Barefoot Island Lodge
Posted by Sarah O'Neill , Saturday, 4 June 2011 15:37
After breakfast on Sunday we packed up our things and checked out and settled the bar bill etc. Most people were going on the church visit that morning which I would have loved to have done, but we had to stay and wait for the boat to our next island. We lazed around in a hammock and waited for the little boat to take us out to the Flyer when it came. We were wondering what the next resort would be like, as we knew it was the most basic we had picked, had no electricity and shared bathrooms. The flyer was busy, but we got a seat and it was only about an hours trip. We were the only two getting off for Barefoot Island Lodge! Mantaray Resort is on the island opposite and we almost booked that, as the name suggests there are mantarays around there! But luckily Barefoot cropped up in some of the reviews on tripadvisor which was so lucky so we booked that instead. The boat for mantaray was full, and we learnt quite quickly that Mantaray is a bit of a party resort, which we didn’t fancy. So, just the two of us turn up, and we’re met on the beach by a couple of the guys who work there. Jay, the main man, showed us around and told us about meal times etc. He kept reiterating the point that the resort was not luxury, and it was basic and not a party island, but we kept telling him that was w
hy we had booked it! He took us to our bure, and we were surprised to see an light on the ceiling, as we’d thought there was no electricity. But it turned out there was, and it was on all the time, but there was only a light, no sockets, but we could charge things in the main bure. The bure was very
basic, and we had a huge mossie net hanging from the ceiling as the windows we just holes in the walls with no netting on, and a sort of shutter held up with a plank of wood! It was right on the beach, so while I made myself at home Ben found a coconut and decided to try and get into it! He eventually succeeded and we drank the juice and ate some c
oconut!!! Appy (one of the guys who works there) introduced us to two girls and a couple, and that was all the other guests, and it turned out that the couple and one of the girls were leaving later that day anyway! We sat down for lunch, and the Aussie couple told us how much they loved staying here, and had been coming back for years. The lady said she was a chef, and the food was amazing. We had fish for dinner that the man had caught that morning on a fishing trip, and it was beautifully presented, in a coconut broth with a swirly of lemon on the side and a potato cake type thing. The couple and the girl left after lunch, so it was just us and Elise who was from France but had been working in NZ for a year and a half. We spent the afternoon lazing on the beach and talking with Elise. Another couple turned up off the flyer as it was coming back south from up north, called Jo and Stefan from England. Elise went on a trek with one of the locals as a guide, and so we got chatting to Jo and Stefan, they were really lovely. I couldn’t believe it when Stefan said he was 32, he looks about 20! We headed back for a shower before it got too dark, as the toilets and showers did not have lights in! The toilet and shower blocks were b
asic but clean, and the sink was outside, so Ben enjoyed some alfresco shaving! We got dressed and headed to the main bure for dinner. We got chatting to Jo and Stefan some more, who were really nice and similar to us in so many ways. They left the UK at the end of August, and are travelling for a year. They had heard about Barefoot as the place to come and swim with the manatrays like us, and not pay $30 like the people at the Mantaray resort, as our place didn’t charge for any activities! Dinner was nice, a lot of rice and a big chicken leg with some sauce. The staff are all really friendly, and we all sat around on the mats after dinner chatting. There was Jay and Appy, then Kenny the dive instructor, Olla the lovely lady who served meals and drinks and Bill the chef. Jay talk about the ‘program’ for tomorrow, the plan was to get up at 6 and check for mantarays, and if they were there to go snorkelling with them, if not to walk to the top of the island at 7am, and get back for breakfast at 8am. We were not so keen on the early start, but then he clarified and said Appy gets up early to look for mantarays and wakes us up if they’re there which we felt was much better! They would put on a coconut demonstration after breakfast if no mantarays turned up. Then he said we could decide what we wanted to do in the afternoon tomorrow, perhaps some fishing or a snorkelling trip. He also said that obviously none of the activities were compulsory, but that was what was on offer. The great thing about the resort is that all the activities are free! This is amazing, since all the others charge $5 even for snorkel hire, and way more for a snorkel trip on a boat. The other resort charge $30 to go out and snorkel with the mantas, and we had to pay nothing. After the ‘program’ for tomorrow, they got out the Kava! So we all had a try, and it was pretty rank! It made my mouth feel numb after a while which was funny! They make it up in a big wooden bowl that everyone sits around, and then pass it around in cups made of half coconut shells. It looks like dirty brown pond water, and tastes like I 
imagine that would too!They did another round so we all partook, but that was the last round for Jo and I but the boys carried on! The local’s cups were filled a lot higher than the boys thankfully! By the end of the evening Jay and Appy looked rather glazed over! It still wasn’t a particularly late night and we were in bed about 11pm. One effect of the Kava was that we all needed to pee a lot in the night, which was a pain as the toilets were a bit of a walk from the bure through the bushes, and obviously they had no lights!!!!
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