Robinson Crusoe Island, Coral Coast, Sigatoka, Biausevu and Pacific Harbour: Whole Hula

Tuesday 28th February 2017

I was particularly sad to leave Robinson Crusoe Island this morning. It is now my favourite place I have ever been. But I was super excited for the rest of the day so the sadness didn't last long! We got the boat back to the main island after breakfast, but had quite a wait at the dock for our coach to come back to us... Fiji time!

We travelled up the Queens highway to get to Sigatoka, but almost got stuck in the mud half way there! Luckily the driver managed to get us on our way pretty sharpish! Langi pointed out more things to us on the way, most notably a hummingbird and hawk, such stunning creatures. There was also something that looked like a rainbow in the sky, but didn't arc just sat behind the clouds. It was beautiful.

We also stopped off at a beach, I can't remember it's name exactly but it was stunning! There were a couple of horses tied out in the sun, they didn't look like they were looked after properly which was sad, it was too hot for us in the sun let alone animals. Langi said that this wasn't unusual, and their owners were sitting in the shade nearby!

We stopped off in Sigatoka for lunch, and we're greeted by the staff in the department store Tappoo with a necklace each which was neat! Langi showed us to a small bakery and I got the nicest chicken pie and coconut slice for about £2! It's crazy how cheap some of the things are here.

Our next stop was at the Biausevu waterfall. It was about a half an hour hike each way and we trekked through rivers to get there. Langi pointed out coffee beans, bananas, wild pineapple, bread fruit, various tea leaves, ginger, mandarins and managed to find us ripe guava to try! It's crazy to think that all that fruit can be found in one part of the rainforest! The waterfall itself was beautiful. The water was very refreshing and a few people climbed up the rocks and jumped through the falls. I started to climb up, scraped my elbow and thought it's probably not worth me injuring myself further for!

After we hiked back, Linga was telling us that it was the Biausevu village's anniversary and they invited us to join in with the celebrations. We had more Kava and tried some of the local food. The fish and something that tastes like an onion baji were so delicious! They invited us to stay longer but Langi politely refused and he later told us that it was unusual for us to have had that experience as it was in the chiefs house and the chief was present so that was awesome!

We then made our way to Uprising Resort in the torrential rain. Our dorm was really nice, and we had hot water showers! I had a beefburger for dinner and it was amazing, but I couldn't finish it all! We were serenaded as we were eating and it got dark really quickly. Linga was telling us about how this place is the adventure capital of Fiji, and many people do shark diving which sounds awesome! I was pretty tired so a few of us went to bed earlyish, but I didn't sleep very well at all sadly!

Queenstown: Part Two - The Big Tiki

Saturday 18th February - Monday 20th February 2017

After we got back from Milford Sound, we didn't have long before we had to go down to the Ice Bar to meet the rest of our Contiki group. I've never been in an ice bar before but it was pretty cool... well absolutely freezing actually! 😂We took quite a few photos in there...

... as well as making full use of their photo booth!

After a while, a few of us decided to leave as it was flipping freezing! So we made our way to Cowboys next door. I went on my first bucking bronco which was hilarious, even though I hit my head on the bulls head after my involuntary dismount! Lasted more than 20 seconds though but I have no idea how good or bad that is!

Cowboys was super crowded, apparently there was the 'cowboys' football team there.   So we decided to go to Winnie's and they were playing 90s cheesy music which was awesome! I wasn't drinking to save a bit of money, but somewhere along the line Kirsten got pretty merry and started dancing on the tables, kicking the glasses off! It was hilarious, even though she nearly got kicked out... we were leaving anyway!

We then managed to find a few others singing along with a busker, before meeting Kathleen at another bar. However, we weren't there for too long as everyone started to get hungry so we went to Fergburger! Both emma and Kirsten ordered a burger but didn't eat most of it so I ended up making a whole burger out of their burgers! Interestingly, I didn't eat all of Kirsten's burger so left it on the side, but in the morning it had moved and the meat had gone! We have no idea what happened but we think Kirsten must've eaten it!

The next day we had horse riding at Walter Peak farm scheduled. We got into town at 9:40am to catch the 10am steam boat across the lake.

The boat ride itself wasn't the most thrilling, especially in comparison to Milford Sound yesterday, but as soon as we got close to Walter Peak Farm I knew it was going to be somewhere special. It looked idyllic.

We met our guide after we got off the boat and made our way up to the stables. My horse was called Cooper and bless his heart he was rather fat and was intolerant to hay so he would not stop farting. (Much to Asha's dismay as she was riding behind us!)

The ride was beautiful. The views were insanely stunning. We only had a small group and most of the others hadn't ridden much before if at all so it was more of a beginners ride. I didn't mind though as it was so nice to be back in the saddle!

After our hack we played with the dogs for a bit (obviously we couldn't resist!) before going down to the house for afternoon (well morning) tea. The scones and cakes were super delicious.. I ended up eating all of mine as well as some of the cakes the others didn't like!

We caught the same steamboat back to Queenstown and met up with Emma who had just done her Nevis bungy and swing! I'm so proud of her.. you'll never catch me doing the Nevis bungy it looks horrible!!

We had an included dinner at Winnie's this evening, and it was so delicious! I stupidly filled up on garlic bread and fries so I only had enough room for two slices of pizza! This was terrible as they kept being out pizza after pizza and it all looked amazing but I just felt sick!

After we had finished, a few of us decided to go to the Fear Factory. It. Was. Terrifying. But also really really funny. It's basically a haunted house type attraction, where the whole thing is pitch black and you have to follow the red lights around, everyone in your group holding on to each other whilst live actors talk to you, touch you and breathe on you. All we did was scream all the way round, I was grabbing hold of Asha's hands on my shoulder, Asha was shouting all sorts of rubbish at the actors, Tayla was quieter but not quiet and Kathleen kept having people touch her back so she was pushing us to go forward! I really didn't want to use my hands to find my way so when the lights went out I felt my way around with my foot. It was such a weird mix of scared and hilarious! The video of us coming out is brilliant as I ninja kick the door and we all run out sweating like crazy! Andre was at the front of the other group and they looked like they were barely scared at all, just kinda walked out normally!

After this traumatic ordeal, we decided to get ice cream at Patagonia's. This place is awesome. You pick the type of ice cream you want, what type of melted chocolate you want on top and then what sprinkles you want. Katie and I shared as I was still so full from dins!

We spent a few hours in the parlour before reluctantly heading home. It was so sad saying goodbye to Katie and Alex as they have become such close friends! But I know I'll be seeing them soon in England or Australia!