Monday, 29 June 2009
Fiji
BULA!!!
This is the one word that you hear everywhere in Fiji. If you pass someone in the street, they say it, and when anyone starts a conversation they say it. It simply means hello and good wishes to you, and that is the feeling that the people of Fiji leave you with. We have never met a race of people that are SO SO happy. :o)
We arrived in Nadi which is the second largest city on the islands, but quickly found out that its not that big, probably about the size of Bonnybridge. After a couple of days soaking up the local culture ( ok sunshine and beer ) we decided that we needed to be out on to the islands that you imagine, when you think of Fiji, and so we booked an 11 night / 12 day island hop up through the chain of islands called the Yasawas.
The first stop was to the party island resort of Beachcomber for 2 nights. When we arrived we were glad that we decided against the dorms, and opted for the double room on each of the islands. the only dorm on the island slept 100 people in the same room, while we had our own "Bure" ( small house ). The island itself wasn't as much of a party, as we had thought, but we still managed to work our way through some cocktails and local beers in the evenings. Just to relax after the hard days topping up our tans. The 2 days flew past and before we knew it we were on our way to the second island resort.
Waya Lailai was where we next set foot on land, and basic is probably the best way to describe the island...No hot water, buffet meals, a small bure with the toilet and shower behind a shower curtain. However we were not put off as we had a few activities on the island ( a summit walk, kayaking, and snorkeling), but the weather soon put a stop to any ideas that we had about doing these. For the two days it pretty much rained, along with strong winds, so we worked our way through the books which we had during the day, and sat in the bar at night...just one of the blows that life can deal you...lol.
Next stop was Korovou, which turned out to be the favorite island that we went to. The bure where we stayed was simply stunning, with a separate sitting room, en suite bathroom and HOT water. The communal area had a swimming pool to relax by and at night the entertainment consisted drinking whilst the locals put on a Fire show. The second day we hired a Kayak and set off for one of the many secluded beaches next to the resort, and soon we had our own beach to sunbathe on before having to return late in the afternoon.
At Coral View we had a trip to the Sawailau caves, which are sacred to the Fijians as this is where their ancestors believed the gods lived. To move between the caves we had to dive down for a meter and then swim through for four, in to the total darkness. So it was a little scary for everyone but worth the effort once you were through.
On Manta Ray resort, the main attraction at this time of year is to swim with the Manta rays which pass the island. You get dropped at the north of the channel between the two islands and swim with the current down to the south, as the rays are swimming against the tide. The first time we went in to the water there was a ray about five meters away, and as they are between three and five meters in size it was an awe inspiring sight. The next few times we were not so lucky as the moved past us without getting a great view of them. Then the last time the skipper of the boat had a good sighting of them and was able to drop us in a prime position, where the ray swam past within touching distance. It is difficult to describe just how magical the whole experience was...
The last island that we went to was Bounty, this is the island where they filmed Celebrity Love island, although the only part that really remains is the swimming pool. The next day we went on our final trip on a schooner which was built in Scotland called Sea spray. The boat took us out to the island where they shot the Tom Hanks film Castaway, and after snorkeling in the clear waters, looking for wilson ( to no avail ), and watching coconuts being burst open with a bare hand, we were back on board and heading for a trip to a local village to meet the chief. The chief welcomed us with a traditional ceremony of drinking Kava ( a root ground up and mixed with water ) The Kava didn't taste the best, but numbed the whole of your mouth for a little while so after the first one you probably wouldn't taste the others.
After returning to Nadi, we have decided that, to make the most of the week that we have left in Fiji, we should head back to the Islands...and have booked 4 nights on to the Robinson Crusoe resort, so we'll let you know how we get on once we are back...
Thanks for the comments, it's good to know that this drivel is being read...lol
This is the one word that you hear everywhere in Fiji. If you pass someone in the street, they say it, and when anyone starts a conversation they say it. It simply means hello and good wishes to you, and that is the feeling that the people of Fiji leave you with. We have never met a race of people that are SO SO happy. :o)
We arrived in Nadi which is the second largest city on the islands, but quickly found out that its not that big, probably about the size of Bonnybridge. After a couple of days soaking up the local culture ( ok sunshine and beer ) we decided that we needed to be out on to the islands that you imagine, when you think of Fiji, and so we booked an 11 night / 12 day island hop up through the chain of islands called the Yasawas.
The first stop was to the party island resort of Beachcomber for 2 nights. When we arrived we were glad that we decided against the dorms, and opted for the double room on each of the islands. the only dorm on the island slept 100 people in the same room, while we had our own "Bure" ( small house ). The island itself wasn't as much of a party, as we had thought, but we still managed to work our way through some cocktails and local beers in the evenings. Just to relax after the hard days topping up our tans. The 2 days flew past and before we knew it we were on our way to the second island resort.
Waya Lailai was where we next set foot on land, and basic is probably the best way to describe the island...No hot water, buffet meals, a small bure with the toilet and shower behind a shower curtain. However we were not put off as we had a few activities on the island ( a summit walk, kayaking, and snorkeling), but the weather soon put a stop to any ideas that we had about doing these. For the two days it pretty much rained, along with strong winds, so we worked our way through the books which we had during the day, and sat in the bar at night...just one of the blows that life can deal you...lol.
Next stop was Korovou, which turned out to be the favorite island that we went to. The bure where we stayed was simply stunning, with a separate sitting room, en suite bathroom and HOT water. The communal area had a swimming pool to relax by and at night the entertainment consisted drinking whilst the locals put on a Fire show. The second day we hired a Kayak and set off for one of the many secluded beaches next to the resort, and soon we had our own beach to sunbathe on before having to return late in the afternoon.
At Coral View we had a trip to the Sawailau caves, which are sacred to the Fijians as this is where their ancestors believed the gods lived. To move between the caves we had to dive down for a meter and then swim through for four, in to the total darkness. So it was a little scary for everyone but worth the effort once you were through.
On Manta Ray resort, the main attraction at this time of year is to swim with the Manta rays which pass the island. You get dropped at the north of the channel between the two islands and swim with the current down to the south, as the rays are swimming against the tide. The first time we went in to the water there was a ray about five meters away, and as they are between three and five meters in size it was an awe inspiring sight. The next few times we were not so lucky as the moved past us without getting a great view of them. Then the last time the skipper of the boat had a good sighting of them and was able to drop us in a prime position, where the ray swam past within touching distance. It is difficult to describe just how magical the whole experience was...
The last island that we went to was Bounty, this is the island where they filmed Celebrity Love island, although the only part that really remains is the swimming pool. The next day we went on our final trip on a schooner which was built in Scotland called Sea spray. The boat took us out to the island where they shot the Tom Hanks film Castaway, and after snorkeling in the clear waters, looking for wilson ( to no avail ), and watching coconuts being burst open with a bare hand, we were back on board and heading for a trip to a local village to meet the chief. The chief welcomed us with a traditional ceremony of drinking Kava ( a root ground up and mixed with water ) The Kava didn't taste the best, but numbed the whole of your mouth for a little while so after the first one you probably wouldn't taste the others.
After returning to Nadi, we have decided that, to make the most of the week that we have left in Fiji, we should head back to the Islands...and have booked 4 nights on to the Robinson Crusoe resort, so we'll let you know how we get on once we are back...
Thanks for the comments, it's good to know that this drivel is being read...lol
Sunday, 14 June 2009
THE REST OF NEW ZEALAND
Hey there, OK... so we admit it, we have been a wee bit lazy with the blog recently so we r going to do a quick update to catch yous up to where we are now, because were sooo far behind.
So after the amazing encounter with the dolphins we headed to Dunedin, which is Gaelic for New Edinburgh so it has a lot of Scottish heritage... but we thought we would give the only castle in new Zealand a miss n head straight to c the Albatross'... the Royal Albatross has the longest wingspan off all birds measuring up to 3.6m... that's long! there was 3 chicks, but unfortunately we could only view them from the observation room, but even from where we were they looked like massive fur balls, and at only a few months old they can be the size of a microwave...that's big!
after that it was down to the beach to see yellow eyed penguins,.. sounds exciting, i mean who ain't seen a penguin.... but it was sooo amazing seeing the in the wild and we had to hide it trenches so as not to disturb them. After them been out at sea catching fish all day they would then get washed up on to the beach n toddle there way through the sand past us and back to there "home" It was so cute.
Then it was the whales we were off to see next..
4o mins in a boat than a lot of waiting around till they could signal one then there it was... really it just looked like a log floating about but minute it went to dive back under and brought its tail up was just spectacular... and luckily we didn't get eaten:) (not to worry if we did though, because Ive seen Pinocchio loads of times:))
Up further to Christchurch we went to what they call an open zoo, exciting.... so we fed the giraffes, got a close encounter with the Rhinos, fed the farm animals then... it was into the cage we went... through the lion encounter whilst the keeper fed them. they were all over the cage, climbing up the side, on the roof. it was amazing.. and once again we didn't get eaten:)
Getting away from what felt like a wildlife safari we decided to do black water rafting, its sort of like white water rafting except ur in a dark cane with only a headlight and everyone is on separate floating rings.... and its not as rough!! It was fun, traveling through the caves looking at glow worms then jumping over 2 waterfalls... it was than followed with a hot shower and some soup, yum!
With 1 week left we travelled up to the north island and went to explore the northland.. it was a really beautiful area and we visited the point in where the pacific ocean merges with the Tasman sea.... although we expected it to look much better it was still pretty cool to see.
On our second last day it was pouring down and we were not going to bother going to see the Kuri Kuri Tree, which is 2000yrs old and called the "King of the Forest" because its that big..... but how glad were we that we changed our mind... this thing was HUGE, like so so so so massive u wouldn't actually believe.
Its 51m high and had a girth of 13m. Seeing this was definitely the highlight of new Zealand. Its so much bigger than it looks in the pictures(they r not up yet, but will b hopefully soon)
And now we are in Figi, we arrived last night so this is our 1st day in the sun, we r going to book an 11night/ 12day island hop which will take us to all the beautiful paradise islands and we will be doing activities.... when we r not we will probably be lying on a hammock, soaking up the sun and drinking cocktails.... not trying to make anyone jealous..honest.. but we have 3 whole wks of this:D xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
So after the amazing encounter with the dolphins we headed to Dunedin, which is Gaelic for New Edinburgh so it has a lot of Scottish heritage... but we thought we would give the only castle in new Zealand a miss n head straight to c the Albatross'... the Royal Albatross has the longest wingspan off all birds measuring up to 3.6m... that's long! there was 3 chicks, but unfortunately we could only view them from the observation room, but even from where we were they looked like massive fur balls, and at only a few months old they can be the size of a microwave...that's big!
after that it was down to the beach to see yellow eyed penguins,.. sounds exciting, i mean who ain't seen a penguin.... but it was sooo amazing seeing the in the wild and we had to hide it trenches so as not to disturb them. After them been out at sea catching fish all day they would then get washed up on to the beach n toddle there way through the sand past us and back to there "home" It was so cute.
Then it was the whales we were off to see next..
4o mins in a boat than a lot of waiting around till they could signal one then there it was... really it just looked like a log floating about but minute it went to dive back under and brought its tail up was just spectacular... and luckily we didn't get eaten:) (not to worry if we did though, because Ive seen Pinocchio loads of times:))
Up further to Christchurch we went to what they call an open zoo, exciting.... so we fed the giraffes, got a close encounter with the Rhinos, fed the farm animals then... it was into the cage we went... through the lion encounter whilst the keeper fed them. they were all over the cage, climbing up the side, on the roof. it was amazing.. and once again we didn't get eaten:)
Getting away from what felt like a wildlife safari we decided to do black water rafting, its sort of like white water rafting except ur in a dark cane with only a headlight and everyone is on separate floating rings.... and its not as rough!! It was fun, traveling through the caves looking at glow worms then jumping over 2 waterfalls... it was than followed with a hot shower and some soup, yum!
With 1 week left we travelled up to the north island and went to explore the northland.. it was a really beautiful area and we visited the point in where the pacific ocean merges with the Tasman sea.... although we expected it to look much better it was still pretty cool to see.
On our second last day it was pouring down and we were not going to bother going to see the Kuri Kuri Tree, which is 2000yrs old and called the "King of the Forest" because its that big..... but how glad were we that we changed our mind... this thing was HUGE, like so so so so massive u wouldn't actually believe.
Its 51m high and had a girth of 13m. Seeing this was definitely the highlight of new Zealand. Its so much bigger than it looks in the pictures(they r not up yet, but will b hopefully soon)
And now we are in Figi, we arrived last night so this is our 1st day in the sun, we r going to book an 11night/ 12day island hop which will take us to all the beautiful paradise islands and we will be doing activities.... when we r not we will probably be lying on a hammock, soaking up the sun and drinking cocktails.... not trying to make anyone jealous..honest.. but we have 3 whole wks of this:D xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Wednesday, 10 June 2009
Tuesday, 9 June 2009
south island cont.....
Wanaka was one of the places we were both looking forward to from when we started planning where to go in New Zealand, and our 1st stop was Puzzling World... which as the name suggests was full of illusions and puzzles. So after watching pool balls and water moving uphill and turning ourselves into giants and midgets in the same room we headed out to chalange the Great Maze... with over 1.5km of passages. Having been truely beaten at the last maze i was hopeing for a better performance but arlene is too fabulous and won AGAIN!!!:) In the afternoon we went to Have A Shot, where we played the worlds only Cro Pool, which is basically a big pool table on the ground but instead of pool cues u use croquet hammers n balls. After a 3 nil defeat from arlene i decided to try and salvage some pride on the rifle range, which i did....just.
That night we took a trip down to the local cinema, which unlike any other cinema it has sofas and lazyboys instead of ur usual bum numbing seats, or if u fancy u can take a seat in there 4 seater car. They have an interval half way through the film where u can purchase pizza, chips, ice cream n drinks(hot, cold, or alcoholic) and take them back in with u for the second half.... which did feel a bit funny scoffing down pizza and beer whilst watching a film called Hunger.
Next we were off to Milford sound, voted the no.1 thing to do in New Zealand, after boarding a boat to take us into the fjord we felt a little disappointed as the views were quite similar to the ferry crossing..... that was until we saw the dolphins. A pod of dolphins swam right up to the boat then spent 15 minutes swimming at the bow, jumping and diving, and generally playing before our eyes. It was such a awe inspiring sight to see them in the wild. Sweet as... Kiwi for Amazing.
That night we took a trip down to the local cinema, which unlike any other cinema it has sofas and lazyboys instead of ur usual bum numbing seats, or if u fancy u can take a seat in there 4 seater car. They have an interval half way through the film where u can purchase pizza, chips, ice cream n drinks(hot, cold, or alcoholic) and take them back in with u for the second half.... which did feel a bit funny scoffing down pizza and beer whilst watching a film called Hunger.
Next we were off to Milford sound, voted the no.1 thing to do in New Zealand, after boarding a boat to take us into the fjord we felt a little disappointed as the views were quite similar to the ferry crossing..... that was until we saw the dolphins. A pod of dolphins swam right up to the boat then spent 15 minutes swimming at the bow, jumping and diving, and generally playing before our eyes. It was such a awe inspiring sight to see them in the wild. Sweet as... Kiwi for Amazing.
Wednesday, 3 June 2009
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