 2m across.
However, the highlight for me was swimming with sharks. Yup, you read it right.
We took a small tender about 40 minutes out from Waya Lailai Resort on a hot sunny day, with blue skies and an even bluer sea. We reached a reef and the guides anchored over a channel about 20m deep.
I was astounded at how clear the water was after the recent storms and at how well I coped with having four sharks as big as me swimming around.
The closest one got was within a metre and I have to admit it was a beautiful creature.
An amazing experience.
Anyway, there will be a lot of Fiji travel stories coming from me in the next few weeks, so I hope I can convey just how amazing the Yasawas are.
richard@richardmoore.com
-Richard Moore is an award-winning Western Bay journalist and photographer
