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!

Nadi and Robinson Crusoe Island: Whole Hula

Monday 27th February 2017

We had an early start this morning, getting to breakfast at around 7. Turns out the breakfast at smugglers cove is complimentary so we missed out yesterday but never mind! The coach picked us up at around 8:15 and we had a few more pick ups before starting the day. Turns out Annie and Alex, who were both on our Contiki in New Zealand, are on the same trip as us which is awesome! Always nice to see a familiar face! There are ten of us in total, I nice change from the 49 on Contiki! Most of us are English, but there's one girl from the Netherlands and two ladies from Japan who are over 70! Our tour guide is called Linga and he is super knowledgeable, giving us facts about pretty much anywhere we go!

Our first stop was in Nadi centre, it's much better now all the shops are open! I'd already got water and a sarong so I didn't need to get anything there, so I just followed the others around!

We then had a drive to get to the dock for our boat that would take us to Robinson Crusoe Island. The boat journey was about half an hour and took us down the river and out to the sea. I fell in love with the island from the first glimpse, it is the epitome of paradise.

We made our way off the boat and checked in, we were staying in a dorm that was basic but no problems other than it was rather hot!

Our first activity of the day was basically how to survive off a coconut! We were split in to teams and shown how to husk? the coconut to get it out of its whatever, how to crack it, scrape the flesh and milk the flesh! Fresh coconut is so delicious! We were then shown a traditional meal; crackers, coconut milk and sugar - the Fijians often eat it if it's a super hot day and they don't feel like eating much. It basically tastes like cereal and is pretty good!

After we finished this, there was a demonstration of weaving the coconut tree leaves. One of the guys showed us how to make a basket and then we helped a few of us make a fish... I'm quite proud of mine!

As we were finishing off weaving, someone banged the drum, signalling it was time for lunch. It was a BBQ style lunch with fish, burgers and chicken as well as salads. Super delicious!

After a while, a few of us went snorkelling. We got the boat out to a coral reef to have a look at the marine life there. I was snorkelling super confidently at the front having a great time... until the guide grabbed my hand and dragged me under the water to show me something, resulting in me breathing in heaps of water and setting me into panic mode! It took me a while to calm down, but one of the other guides helped me out and eventually got me a life jacket and I was grand after that! I managed to find Nemo and Dory as well as seeing a stingray and a lion fish which was pretty spectacular! My GoPro pictures don't really do it justice, and see if you can spot the stingray!

When we got back, it was time for the hermit crab race after popping to the other side of the island (literally takes 2 minutes) to see the giant turtle, which was an experience I won't forget! There was such a sweet family staying on the island as well, with 2 young girls so it was amazing to see their faces! We went back to the 'arena' drawn in the sand. I went for crab number 3, but sadly didn't win anything!

Some of the other visitors on the island had been crabbing earlier on in the day, so one of the ladies had made a traditional crab dish for us to try. Surprisingly I actually quite liked it (mainly because It pretty much tasted like coconut and salt!), Fiji seems to be converting me to seafood!

It was then time to say goodbye to the day visitors and then having some free time before dinner. I attempted paddle boarding... attempted being the main? word! I didn't fall in though! We were using kayak paddles to paddle which was off and my balance is terrible on land let alone standing up in the water! But I'll definitely try it again (and not on a board that says 'do not use' haha). I then went kayaking for a bit before showering and getting changed for dinner.

I was the first one ready before dinner, and he evening guests to the island had already arrived. Linga was desperately trying to save us tables! They had already started the Kava ceremony and I was super curious as to what Kava tasted like. It pretty much looks and tastes like muddy water and makes your lips and tongue go numb!

We then all went down to the beach front for the sunset bonfire with a little sing along which was super cute. I still can't get over how beautiful the island is!

Dinner was cooked in the traditional Lovo style, same as the New Zealand Hangi. When they were showing us where the food was cooked, two members of staff walked on the hot rocks. Food was beef, chicken and fish with potatoes, veg and gravy and it was the tenderest most delicious beef I have ever tasted!

After food it was time for the show. It similar to the one we saw yesterday, expect there were a lot more male dancers. It was amazing! Couldn't take my eyes off the dancers! They also finished with a fire show in the sea and they span their fire sticks? so fast that they sparked off like fireworks and the whole place lit up. Incredible.

After the show, the evening guests departed and we stood with the islanders to see them off. We then had more Kava and danced for a bit before heading off to bed. It's been such a jam packed day!

Nadi

Saturday 25th February - Monday 27th February 2017

(Wifi isn't great so will add photos at a later point!)

We arrived in Nadi at 6:15pm and the sun was already setting. As we got off the plane we were hit by a blast of hot, humid air. One of my favourite things about going on holiday! As we walked out to get our bags, I could see the miner birds dad was telling me about, playing on the airfield. The sun was setting over the sea and it looked stunning. It didn't take us long to get through the airport, everyone was so kind and welcoming and there were even a few people singing traditional Fijian songs as we left! We met the guy picking us up and we had to wait around a bit, I didn't have insect repellant on so the mosquitos attacked my legs!

Eventually we made it to Smugglers Cove, and it was already pitch black by the time we got there at around 7ish. We checked in and went and had a look at our dorm. It is a 34 bed dorm so we didn't expect much from it, but it's nowhere near as bad as I expected! It's split into 4 bed cubicles so it's more private than anticipated which is good.

We had a look around the bar and restaurant, there are a family of cats here with a few kittens which made our day! I'd eaten loads on the plane so wasn't hungry, but emma was so she grabbed a pizza and we chilled out for a few hours before deciding to go to bed!

We overslept this morning so missed out on breakfast (turns out it was included but we didn't realise!) so instead we got ready at a leisurely pace and had fruit and yoghurt for breakfast.

We then decided to have a look around the shops in Nadi, so we got a taxi to the Main Street. However, as it was Sunday, most of the shops were closed! The driver took us to Jacks who warned us about going out on the street as men would try and get us to go to dodgy shops... which they did but we didn't go with them! I ended up buying a sarong from Jacks as I need something lighter to cover up with when we go to the villages. Whilst we were waiting for our taxi, we started watching a few guys who were performing a few songs. One of them asked us where we were from and after saying England they started playing 'Hey Jude'! Emma and I looked at each other and laughed as that's exactly what happened to us in China! I lost count of the amount of times we were made to sing it at CC English school!

We then got back to the hostel and spent about an hour sunbathing. The sea is super warm, felt like getting in a hot bath! Although it didn't look particularly clean so I just paddled and didn't go in swimming properly!

We then grabbed lunch and as it was super hot went in to our air conditioned room for a nap! Although I couldn't sleep so went back to the beach for a bit... not that it's far away as our hostel is right on the sand! After about an hour and a half, it looked like it was going to rain so I headed back inside and showered.

Plastering on insect repellant, I came back outside to meet Emma and by this point it had started raining. But there is something so refreshing about being in the heat with rain... plus it makes the place more like home! Haha. We sat outside, sheltered from the rain, reading our books (I finally finished Frankenstein today! Not what I thought the novel would be like at all but I enjoyed it nonetheless!) before grabbing some food. Well I got too hungry so I ordered an hour or so before Emma.

At 8 o clock, there was a complimentary show in which some islanders showed us dances from Tahiti, Hawaii and obviously Fiji. After the Mauri show in Rotorua, where avoiding eye contact meant I didn't have to go up to the front, I thought I would be safe and not get chosen. I thought wrong! Emma was pretending to eat her noodles (her plate was empty, she wasn't fooling anyone) so they didn't pick her, but one of the guys pointed at me and I thought eh, what's he worst that could happen! They taught us the Fiji Macarena (still not sure if this is a real thing or if they were taking the mick!). It was fun... til they made us do it on our own and I was quite happy hiding in the middle!!

After a few more dances it was time for the fire show down on the beach. I'd like to say it was awesome... well it was awesome but it was also absolutely hilarious. Two guys (not entirely sure whether they lived in Fiji or if they were tourists... my bets are on the latter though!) were up first, they kept dropping it and cursing and was more of a comedy show! Then some of the islanders did it, most of them were better but a few did drop them! At one point a guy went to shake my hand so I put my hand out, he tapped his fire and so we shook hands with fire... weirdly it didn't feel hot though! Then for the finale, four of the guys did cool tricks in the sea, jumping on each other's backs, setting the sea on fire amongst other things. Was pretty cool!

We then went back to the main bit where I got pulled up with some others again to do a 'snake dance' to 'cotton eyed joe'. Yeah this one was way less legit, he just got us to do stupid stuff but it was a lot of fun!

After the show had finished we went to bed, as we've got an early wake up tomorrow for Feejee Experience! I'm very excited!

Return to Christchurch

Wednesday 22nd February - Saturday 25th February 2017

The journey to Christchurch had to be the worst journey of my life - even more so than the flight here! I was super hungover and felt sooooo ill (self-inflicted I know). So we're just gonna skip over Wednesday!! 

I will say that today was my Great Uncle Jim's funeral and I was sad to not be there to pay my respects, but have been thinking about my family in this hard time and praying hard for them. 

It was super sad saying goodbye to everyone after dinner tonight (I only managed two slices of pizza). I will miss everyone so much... Contiki was the best decision I have ever made and these past three weeks have been the best of my life! 

The hostel we are staying at in Christchurch is called Tranquil Lodge and it is basic but really homey. The lady who runs it, Shiona, is so friendly and happy to help with anything! I'm definitely glad this is the case as I wasn't too sure at how I would feel about going from staying in hotels back to hostels but it's been good so far!

The next day I had a super lie in, I definitely needed it! Emma's snoring didn't even wake me up in the night! (Although at one point the other guy in our room was sleep talking about Mo Farah weirdly). 

We wandered in to town and bumped into Shenae and Liz so decided to grab dinner with them, and Ashna and Kathleen met us too. I had dumplings, but I am yet to find dumplings as good as at the place I found in Auckland. We spent a few hours chilling and not really doing a whole lot, but finally it was time to say goodbye to Shenae and Kathleen as their flights were tomorrow morning. 

The following day was our last full day before Fiji! I made sure I got some photos of the trams for my Popa, and I also finished my au Pair application today, bar a few documents I need so it was a pretty productive day! We met Ashna and Liz for brunch at Black Betty Cafe. Most of the menu had eggs or cheese in it and I didn't fancy spending the day feeling sick again so I thought I'd go for the vegan burrito. It was super yummy... that was until I got about half way! The bean - mushroom ration wasn't great, and here was no rice so it was basically all black beans! It was fine just got a bit boring! 

We said goodbye to Ashna after shopping round for a bit (well window shopping) and went to countdown to grab bits for dinner. Eventually it was time to say goodbye to Liz and then we were the only people form Contiki left! We headed back to the hostel, sorted out my bag for Fiji and then made the blandest tomato spaghetti I have ever seen... it was like being back in my first year of uni! 

We got speaking to Shiona about our travel plans and she managed to get us talking to another pair of German girls, Simone and Simone (makes it easier to remember!) who were on the same flight as us and had a hire car they needed to take back to the airport in the morning. They said they would give us a lift which was super kind! 

So now I'm sitting in the airport waiting for check in as I'm super early! I'm so excited to go to Fiji, it has been the top of my bucket list for as long as I can remember, due to Nana and Grandad living there in the late 1980s. I really hope I can meet up with some of the people they knew, but I'm not entirely sure what our timeline will be as we've booked through a few different companies, but we'll see! 

Lake Ohau - The Big Tiki

Tuesday 21st February - Wednesday 22nd February 2017

Our trip to Dunedin was short and sweet but now it was time for our last full day headed to Lake Ohau!

Our lunch stop today was at the Moeraki Boulders. Unfortunately it was quite a misty morning, but I can't really complain as we have had awesome weather so far! We grabbed a bite to eat before heading down to the boulders and taking the standard posey tourist pictures.

When we got to Ohau, we headed straight down to the lake to check it out. As it was a glacial lake the water was freezing so we decided against going for a swim.

It was then time for dinner where we had lasagne and salad and then sticky date pudding for dessert. The lasagne was ok but the pudding was delish!

We then got our togas on ready for the toga party! I drank way more than I should. We finished the night in the hot tubs which was awesome!

Dunedin - The Big Tiki

Monday 20th February - Tuesday 21st February 2017

I was sad to leave Queenstown this morning, it is truly one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to. Hopefully I'll be able to get a job here, but if not I'll be back to do a swing (and maybe a bungy if someone bullies me into it!). We also said goodbye to a few more of our Contiki fam sadly.

When we arrived at Dunedin, we had a few hours to use up before going out for he evening. So we had a wander and, much to my excitement, there was a Cadbury factory! I immediately booked on to the factory tour for the following morning... it only worked it to be around £13 so I couldn't resist!! Kirsten and I shared a galaxy cake and I got a hot chocolate - honestly the nicest hot chocolate I have ever had in my life!

We then went to find Kathleen and Emma, who we expected to find with a pint of beer at a bar somewhere. Instead we found them with a tasting rack of 6 half pints! They had also been talking to two American couples who had come here on a cruise. It was so hot and I ended up burning a bit typically!

After gathering at the hotel, we all got the coach up to Speights brewery for the brewery tour. The tour guide cut it short so we could have more time at the bar... not that I'm complaining at all! I tasted all the beers and poured my first (half) pint successfully!

Following this we had a group meal at the alehouse. I had tomato soup then a chicken salad and it was one of the most delicious meals I had had in a while.

As I didn't want to spend more money on going out, me and some of the others went back to the hotel. Some of us went back to a room to play heads up and drinking games, but after a while Asha, Ashna, Tayla and I decided to go back to the room to watch Insidious. I've seen it before so spent most of the time scaring Tayla haha.

The following morning it was time for my Cadbury factory tour! Tash and I were the only ones who wanted to do it so we had quite a small group which meant more chocolate! In the chocolate tasting room I waaayyy over did it with white chocolate so spent most of the tour feeling super sick... it was so worth it though! We saw how most of the chocolate they made at that factory was made, and more importantly got free samples along the way!

After getting on the coach, Hayley and Ricky spent a few minutes trying to locate the student house that six sixty started out in. 'White lines, blue skies' by six sixty is our day song, so we listen to it every time we get in the coach in the morning, so it was a special stop for our group!

Our final stop in Dunedin was to the world's steepest residential street: Baldwin street. It was a right trek getting to the top and the views weren't even that good but I guess we can say we've done it now!

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!