Bula everyone!

We've got to Auckland but wanted to put Fiji on the blog map!

We ended our time in Australia with sight seeing in Sydney. As you can see from the photos we spent quite a lot of time around the Harbour Bridge and Opera House! We walked across the bridge the conventional way this time instead of over the top. We took a ferry to Watson's Bay to sample the world famous Doyle's fish and chips (well recommended!) and to see out to the Pacific. There were quite a few food events going on while we were there so we had some lovely meals from market stalls in the Rocks area which also has many good pubs - well worth a visit next year Martin, congrats on setting a date at last!

Fiji was fantastic. The resort was idyllic, on a small island about 90mins boat trip from Nadi on the mainland. It was everything you would imagine a resort on a tropical beach would look like - crystal clear tourquoise blue sea, white sand, palm trees with coconuts, hammocks and a beach bar - Fiji bitter and cocktails a plenty. On the first night we took part in the obligatory kava ceremony. This involved lots of clapping, saying 'bula' and taking it in turns to drink a bowl of kava which is made from the root of a native plant and is a natural anaesthetic and very 'calming' if you drink enough of it. Two bowls was enough to feel tingling in the mouth but as it wasn't that pleasant and tasted like bland chalky water we stopped there.

The wedding was beautiful, on the beach just before the sun started setting. As well as Adi and Stu (the bride and groom) there was us two and a couple who had come over from New Zealand - Heather and Terence, and the priest dressed in the traditional sulu (skirt). Adi walked down the beach serenaded by a small band of local guitarists and then there was a short ceremony under a flower decorated archway. This was followed by champagne and drinks from the coconut bar. We had the wedding breakfast on the beach after dark near the water's edge, and the food suited us Northerners perfectly - a curry!!!! Adi and Stu had decided that it would be nice for us all to eat together, which meant having the same set meal as the rest of the guests, and then they had their romantic lobster dinner on the beach the following night.

Whilst we were there we visited the local village where the resort's staff came from. It was a 15 minute walk through the forest on a sometimes precarious path. We walked past pigs and a few cows that they kept in the forest and there were lots of chickens and dogs running around the village when we got there. The village was small and looked quite basic but they did have a big Sky Pacific satellite dish and solar panels so they seem to do well from the resort being nearby. We visited the kindergarten where the cute three to five year olds sang us songs and rhymes and then proceeded to steal all the lays (flower garlands) that we had all bought from an elderly lady when we got into the village!

We also had booking fiasco number 2. They had managed to lose our booking, and a lot of other people's as well, when transfering details onto a new system which meant that we didn't get the accommodation that we had booked and ended up having to move rooms three times. The first night we were on a mattress on the floor in the living part of the luxury lodge but we had to use the shared bathroom with the people staying in the backpackers rooms. However, it did improve when we spent two hights in an ensuite beach view bure (small wooden hut) and the last two nights in a luxury lodge. Even better they have refunded us for the first night and comped the entire bar bill for the stay - result!!!

We are now looking forward to driving around New Zealand which we start tomorrow.

Bye for now

K & D X