20050530 Location New Zealand

Ive been 3 days in New Zealand now and its still bloody cold. Got some thermal gear today though which should improve things. Been pricing up snowboarding gear here as well and looks like Ill be going with a package for $1100, looks a pretty sweet board too. Things are still working themselves out perfectly, just so happens that a guy from the hostel is driving to Queenstown tomorrow, so Im getting a lift with him, roadtrip! Also found the perfect shirt finally so picking that up in the morning and should sort me out perfectly for promoting myself in the interview in Queenstown for my season job. Other than that, Ive just been exploring the city over the last few days, wandering around, got my laundry done & getting supplies

20050528-30 Location NZ Gallery

20050528 Goodbye Fiji

Left Fiji this morning, stayed the night in Nadi Bay Hotel again before setting off for the airport at 8am, had 2 pleasant flights to get to Christchurch. Now staying in Charlie Bs hostel, a reasonable place, quite old though, and have 2 boring English girls lying across the room talking too much. One of them is actually the 1st real backpacker looking person Ive seen (braided hair, cheap hippy clothing). Spent 3 hours in a web café uploading the images and journal entries to the web for the last month, only got half of them done so Ill head over there tomorrow to finish them off. After nearly dieing of starvation in the café, I found a very nice Chinese to have dinner in, sweet & sour pork and fried rice (gotta love the fried rice). Christchurch looks very like one of those English towns we visited last summer when we went to global gathering and the drunkenness here is on a par with Dublin if not worse: on the walk back to the hostel I saw one guy pick up a man hole cover and just leave the hole open for someone to fall in and walked off with his friends.
Ps. Have now placed headphones in my ears cos of my roommates incessant talking

20050527 The Maze, Leaving Nananu, Fiji Experience Day 4 and more goodbyes

Left Nananu after 16 days at 11 am this morning just after completing my last dive on the island at The Maze. Gotta catch my flight to NZ tomorrow. Had another incredible dive and bet all of the previous ones Ive done, somehow. The colours were even more vibrant, and the fish more plentiful, visual overload, am improving on my air also. Had such a magical time even just sitting at the front of the boat on the way back: the sun booming down, the wind on my back and me trying not to fall off. Said my goodbyes to all the friends I made on the island, staff and travellers, it really was my home for the last 2 weeks and was great to be around so many great people day after day. After sheding the tears, I got back on the FeeJee Experience bus to complete my last day of the tour. It wasnt very eventful and the group were pretty boring, quiet people, went to an Indian restaurant for Chinese food and then to mud pools, which I wasnt too fond of. Got back to Nadi Bay Hotel and went inside to check-in, leaving my bag on the floor i felt something on my back, turned around and there was Kitty lying on her ass (she had tried to jump me and it went horribly wrong for her), it was so funny I didnt know whether to help her or just keep laughing, definitely my highlight of the day. After meeting back up with John, Chris and Jason in the hotel, having some fun with a twisted version of snap and some frogs, we said our final goodbyes. Kitty and Jo left at 2am to catch their flight to Brisbane. All alone again, but Sanganalanga.

20050527 Leaving Nananu Gallery

20050526 Shark diving, Attempted Jungle trek and the last sunset.

John, Chris, Jason and Aoran left that morning to hit a surf competition on Cloudbreak tomorrow. Before that, myself, Aroan and Joe (cool boat driver) headed out to do a shark dive. Saw 6-8 white tipped sharks, was crazy fun, most of them being at least 2metres in length and us just metres away from them, saw 2 sleeping on the reef as well. Headed over to One beach again to make an attempt at trekking through the jungle on the far side, involved me bending so I didnt bother, still, I loved going back there for the last time anyway. That night was fairly quiet, everyone sitting around doing nothing, so I took the opportunity to take in the beauty of the place one last time. Grabbed a few beers and chilled out on the hammock for a few hours watching the stars, then caught a fire show done by the tour guide and headed to the sunset bure for some more chilling, the energy up there was huge.

20050526 Attempted Jungle trek and the last sunset Gallery

20050525 More Mayhem

Water was ultra still today, no wind at all on the island, very weird, like a lake. Made visibility for diving great but didnt get a chance to head out. Instead, just chilled on the beach, hung out, played some volleyball and watched the sunset, another awesome one too. The place got a lil crazy that night but not as crazy as the previous. Kitty and John tried their best to keep the place lively, with kayak and food stealing on the menu, with a bit of tree climbing thrown in, was funny when john couldnt get down again.

20050525 MoreMayhem Gallery

20050524 Beer Fuelled Mayhem

Definitely the craziest night I had in Nananu, a lil bit too much vodka and beer. Had the beach olypics with Glenn as judge, came in 2nd, but I blame the team mate.

20050524 Beer Fuelled Mayhem Gallery

20050523 4 days left in Fiji!

Its crazy how time is flying here, Im nearly at the end of my visit to Fiji! Im definitely coming back some time in the future, its just too nice here. Over the last few days Ive been lazing on the other beach, playing volleyball, chasing spiders, drinking more kava, more beach bonfires and swimming. Met another beautiful girl from London, (Kitty) which Ive been hanging out with the last few days, shes more IT literate than I am. Its so bloody weird meeting so many attractive (and interesting) females. Had a few beers on the sunset bure at midnight, a full moon was on which made it quite nice, pat called me up and was real nice attempting to communicate the extreme beauty of the place over the phone.

20050521 Spiders & 7 Years Bad Luck Gallery
20050522 Goodbyes & more parties Gallery
20050523 Gallery

20050520 Another very fun beach day

Took a trip to the beach on the other side of the island again today with the friends from my bure, the beach is just too beautiful not to visit regularly. Met a girl from Kerry (Killarney or Tralee) on the way, shed been travelling for 4-5 months and this was one of her last stops before going home. We hung out there until the sun had disappeared over the hill and headed back to the sunset bure to catch the sunset. Had a cool time hanging out, she was one of the most beautiful, interesting, fun girls Ive ever met, and from Ireland!, nearly convinced her to stay longer but unfortunately she had to fly out the next day. Did the usual chillin at the bar, drank my 1st coconut courtesy of some Canadian who I now loathe, then hung out at the bonfire.

20050520 Yet Another fun beach day Gallery

20050519 Trip to Rakiraki

Yesterday took a break from diving and took it easy, real easy, followed by another kava ceremony and fire on the beach. Today went to a town on the mainland called Rakiraki to get some supplies. One of the guys working on the resort, David showed us around and helped us with the stuff we needed, got a haircut for FJ$2.50 and some food and beer. Had a lot of fun just hanging out in the town for the day, headed back on the boat, watched the sunset on the top of the boat, and jumped off the top of it a bit too far from the shore and barely made it back on to the beach without drowning.

20050518 Another party night Gallery
20050519 Rakiraki Towntrip Gallery

20050517 Open Water Day 4

The final day of my open water course today, 2 dives of a boat, followed by an exam in the evening. The 1st dive was at a location called the Pinacle, a piece of rock rising from 53m to 11m, covered in coral, bloody amazing, all the fish and plants with so many colours. The 2nd dive was to the Dreamaker, again a reef 20 minutes out into the ocean, one of the most incredible experiences of my life, diving through tunnels and cracks in the reef, not too many fish but still awesome with all the coral. Got my Open Water Qualification with 92%, even though I was given the wrong exam.

20050516 Open Water Day 2&3

My 1st time in the water yesterday, never even snorkelled before so it was quite a weird experience. The breathing I found slightly difficult at 1st even on both dives, only went off the beach so it was safe enough. Moved to a different hut on the resort, one with its own kitchen and just 30 seconds off the beach, the others in the room are quite cool, though maybe at times a bit too much, 3 english girls Rachel, Jessica and Jo and a guy Sean from Sacramento. Im really loving this place right now, dive and lounge around by day, watch the immense sunsets, play volleyball, eat dinner and hang out by night, the days go so fast. Its so incredibly beautiful lying on the hammock at night, watching the stars and listening to Sigur Rós.

20050515 Sunset & Kava Gallery
20050516 Another Sunset Gallery

20050514 Nananu Island Lodge & Open Water Day 1

Decided to start an open water scuba diving course today, only FJ$450 and seen as its only FJ$20 a night here, theres no better place, plus the instructor, Glenn, from Liverpool seems extremely experienced and knowledgeable and a very fun guy. Its a 4 day course and will qualify me to dive to 18m. Most of the Feejee experience crew leave today, while Ill obviously be staying on to complete the course. Hit up the private beach on the other side of the island. Had a nice going away party for them on the beach, the absinthe was polished off, iPod soundsystem worked quite well Had an even nicer time on the hammock afterwards till 3am, my 1st time on a hammock.

20050513 Nananu Island Lodge Gallery

20050512 Feejee Experience Day 3

Headed up the east coast today. Visited an orphanage in the morning, it was great to see so many happy people. They had more of an encouraging optimistic atmosphere than anywhere Ive been before. Set off to another village for a kava ceremony, a drink made of a dried root, meant to have a mellow effect, but it did nothing for me. You must accept the 1st drink so as to not offend the chief, even though you do not know where the water is coming from. After that, headed onto a nearby river for bili bili rafting, small rafts made of bamboo. Went down the river a bit on them where we played water polo with the chief, he was a really fun, happy, comical guy and not afraid to get wet. Headed on through some crazy rural roads to get to Nananu – I – Ra, an island on the north east tip. Stayed the night at the Nananu – I – Ra Island Lodge, a really cool resort, with a nice beach, quite secluded with a good crowd and good food.

20050512 Feejee Experience Day 3 Gallery

20050511 Feejee Experience Day 2

Set off round the south coast today. Did a 4 hour trek north through the jungle, which was awesome over hills, through creeks and steep banks, ruined a pair of shoes though. The finish was at a river where we had lunch then tubed down a mile to a waterfall, jumped off it and nearly drowned at the bottom. Then got a boat down the river about 40 minutes before heading onto the main city Suva. Had a bit of a crazy night at an irish bar and restaurant, went back to the hostel at 1am ended up half of them didnt go to bed at all and the other half were kept awake by their singing.

20050511 Feejee Experience Day 2 Gallery

20050510 Feejee Experience Day 1

Yesterday did nothing too exciting, I cant even remember what I did, I think I just laid by the pool listening to music most of the day and visited Nadi for a while. Today I set off on the Feejee Experience and covered most of the east coast of Fiji. The bus picked me up about 9am had a little delay of a half before setting off. Visited Nadi town 1st to get water and stuff. Went to Natadola beach, which is meant to be Fijis best beach but compared to Nacula aint that nice, the waves were cool though, quite big. The crowd that are on the trip are mainly nice people, 5 irish, 2 of them alcoholics. 2 more Norweigans, both reasonably pretty, 1 very funny kiwi and a lot of English. Visited a village after a bbq at the beach. Had to were a sulu (sirong) so as to not offend the local people. The kids of the village brought us around showing us the chiefs old house and the well and some of the mothers, crazy women they are. Met one really cool kid, about the age of 6, just a fun and confident kid. Went on to sand dunes on the south of the island for sand boarding. Went 1st and it wouldnt slide at all and had 20 people below shouting, me not understanding a thing. Managed in the end to get the greatest run of them all. After that went on to the crows nest hotel, played water polo for an hour and a half, and got to know the most of the people before going to bed.

20050510 Feejee Experience Day 1 Gallery

20050508 Nadi, Fiji

Been staying in the Nadi Bay Resort Hotel the last 2 nights. It’s got air-conditioning and hot showers which are so awesome when you’ve been out on islands without the basics of living. Spent the night after Beachcomber on South Seas Island, an island which you can walk across in under 3 minutes, it was tiny. The crowd there I didn’t like too much, too many unfriendly, noisy English, very nice sunsets though. Decided I’m going to do the Feejee experience on Tuesday with Joe (the Norwegian), a min. 4 day adventure tour around the Fiji mainland. Met up with the 2 Norwegians again in Nadi today, wandered around the town and went for pizza, so gorgeous, it was so huge I couldn’t even finish it, that’s how big it was and ass usual dirt cheap. The locals that live around here are totally different from the islands, they are mainly skinny Indians. The majority of them cab drivers who insist they give you a lift, even if your crossing the road. They just stop wherever they see you and start beeping and saying “I give you good price”, I keep giving them looks like as if they’re crazy but it doesn’t do anything.

I’m sitting at the poolside bar now, it’s 8pm and typing up this journal. One thing you notice is the large number of solo travellers about, particularly females. Across from me are 2 girls sitting at different tables eating alone, I know, I know I should go across and talk to them but apart from the fact I want to finish the last few days entries and pics there not pretty enough, and sorry, I’m superficial. It’s extremely weird meeting good looking semi-interesting/interesting people on a daily basis, not coping well with it right now, it’s too much of a change from home but I’m sure I’ll get into it shortly. Pity the majority of girls I’ve met so far have boyfriends, I don’t know what it is with Scandinavians travelling the world for long periods while they have boyfriends in their home countries. Still loving the life here, sun, sea, sand, beautiful islands people and sunsets.

20050505 Beachcomber Island & South Sea Island, Fiji Gallery
20050506 South Sea Island & Nadi Bay Hotel Fiji Gallery

20050504 Beachcomber Island, Fiji Day 2

Chilled most of the day, laid on the beach, got sunburnt quite a bit so no sun tomorrow. Met 2 Norwegians, Mette and Joe and hung out for most of the day. Met back up with them later, had multiple pitchers of beer at only FJ$14 €6, had a full blown discussion over the Bush Iraq situation. Ended up on the beach at 2 am with 2 weird (but hot) German girls, so it was quite a fun night (which all of them seem to be right now)

2005.05.04 Beachcomber Island, Fiji Day 2 Gallery

20050503 Beachcomber Island, Fiji

It’s so so beautiful here, temperature is about perfect, feels like 28 degrees, it’s dark by 1830 though. I seem to always wake at 7am not tired which is great too, don’t know where I get the energy though, it’s definitely not from the food, I don’t think there a big fan of meat. Moved from Safe Landing today to Beachcomber island, took 3 hours by boat to get here. The crowd is way different here, all young, a lot of really hot girls. Caught the end of the sunset, the 1st I’d seen in 2 years and watching it with groove armada as the soundtrack made it very nice. Hit the bar on the island tonight, apparently the islands meant to have the best party atmosphere, which was true, but still not totally awesome or anything. Met a Swiss girl called Martina, 27 year old travel agent, who’s being travelling on her own. We broke into a bit of the absinthe, and were meant to try the local poitin type drink ‘kava’ but just were too lazy to make it up.

2005.05.03 Yasawas & Beachcomber Island, Fiji Gallery

20050502 Location: Fiji

Well I made it to fiji, was in LA for about 15 minutes before being put on the connecting flight. Hardly anyone on the plane so I was able to stretch out and get some sleep, best flight I’ve been on yet, really friendly flight attendants and complimentary drinks. It was 2 days later when I arrived in fiji due to crossing time zones, which confused things a little. Spent the first 2 days on a resort called malbravo on an island in the Yasawas chain of island 3 hours by boat from Nadi, the town I flew into. It was a bit of a shellshock, and I don’t really want to get into it, I’ll just say I don’t have a clue why I spent a 2nd night there. Then moved onto a resort next door called Safe Landing, which was just awesome, great people, staff and guests, gorgeous beach and nice food. Went on a boat trip to the blue lagoon while I was in safe landing, waters about 2 meters deep, and tropical fish everywhere.

2005.04.30 Flight LA-Fiji & Nacula Island, Fiji
2005.04.31 Melbravo Resort, Yasawas, Fiji
2005.05.01 Safe Landing, Fiji
2005.05.02 Blue Lagoon, Yasawas, Fiji