To the Fiji

Friday 26th February 2010:

Destination: Fiji. So we got on our Air Pacific flight to the Fiji. And might I just add: great service, friendly staff and far better than the Australian airlines we flew. Oh the controversy. Only a three-hour flight to Nadi, Fiji, which I later realised was pronounced 'Nandi' rather than Nadi. Just in case you find yourself in Fiji one day and wish to perfect the pronunciation.

The following day our island-hopping tour began. Early start, got to the port and signed up to our 'Ultimate Lei' package; yes all the tours have sexual connotations, which is somewhat awkward when thrown into conversation. Hmm. Those cheeky Fijians. Onto the ferry and to the islands we went! It took about five hours to get to our island, making stops at numerous islands along the way, like a little bus service, but far more exciting and a bit more rocky. We arrived at Coral View Island and were transferred along with our backpacks onto a small boat to get us across the waters, as the ferry stops a little further out. What a lovely way of life! I heard my name being called from one of the neighbouring boats which was coming off the island, and it turned out to be a friend of ours from New Zealand! Small small world. No tiny in fact. I mean, what are the odds that you come across someone you know, when drifting in a small boat just off the island of Coral View in the middle of the Pacific Ocean? Madness. We were then greeted by our Fijian hosts: "BULA!" is the greeting here and the people are incredibly warm and welcoming; what a fantastic reception. And we are on an island in the middle of the Pacific- yeah not too bad is it. It is literally a postcard picture; azul seas, white sands, hammocks draped lazily amongst the palms. Yep cliched and i love it. So let's work on that tan please.

Sunday 28th February 2010:

Woke up this morning to a text from my mum, telling me that there was a tsunami warning acorss the Pacific, following a massive earthquake in Chile. Mothers being as they are, I decided that this may be slightly hyperbolic, so I chose not to panic. Went outside and the first thing we were greeted with was: "Have you heard about the tsunami. It's going to hit the island at about 9am." Oh goody mother was right. So a little more worried by this point; turns out the people in the dorm next door to us had heard the news earlier and had already climbed up the hill to safety, leaving the rest of us to perish on the island. Charming. The locals were more concerned about serving breakfast on time, so that was reassuring? Not so sure that it was. People were getting texts from home about the size and magnitude of the wave, what time to expect it, etc etc. It made it worse that we were receiving all this information, but we could do nothing about it. Well, except to climb the hill.

Anyway, a few uncomfortable hours later, the warning was called off, not that I believed the man, as I now had it in my head that we were to expect a rather large wave today. Not too happy about this one.

PM: A massive rainstorm pelted down that night; I continued to be terrified as I expected this to spark the tsunami that had not occured earlier in the day. I was proved wrong: it did not hit. Yay!

Monday 1st March 2010:

Next stop: Korovou Island. Back on the ferry to a new island. We bumped into our German journalist friend, whom we met on the previous island. Dream job: getting paid to travel the world and write about it. Fancy swapping lives? The island was yet again beautiful, good food, nice people. Amazing sunset.

Tuesday 2nd March 2010:

Isobel and I arrived at Kuata Island this afternoon. This was the only island we had heard bad things about, strange stories actually. Anyway, it turned out to be the most beautiful of the lot and my favourite island of the bunch! That evening we had a traditional Cava ceremony. Cava is the local drink; they make it out of a particular tree root and mix it with water. It is their 'alcohol' if you like; it has a sort of analgesic effect, making the drinker a bit woozy after a few. It tasted like muddy water if I am honest, (no disrespect) so I would not be getting 'woozy' on that by any means. This ceremony was followed by the Bula boys doing the Bula dance. Wow. Absolutely fantastic. These Fijian guys came out in their sarongs, tops off, all oiled up and performed the best dance I think I have ever seen! Ha ha, more for the attention of the ladies I expect. Then we all learned the Bula dance and had a great laugh in the process! We spent the rest of the evening chatting to the locals, just enjoying the atmosphere on Kuata.

Thursday 4th March 2010:

Back on the Yasawa Flyer ferry today. Last stop: South Sea Island. This is the tiniest island I have ever seen; it is half the size of a football pitch, and it is beautiful! We stayed here for a night and that rounded up our Fijian experience! Time to head home..

Saturday 6th March 2010:

And here we are. Nadi airport. The travels are over. I can't believe this is it!

Our flight to LA took ten hours, then we pottered around there for about six hours. And by pottered I mean, conked out on the chairs in the departure lounge. Then from LA to Heathrow took another ten hours. And I can't sleep on planes! So I was extremely tired, but very impressed with British Airways. And pleased that our flight was not a week later as they are going on strike once again. Oooh but then we would have been conveniently stuck in LA. Hmm..not so bad. Ha ha.

So I am home and just about over my jet-lag. Has been fantastic to catch up with people, not so great feeling cold, but at least I missed that winter from hell and had the experience of a lifetime over the past four months. Thank you to Isobel for being the most fantastic travel buddy in the world! A friend for life indeed.
I may be glad to take the weight of the backpack off my shoulders, but I can't wait for the next opportunity to get back out there and see more of the world! The travel bug is highly contagious, don't be afraid to catch it. It's a fantastic bug to have! (And it doesn't bring you out in a rash which is a plus).

Rotorua and the rest...

Sunday 21st February 2010:

Having woken up to Abba, I was keen to leave and onto the bus we went! Next stop Rotorua for our white water rafting adventure. We got ourselves kitted up- loved the water booties. And we were soon off into the rapids. It was slightly disconcerting when the guides constantly prayed to the gods to keep us safe in the water; don't get me wrong, I'm glad they did, but it is slightly daunting! Anyway, very interesting to hear their Maori prayers, and great to see how much they all respect mother nature and their beautiful surroundings, instead of taking everything for granted, as people often do. We had a fantastic time in our teams, flew down a seven metre waterfall which was exciting! Again, lots of prayers to precede that, hmm. Are we safe? They probably want to instil as much fear in us as possible to make it all the more thrilling. Woop. was great fun anyway!

Busy day out on the water, and on to Taupo. Beautiful Lake Taupo. There is a long-winded story behind it's existence but 1. It is too long and 2. I can't actually remember it. But yeah, pretty. And we were knackered and happy to have a comfortable bed for the night.

Tuesday 23rd February 2010:

We have by this time made our way back up to Auckland, and continued further up the road to Paihia and the beautiful Bay of Islands. Wow what a place. I also decided at this point that I wanted to do a sky dive before leaving New Zealand, so this would be the place to do it! I booked myself in and got up early the next morning to jump out of a plane! Got all psyched up and nervous in the waiting room and then after all that anticipation, it was cancelled due to poor weather conditions. Bummer. When you're rearing to go and then they turn around and say you can't jump, well it sucks. So that was a disappointing day. Maybe tomorrow?

Got up early again the following morning, looking pretty glum outside, do I bother going to the sky dive centre again? Hmm. Anyway off I went in the little silver bus. Nerves had dissipated by this point, probably best. And despite the clouds, there were a few patches of blue sky that apparantly we were about to go and jump through! Ha ha sounds crazy. Got into our highly unflattering and uncomfortable outfits. Probably the largest wedgie I have ever encountered. Lovely. Anyway we got into the world's smallest plane and up we went, into those clouds. Beautiful views from up there; I didn't even think about my fear of flying. I think the fear of jumping out had taken over. But I was strangely calm, which was nice. So I got strapped to my instructor- Carl. And we hit 12,000 feet, door opened and there I was dangling my feet out of a plane, looking out over the clouds. Took us a bit longer than usual to find our spot to jump and then we were gone. Weirdest feeling in the world. You fall, but it doesn't feel like falling; it really does feel like flying. Freefall was the best part, 45 seconds at this height. And then the chute opened (thank god) and we were gliding down to the ground. We brushed through the edge of a cloud which felt so strange, very fluffy! And then for the landing, got our legs up high and down we were, feet on the ground again! Nice feeling. And that was the day I did a sky dive over the Bay of Islands! fantastic. Would recommend it to anyone.

Back in Auckland that afternoon. Flight to Fiji tomorrow!