Feb 4, 2013 - Fiji

One week in Fiji, with the plan to add some beach and snorkel and possibly some hiking time. Fijians are an interesting people. They are one of the happiest people on earth and like to laugh a lot. Fijians seem to be happy with very little. Apparently the British have failed for more than 100 years to make them see why they should work for money. Much addicted to walkabouts the Fijians would disappear from the fields, retired to the mountains and let the Indians do the work. He grew his own food and let the Chinese run the stores. Even...

Dec 2, 2012 - Bula, Fiji

Friday 30th November We are up early, check out and are at breakfast soon after 6am. We are offered a wonderful full buffet breakfast. We recognise a few faces from last night, but there is no sign of Adam and Nicole yet. We wonder where they have got to, but have not got their room number, we just know they are on the 13th floor (and at that time didn’t know what their last name was). We are taking our time with breakfast until we look up and see a huge queue for the airport shuttle bus. We hadn’t thought about the delay getting back there...

Nov 18, 2012 - tropical paradise!

Easy trip to the Christchurch airport after surprisingly good sleep in our classy abode. We caught the local bus at a stop couple of blocks away and were settled in at the airport using their internet to update our sadly neglected blog. We had tried to get online with frustrating results at several locations in Christchurch but at the airport there was very good wifi and a couple of hours flew past before it was time to clear security and go to our gate. The attitude of the people working security is totally different from the states as...

Nov 8, 2012 - Fiji Vacation; Day 6 & 7

I took a nap the rest of the rainy day 5… then got up for dinner. There are three new couples who arrived today. One couple is from the UK and Germany (the girl is from Germany, he is from the UK). There is a couple from Italy who currently live in Aussie… and a couple from England who live in Hamilton, NZ. They are all rather nice and actually engage in conversation! We had a great dinner with homemade vegetable soup, bread, free range chicken, cooked veggies, potatoes, and fruit for dessert. The girls and I sat up and talked for a bed.....

Nov 6, 2012 - Fiji Vacation; Day 5

I can’t believe it is already day 5! AH! This morning I woke up.. headed to breakfast.. and then.. out to the caves!! I must include.. today is really cloudy and rainy.. but the caves are… well they’re caves.. so you aren’t really outdoors! The water taxi picked us up and took us around to where the caves are. They are about 20 minutes or so away! We took a small little fishing boat.. and off we went! The caves are gorgeous!! You pull up to this huge, cliffy, green island and get out on the beach where we met a big Fijian guy who told us a...

Nov 5, 2012 - Fiji Vacation; Day 4

I will start where I ended my night last night.. dinner and kava! I did not get to do the kava ceremony.. but was promised we would do it tomorrow (today). Yesterday we got two new dorm mates.. Shane from England and Paco from Germany. Shane is 24 and has traveled through America (NY and Cali) and to here.. where he will then go to NZ and Aussie… Paco has been in about 40 different countries and has been traveling for 4 and a half years. He has incredible stories about his travels and they are so interesting to hear about!! The reason he is...

Nov 4, 2012 - Fiji Vacation; Day 3

It’s already day 3, AH! Where does the time go? I woke up this morning around 8 am. Breakfast is supposed to be at 8 am, but I learned from the others who have been here longer that Fiji runs on Fiji-time.. which is a really relaxed time schedule. SO.. they may say breakfast is at 8… but you may not get it until 8:30 or 9. So you just wait till they beat the Fijian drum.. which signals that food is ready! Breakfast was WONDERFUL! There was hot coffee, fresh fruit (pineapple, papaya, watermelon), freshly baked raisin bread, cereal (I ate...

Nov 3, 2012 - Fiji Vacation; Day 1 & 2

Fiji Day 1 & 2 So after waiting around at the Auckland airport.. I FINALLY was able to board my flight to Fiji. I traveled with Air Pacific.. soon to be Fiji Airlines (or something with Fiji in it). The flight was great! I sat next to NO ONE.. it was great.. and I got a complementary meal, free drinks, and some bhuja (kinda like chex mix.. but not.. its Fijian). When I arrived at the airport I walked out into the lovely warmth of Fiji! When I got to the station to pick up my bags some couple asked me if I had alcohol. I told them no.. then...

Apr 24, 2012 - Two coconuts in Fiji

At first a little skeptical about our level two coconut package in Fiji, we are happy to say our "camp Fiji" experience has been one of the best not only because we were in stunningly beautiful paradise (it did rain 7 out of 10 days we were there but no worries it was still beautiful and warm), but because of the fun and interesting people we met- Heat Rash, Silent Assassin, Minnesota, Sheep-Shagger, MI-6 and Simon. With these characters we spent many-a-hours exploring, playing cards,drinking Fiji Bitter and fruity, tropical drinks,...

Jan 16, 2012 - Fiji (Nadi, Beachcomber and Mantaray Islands) and first day in Auckland

Bula! Hey everyone, first of all hope everything is well back home, I suspect its a little colder than where we are, but other than that I wish everything is well. So Claire and I just finished are 5 day journey through the Beachcomber and Mantaray Islands with one night in Nadi, and in one word was fantastic! Definitley want to go back there and if anyone gets the chance, do go the scenery is beutiful, the people very nice, and in our case the weather was perfect (only rained at night so it cooled us off). After flying in at 5am in Nadi we...

Dec 17, 2011 - fiji just got better and better!!!!

aaagggghhh, cant upload pics at the mo, so will have to try and describe the two islands i have visited. The first, beachcomber is known as part island and i wasn't sure what to expect. We arrived by ferry and were transferred to smaller taxi boat. we were greeted by Fijian songs and traditional welcomes from the staff. They certainly are very good at saying hello and goodbye's! The circumference of the island took 15 Min's to walk. Only a few steps needed from bar, to beach, to restaurant, to bed! The first night we bid on a crab race ( i...

Dec 8, 2011 - adventures in fiji

arrived, after delay, later then hoped to a tropical heat. joined bus early and headed first to shop and atm, then beach for a bbq. Stretches of sand and turquoise water, sweet! Internet a bit scarce / expense so am going to capture my 10 days here in this post. Trekking in a rain forest, wadding through streams, climbing waterfalls, boat trip. Joining with the tradition of drinking kava, not as we know it! It is a plant they grinding the root and mix with water and it is an insult if the bowl containing a muddy mix) is not drunk down in...