Arrived in Fiji with my two new travelling companions (Lisa and Sian from the Trek America tour) very happy to find that it was hot. Very hot. Exhausted after the night flight from LA and slightly freaked out that we had lost two days somewhere on the way we made our way to our resort which turned out to be miles from anywhere. It was also completely devoid of people apart from the odd person here and there but since all three of us had decided we were going to spend the first couple of days sunbathing and sleeping it didn't bother us. So thats pretty much how I spent my first days in Fiji apart from a brief trip in to the town (Nadi) where we got suckered in to our first kava ceremony at the back of a shop and then practically forced in to buying something from the shop. Not as bad as it sounds but we were pretty annoyed with ourselves when we left with our purchases...

Kava is drunk by Fijians as part of a welcoming ceremony to guests, its made from a plant and is supposed to make you high, sort of. All it did was make my tongue go numb. It tastes like mud water, its pretty gross but you have to do it at least once when you come to Fiji. For some reason the people of Fiji sit round the kava bowl and drink the disgusting stuff all night, after a lot of bowls it makes you very tired but they all seem to enjoy it.

Had a very chilled couple of days although by the time the Feejee Experience was due to start I was still exhausted from America. Saying goodbye to Lisa and Sian was sad but I will be seeing them again in Sydney and we will be having Christmas together which is cool. The Feejee Experience started early Monday morning and I have to say whether it was the mood I was in or whatever I didn't really enjoy the first few days. It took me longer this time to click with the group I was travelling with which I think made a difference.

On the first day we stopped off at a pretty beach where we sunbathed and had a yummy BBQ. Others who had hopped off a previous bus then met us and we all went sand boarding. Sand boarding here was not the same as sand boarding in Peru... Peru was a million times better. Here there was one hill which we had to climb up (and in sand this was not easy) and then slide down the hill lying on our stomachs on the boards. Was fun but only did it once as the hill nearly killed me the first time! We also visited a village which was good to see as it showed us their traditional houses and they explained about the chief of the village and the different hierarchys that exist.

On our way to our first resort in Coral Coast I found myself missing the Trek America van, Allens singing and the people I shared the van with more and more. Determined to make more of an effort with the people I was now with I ended up staying up to stupid o'clock practically falling asleep in to my drink and having to make my way in the dark to the room. It was chucking down with rain that night which had created a swamp in the gardens there, and there were frogs EVERYWHERE. People who know me well know how squeamish I am about frogs... the bloody things were jumping at me from every corner. It was a bit of a mission making my way back that night.

The next day we all got up early for the 3 hour trek to the Navua River. The trek was fun although it was a bit precarious as the path was mostly clay and it had been raining so a lot of us pretty much slid down most of the trek! It was hard work but the group started to get more comfortable around one another here. We ended the trek by a river and we had to get in to rubber rings and float the rest of the way! Was great fun except I kept getting stuck in the rocks and the boat following us got so fed up with having to pull me out they decided to drag me along beside them for the rest of the way. By this time it had really started to rain but we were all determined to still do our swim in the waterfalls. So we all jumped in and were all having a good laugh when our guide told us it was time to go as the water was rising. We had been in the boat two seconds when the waterfall expanded and came gushing out over the steps and sides... if it had been much sooner I dread to think what would have happened. I think it freaked us all out a bit but good call by the guide!

The boat ride back felt ridiculously long as the rain hammered in to us but we made it back to Suva which is the heart of Fiji. A lot of the coups (they have had one just recently) are centred around Suva and there are a lot of scary tales about Fiji and how the coup has made it a more dangerous place. Its pretty much all rubbish and you shouldn't listen to a word of it. Yes there has been a coup but it doesn't involve tourists or effect your stay there. If it hadn't have been talked about in the media you wouldn't have known it had happened. Suva looked like a really cool place and I was tempted to hop off the bus here and stay longer however the people I was getting on well with were moving on so chose to spend one night only. We did make it a night to remember however by visiting the night clubs in Suva. We got a mixed response - some of the men there loved us! to the point of annoying and other locals just clearly didn't want us there. It was a really good night though and we made it back very late, in time for the very early start the next day!

We left some of the group behind and it was noticeable on the bus the next day, it was unusually quiet but if this was due to their absense or hangovers who can say. We stopped off in another village where we took part in a kava ceremony for the chief to welcome us and to wish us luck on the river where we would be doing our morning activities. I got a real sense from this kava ceremony of the importance of them and it was a chance to see the different roles that men and women have - in Fiji they still consider the woman inferior to the man. So while the men sat around and drank the rest of the kava (can't say I envied them this) the women were taught how to weave bracelets which was really cool and the bracelets are really pretty. After this we made our way to the river where we went bilibili rafting. This was my highlight of the feejee experience.

A bilibili raft is about 5 sections of bamboo bound together to form a platform for about 6 people to sit or stand on. There were 3 teams and we had a race down the river - my team won. It got very competitive and I'll admit a bit nasty (people trying to push other people in the river, stealing the oars, blocking the river while your team swam your raft to the finish line...) but it was such good fun and we got very wet. After this we visited a high school and met children who were about to take their version of GCSE's, it was really interesting to see the school and meet the kids, some of whom have to walk 2 hours everyday to and from school. And I used to complain about getting the bus...

That night we stayed in Rakiraki at a resort called Volivoli, a really pretty place and as we weren't leaving until late the next day we were able to go snorkelling or diving, play volley ball or just sleep in. We had a good night there, their entertainment guy devised games for us and once again we all showed our competitive natures. This all then turned in to the usual drinking games by the bonfire on the beach.

This took us up to our last day, a short trip but we felt like we had done so much and that we had gone a massive journey. It was a good way to end it too, we went to the hot mud pools which at first was really gross but got really relaxing as we covered ourselves in mud that others pay hundreds for at posh spas. We washed the mud off in the thermal pools next door... lovely! It was quite sad saying goodbye to some of the group as only 5 of us were off to Beachcomber the next day.

Beachcomber is an island about 45 minutes from Vitu Levu (the mainland) and it is considered the party island, and with good reason. With cries of 'to the bar' after every sentence, we partied hard for two nights at Beachcomber and had the best time ever! Got a great tan (seriously you wouldn't recognise me) and made some great friends. It is pretty dangerous there though as you don't need cash, you just put everything on tab so the drinks bill soon mounts up... oh well. There was some brilliant characters there including a group of Irish boys, I have never met anyone who can drink as much as these guys. They were astounding and still coherent at the end of it! Also met a pretty cool lady who must have been in her 60's, her and her friend had been going there for 37 years (once a year) as they loved it so much... proof that it isn't all about parties.

I had booked a 3 night and 4 day island tour to finish my time in Fiji... I missed the first night as I decided to stay on Beachcomber but managed to make it to Naviti Island where I stayed at Korovou resort. It was dead there so caught up on my sleep and sunbathed some more.... It was then time to go back to Nadi so I could catch my flight to Auckland. Loved Fiji, especially Fiji Time (where everything went at its own pace) and the weather of course. It was good to do the Feejee Experience as got to see another side to Fiji. However I wish I had more time or had organised the time I had better so I could have seen more islands. But I will come back, oh yes! Oh yeah and I wish I had done my sky dive here too...

A good thing about Fiji is that most of the people here are heading to New Zealand and Australia so you are pretty much going to see everyone again, which is nice. Now in Auckland and the first thing I did here was shop, which was bad. Very bad. But you can't turn back time so never mind... ;-) I start the Kiwi Experience tomorrow and I'm pretty excited about it. Oh and everyone in England will be pleased to hear its cold here and apparantly rains alot.......