Hello again...another blog, another country!

I arrived in New Zealand 3:30pm yesterday (13/08) after a hassle free flight from Fiji. So far I have already booked my transport for New Zealand which will consist of a hop on, hop off bus tour with Magic Bus to Queenstown followed by a week renting a car to take me to Christchurch. It is winter here so it is fairly cold and wet but it isn't really that bad, nothing like the English winter although it will get colder as I go further south.

I really liked Fiji and had a great time there. On my second day I got picked up early for a four day Feejee Experience bus tour which takes you around the main island. This was better than I expected and although it felt like I was on a school trip at times I really enjoyed it and made a lot of friends. The tour takes you to places that most people don't usually go to and for most of the time we were the only tourists in the places we visited. Some of the things we did included sandboarding, rafting, tubing, treking, visits to a village and a school and hot water mud pools and springs. We were also able to see some of the best beaches in Fiji. The island itself seemed really unspoilt and there was some amazing scenery. After the bus tour I spent a day recovering back at my original hotel. I didn't feel great that day as I was very tired and had a bad stomach but the next day I was back on form and was up early to catch a ferry to one of the smaller islands called Kuata. In Fiji island hopping is the main tourist activity. There are many smaller islands, some so small you can walk around them in 5 minutes and there is a ferry that goes past them daily. The ferry stops near the islands and smaller boats come out from the islands to collect people and drop people off. Most people get passes so they can go to several different islands but I decided to spend most of my time on one island and the island I chose having spoken to people who had been was Kuata.

I had a really good time on Kuata, which was partly used for the filming of Castaway, I think for the part when he was in a cave. The accomodation was very basic with huts and cold showers but it was a really nice setting and the food was amazing. You live alongside the Fijian locals and feel part of a community more than you feel that you are staying at a holiday resort. Each night the people who lived on the island and people from a nearby village would sit on mats and drink Kava (a traditional drink made with a Kava root which is said to have a slight narcotic effect) while playing guitars and singing songs. Guests were welcome to sit down and join in if they wanted to.

One of the activities I did while I was there which was really good was snorkelling with sharks. We all got in a boat and went about 20 mins out towards a coral reef. As soon as you get in the water you start to see reef sharks which are about 2 - 3 ft long. The sharks are harmless but when they start swimming towards you it is hard not to feel a little bit anxious.

After staying on Kuata for 4 nights I spent a night on South Sea island before heading back to Nadi for my last night. South Sea island was really nice and one of the very small islands. It was a good stop off point before returning to Nadi.

So that sums up my time in Fiji. I now have a month in New Zealand which I hope will be equally as good as Fiji. No doubt in the next couple of blogs you can expect stories of bungy jumping and sky diving providing I'm able to work up the courage! My next move now though is to go and buy some warmer clothes before I head off tomorrow.

Thank you all for your messages, I hope you are all well and please wish Grandma and Grandad a belated happy anniversary from me.

All the best

Ryan