Return to Auckland: Part 1

Sunday 12th March - Wednesday 15th March 2017

Sunday
The flight was slightly delayed as someone got off again in Nadi due to feeling unwell, but that didn't matter as we had an upgraded plane from the way here and had screens which was awesome! I started to watch La La  Land but got pretty bored half an hour in so gave up and watched Life of Pi instead, which I have no regrets about! Sadly, when we got to Auckland it was bittersweet as I was saying goodbye to Emma. I know we'll see each other soon but it's so weird to spend a month and a half seeing the same person every day to just separating from them!

To save a bit of money in Auckland, Lisa (from Contiki) had recommend that I stay with her friend Neil through Couchsurfing. I'd never done Couchsurfing before so I was a bit nervous, but Neil is so kind that I really didn't need to worry about anything! He even offered to pick me up from the airport, which was super nice! He lives in an apartment in the Heritage Hotel, which means I can use the pool and spa pools there which is awesome!

As it was a rainy Sunday, we decided to go to the cinema to watch Logan. Typically, I hadn't seen any of the other Wolverine films so I didn't quite understand everything, but it was pretty spectacular. Neil then showed me a local Asian food market and we grabbed food there - it was so delicious! After eating we just had a chilled night. Neil will be working in the week so I will only really see him in the evenings.

Monday
After a nice leisurely morning, I headed into town to sort a few bits out and grab some food - the bacon bread from my favourite bakery! I had an interview at 1 in Parnell so I grabbed a bus up there as I didn't know how long it would take to walk. I needn't have worried though as it was closer than I thought!

The interview went really well. It was more of a further get to know me and how good of an Au Pair I would be kind of thing but it was great fun and Morgan, the lady I have been talking to about au Pair work, is really lovely and made everything so easy and clear!

That took about an hour, so I continued up to Newmarket to go to the big Warehouse to get a New Zealand phone. I just got a cheap little alcatel phone, thinking it would be easy to use and set up. When I got back to the hotel I went to set it up, and it was telling me I had JavaScript turned off so I couldn't get on the Vodafone page, I couldn't find a single thing on my phone to turn it on so I gave up, deciding to go to Vodafone the following day!

I spent the rest of the day chilling out and reading as the weather wasn't overly great, until Neil came back from work. We went to grab stuff for dinner and rented out Deadpool as I haven't seen it yet and my bro keeps on at me to watch it!

Tuesday
Today was another chill out day (unsurprisingly). There wasn't really anything I needed to get done, so I just watched Call the Midwife for a bit (it's so nice having decent wifi and actually being able to watch Netflix) and then went into town. I grabbed my favourite dumplings (they will never get old) and didn't do a whole lot else all day!

After dinner, Neil and I played the board game 221b Baker Street. It's pretty cool, obviously it's based around Sherlock Holmes and you have a card that tells you about a scenario and then you have to work out a few things. For example, we had to work out the name of the thief, and how he disappears so quickly. Then you go around the bored, going to different buildings and there is a clue in each place you have to look up in a book. It was pretty hard and I didn't get anything right! But hopefully
if I play it again I'll get it!

Wednesday
Today the weather was gorgeous, so I went and chilled out on the rooftop pool, taking it in turns to sunbathe and swim.

After a while I started to get hungry, so went to Wendy's for the classic $5 meal and then I wandered over to a park to read in the sun for a bit.

Every Wednesday, they hold a weekly drinks for people who host and Couchsurf in Auckland, so we went along to that. I met some really cool people that we're hopefully gonna go out with on St Patrick's day which will be awesome!

Last day in Fiji

Saturday 11th March 2017

Last night was potentially the worst nights sleep I've had for a while! No one turned the lights off so I woke at around 3am to them glaring in my face, I reluctantly got up to turn them off. 2 hours later the alarms from the girls next to me kept going off every ten minutes from 5:20 for an hour. One of them being a continuous quacking that the girl would not turn off. So that was lovely!

Emma was still sleeping so I grabbed breakfast around 8 and then sunbathed and read until it started to rain. We then grabbed lunch, and the waiters and waitresses thought I was weird for having a crepe for lunch and kept asking me if I had a good dessert!

The weather had been pretty miserable all day, so we spent the whole day in Emma's room watching Grey's Anatomy! It's so crazy to think that this is our last full day together after a month and a half of being with each other the majority of the time!

The past month and a half have honestly been the best of my life. From skydiving to walking on a glacier, to swimming with sharks, to being able to see where my grandparents used to work, I have definitely had the experience of a life time and made some memories I'll never forget! But now it's time to settle into Kiwi life and I'm just as excited for the next 5 months working as an Au Pair.

Suva - Centenary Methodist Church & Deaconess House

Friday 10th March 2017

Today I decided to try and meet some of the people my grandparents knew in Suva. I got a taxi to the bus station and then it was a 4 hour journey to the capital. I recognised a few things along the way,
and it reminded me of Linga as I remembered a few of the things he told us about different places. Other than that I kept myself occupied by watching a few things on my iPad.

After arriving in Suva, I headed to Tappoo City as that's where we came and I remember there being a good food hall there. I ordered food and then attempted to ring the Deaconesses - with no such luck unfortunately!

Luckily after a few more tries I managed to get through and we arranged to meet at Tappoo City in half an hour. I started to get a bit nervous as I had no idea what Meresiana looks like! But eventually she found me and took me to the Centenary Methodist Church, which was just across the street.

Firstly she gave me a sulu, as I had stupidly left mine hanging on my bed at Smugglers! Whilst we were at the stall, another deaconess came and was ecstatic to meet me and told me how much my Nana and Grandad had impacted her life.

This was to be continued as every time Meresiana introduced me to someone they had a different, individual story to tell me about my beloved grandparents and their work for the Methodist church in Fiji. Their teaching methods are still used in primary schools to this day! Which is definitely a legacy to be proud of! The only downside is that quite a few people didn't know they had passed away, so I had to keep telling people that as I went along - I held it together though which surprises me!! Meresiana then showed me a photo album she had with photos in my grandparents house and some of my family members which was pretty special.

We then waited for a bit to meet Levi, who I've actually met before when I was a baby! He also brought pictures to show me, and there's one photo of me with his daughter who is in her early thirties now with two children of her own! Both Levi and Meresiana studied in Birmingham and my grandparents invited them to come and stay with them for Christmas and to come and see Dorset. As soon as I get back to England I'm going to rummage through their old photo albums to see who I can recognise!! (Mum sent me a photo of me and Levi not long after I left Fiji, it's crazy how it's been 22 years since I last saw him!)

We then said goodbye to the Methodist church and headed out to the fruit market. Meresiana kindly got me some pineapple as I said it was my favourite! The market was the biggest I've ever seen - so much food everywhere!

After the market, we got a taxi to the Deaconess house, about a five minute journey from the centre of Suva. When I arrived, I went into the teaching room with the students who are training to become Deaconesses themselves. It was such a whirlwind that unfortunately I can't remember many of their names, but it was pretty spectacular! The reverend and another deaconess also came to say hello, and they were students when my grandparents lived in Suva. I kept it together until prayers when so many beautiful words were said about God, my grandparents and I... embarrassingly I started to cry even though I tried my hardest to keep it together!

They then brought out so much food, I presumed that it was for everyone to share but it was all mainly for me! I've never seen so many sandwiches in my life!! They packed up loads for me to take with me on the coach which was so very kind. Unfortunately, I was restricted to the last bus so it was only a quick visit. After a few more songs and a big goodbye I sadly left them all with the promise of returning! I would love to come back and spend a couple of weeks with everybody and get to know them better, keeping up the relationship between my family and theirs.

Meresiana and one of the trainee Deaconesses (called Joanna so I won't forget that!!) came with me to drop me off at the bus stop. It was a sad goodbye but I know I'll be back so it was more of a see you later!

The journey back was long and I kept falling asleep, the sunsets at 6:30 and then it just goes pitch black so it feels like it's the middle of the night! After getting a taxi back to the hostel I found Emma in her upgraded room before going to sleep.

Beachcomber Island and back to a Nadi: Bula Combo Pass

Thursday 9th March 2017

After breakfast this morning we checked out and got to choose which boat we were getting which was a luxury! We opted for the 5pm so we could spend a full day on Beachcomber.

I walked around the island, it literally took 5 minutes! I came back around to the beach and I thought it was a different part of the resort, until I recognised the bar! It's crazy how small it is, but it's so beautiful.

We chilled out on the beach this morning, there wasn't that many people there so there was loads of space. Emma and I thought lunch was earlier than it was so we went back to our towels to carry on sun bathing, but mine had gone! I don't think it could've been the wind, as no one else's towels and moved, but I have no idea why someone would want my stinky towel!! I was going to throw it away before I left anyway so I'm not overly fussed!

After lunch we did another snorkel trip. I didn't bring my GoPro this time but I wish we did! There were heaps of fish and we fed them bread so more and more kept coming. The parrotfish are definitely my favourite, the vibrant colours on them are amazing.

We had a couple of hours of just chilling before we got the boat back to the Viti Levu. It was just under 45 minutes before we got back to Port Denarau and I have to say I was pretty sad to leave the islands behind!

Our transfer didn't take long, and we were back at Smugglers Cove again. Some of the staff recognised us and made a point of talking to us which was so nice! We were both knackered though so we grabbed food before going to bed early.

Wayalailai Island and Beachcomber Island: Bula Combo Pass

Thursday 9th March 2017

Today is our penultimate day island hopping, it's gone crazy fast! But the best ever thing was that at breakfast we had chocolate cake and pineapple! I was so happy, I even took a few bits for later (that eventually got all crumbled in my bag but it's fine, it tastes great!).

After we brought our bags to reception, we went down to the dive hut to prepare for swimming with sharks. We grabbed our snorkel gear and headed to the boat. It took under ten minutes to get to the reef, and they feed the sharks in a pool in the middle of the coral. It was amazing! We were with white tipped reef sharks and they were much smaller than I imagined but still so magnificent. After my dreaded snorkel at Robinson Crusoe Island, I kept my life jacket on, but kinda regretted it as it kept getting in my way. But I felt safe the whole time which had made me want to do it again, unlike the last time!!

The boat journey back was 100% scarier than the swim! The waves had picked up a bit on the way back and this meant that I kept flying out of my seat and slamming back down, causing my bum too hurt rather a lot! But despite my terror every time we soared over a wave it was a lot of fun!

We only had an hour or so before lunch so we chilled out for a bit on the beach. After lunch we went back to sunbathe, and I also went and made an anklet out of shells. The time went pretty quickly and it was time to move on to Beachcomber, our final Island.

Jumping on to the boat, it was clear that Beachcomber was similar to Robinson Crusoe Island - it looked like it was straight out of a movie. Paradise. Beachcomber is known as a party island, but as we came on off season there wasn't as many people so less of a partaaayyy and more like in bed by 10 #cray. However, on the upside we asked for another free upgrade and we got another private room which is super awesome!

Beachcomber is a two and three coconut island so it's already more luxurious than the other places we've stayed at, definitely more of a holiday resort than a cultural experience! The food was amazing. We had a 4 course a la carte menu, but for pudding we only got ice cream and we noticed that other people had cake. This didn't sit right with me, so I asked them if we had cake and we got two pieces each! This day has just been amazing!

We then watched their Polynesian dance and fire show, but I didn't take any pictures this time as it was pretty much the same as smugglers and Robinson Crusoe. I will never get sick of watching it though, it's so good!

Emma and I then cracked out the wine I have had in my bag since the last day of Feejee Experience! I had left it in the sink in cold water since dinner so it was kinda cool, but wasn't brilliant. We then went to the bar expecting everyone to be there dancing, but there was about 6 people and they were all grinding on each other so we decided to go back to the room and watch greys after making use of the free wifi!

Drawaqa Island and Wayalailai Island: Bula Combo Pass

Wednesday 8th March 2017

Checkout from Barefoot Manta today, it's been nice here but so flipping expensive compared to the other islands we've been at!  Although we managed to blag all our meals free as the boys we saw yesterday said they had an offer from the boat so we just said we were told that too so we saved $168 on food. I was sad this morning as the donuts had flies all over them so they were taken away!

We grabbed our bags and went to check out, but they had lost signal on the card machine so we had to wait. We left our stuff at reception and went to get a kayak, as I had won a free ride from the crab race the other day.

Getting out on the water really showed how beautiful the coral reef is around this island. There were so many fish and I've never seen so many starfishes before in my life! I attempted to get some photos from my GoPro but I had no inclination as to how they would turn out when I was taking them, but some of them turned out ok!

 

Our plan was to then go and chill on the beach for a bit but then, shock, it started to rain again! (I'm definitely coming back to Fiji outside of the wet season!!) So we stayed in the main building waiting for it to pass over, and after a while I went out to sunbathe on the beach againnever last as long as I do in England sunbathing a sits so flipping hot! I stayed closer to the rocks at the end of the beach and there was a fish swimming around aimlessly, I don't think that fish was well! He was beautiful though.

We then bumped in to some others and Chris let Emma and I borrow the snorkel he hired out. It's so amazing that you can swim out for less than 30 seconds and be surrounded by beautiful fish and corals.

Time went by pretty quickly and then it was lunch time - I can't wait to start eating meals on my own time again! After lunch we only had about an hour before getting our boat, so I went for a walk around sunset beach and  then chilled out for a bit waiting for our transfer. The weather was much better than the last time we got the boat, that's for sure. Although it still felt like we were riding a rollercoaster - they don't call it the Yasawas flyer for nothing!

Waylailai island is awesome, the rock formations around here are something else. We were a little cheeky and asked if there were any free room upgrades, so instead of sleeping in the dorm we've got our own bule which is nice! Although the bathroom stinks and there's no electricity so that's a downer but we'll live!

We went for a dip in the ocean, it was refreshing but there is seaweed everywhere, the beaches are much nicer at oarsman bay and Barefoot Manta! The sun went in so we went and got ready early (what a shock). We get an afternoon tea here which is really exciting for us! (Turns out it was just tea and crackers, less exciting).

Dinner was delicious, some sort of spicy chicken with rice and noodles - buffet style! Hands down my favourite meal from all the islands so far! And I had so much pineapple, I have never tasted pineapple as good as the pineapples in Fiji.

Emma and I had planned to get an early night, but the staff at Wayalailai had other plans! We had a few dances to 'make sure the sun comes out tomorrow' and then we played this ridiculous game where the first person carries as spoon in his mouth balancing a marble, thrown everyone else takes turns in sitting on a potato, carrying it between their thighs and then passing it to the next person, and then we had to pass an empty bottle to each other by our thighs and then sit down. It was a bit over complicated but our team won! We all got a free drink at the bar which was awesome!

Afterwards we got chatting to a few people and it's honestly the most I've laughed since being in Fiji! It was brilliant.

Drawaqa Island: Bula Combo Pass

Tuesday 7th March 2017

We had a continental breakfast this morning and I was ecstatic to see syrup by the pancakes! I've had dry pancakes too many times in Fiji! They also had donuts with chocolate sauce drizzled over the top, it was heavenly!

The weather was a bit hit and miss this morning. It poured down whilst we were eating breakfast, but brightened up for a bit so we went to the beach just in front of our bure to sunbathe. It lasted all of fifteen minutes before the rain came back!

But luckily it wasn't too long before the sun came back to stay and it was so good just dipping in the sea and then sunbathing.

We did that all morning and after lunch we did the same thing on sunset beach! I got a little burnt but not too badly! The clouds came back at around 4 so we went back to the room, even though we still had three hours to kill before dinner. We were going to watch Greys on the beach but it started to rain so we retreated to our bule for an hour or so before getting ready and going to the main building. One of the divers was doing a talk on coral and it was really interesting!

No cake at dinner today which was sad! We didn't hang around for too long afterwards today as there we're less people around and I had to repack my backpack (for the millionth time) as we're off to Wayalailai tomorrow. It's been so nice having two nights though as today has been full on chilled!