Stories from Smugglers Cove - Goodbye Australia

Here's how it finally comes to conclusion. I've been wrapping up my time here at least once before but this time I have a feeling it will be for good. Although there is nothing more certain than uncertainty in life, now's the time to take on some challenges back home.

Our trip to Fiji was just as good as I thought it would be. It had started getting real cold, rainy and dark in Sydney area but luckily we managed to visit Andrew's ranch once more just before our flight and spend a nice day there in the southern fall. We were lucky in terms of the weather conditions. Yes, it was cold but at least we were spared from rainfall for the most part and were able to enjoy the relaxing surroundings fully. It's not too often that I get to rake leaves in June...

Our Pacific Blue flight to Nadi departed right on time early on Sunday morning and four hours later we were indeed in the middle of the Pacific Ocean on Fiji's main island Viti Levu. You got the tropical breeze to welcome you right after leaving the aircraft and rest assured; it was more or less 30 degrees day in and day out up there. The first day was mainly spent on relaxing by the beach at the hotel, but we did get a good idea of the concept "Fijitime" where our airport shuttle bus driver suddenly stopped the bus, left all the tourists inside and went to buy some groceries. Also, the extremely active and friendly hotel staff and its entertainers had organized a fire dance show for the first night so that was something relatively authentic to witness although targeted for tourists.

While in Fiji and especially if you're mostly staying on the main island, it is absolutely obligatory to do some island hopping since the beaches on Viti Levu are not exactly the flashest - at least not what you'd expect from a tropical island group. However, as you head out from the main island, the "paradise beaches" begin to appear. We spent our first full day on a "Treasure island" which was already a nice enough experience with it's beautiful resorts and tropical drinks, but the real deal was to come the following day when we embarked on a full day tour on the famous Seaspray sailboat. The catamaran from Denarau port took us first to Mana islands and from there we changed our ship into the sailboat and made our way to the outer islands of the Mamanuca island group. The pinnacle of this journey was certainly the GORGEOUS Monuriki island where the film Castaway was shot in 2001 with Tom Hanks yelling Wilson. It looked (what a surprise) exactly the same and the beach was stunning. This is the cliché image you would have of a tropical island. Coconut trees, white sand, turquoise, crystal clear water and a whole lot of nothing in sight. Just ocean and some other small islands in the distance. The whole island is uninhabited, so we had to swim onto the beach from the sailboat that obviously could not proceed any closer without getting stuck from the bottom. That just added to the excitement.

After Monuriki, we visited a small village on another small island and attended a kava ceremony there with the local chiefs (kava=muddy water but worth checking out...google it). Furthermore, they obviously had taken merchandising to the max on that particular island and - while very authentic - you pretty much had to buy some piece of jewellery or the like in order to get out of the island with a clear conscience. An incredible day trip all in all.

As the day trips tend to be quite costly, we took it real easy the following day and just chilled and read some books on the hotel beach. We also made some British and German friends there as well as played volleyball and drank kava (and a lot of other stuff) with the local Fiji boys. Thursday and Friday were spent touring around the main island as we rented a car. First day we saw the second largest city in Fiji, Lautoka and had lunch there, the second day we drove south with our friends and found the best beach on the main island, did some swimming around the beautiful overhanging cliffs there and then visited another village further down as well as the famous sand dunes. A fun day, to put it mildly, and not a bad way to spend your birthday either!

After Fiji, we had time to go sailing one more time with my friends and last night my boss Alan was in town so we all went out for dinner in Chinatown and later on bowling at Darling Harbour. It was a great way to end my time with Middlebank Consulting in Sydney. These guys are awesome - it's almost like a family...a very multicultural one!

Today's my last day at work and time to say goodbye to everyone here as well. Tomorrow we will have a bit of a farewell party at our place in Coogee and let's see if we can get the cops in again at some point. Sunday and Monday will be spent recovering and possibly taking care of whatever needs to be taken care of. Maybe seeing more friends who, for one reason or the other, couldn't make it to the party. Then, on Tuesday the 15th, I will officially depart the Australian shores. If not for good then at least for a while and my next visit will most likely be a leisurely one.

This will also with a high probability be my last blog entry for now. Thanks for your participation, reading and comments. Has been nice to write. A huge thank you for the good friends here in Oz who have really made my stay unforgettable. I sure hope to see you again soon...and I know some of you I will. I will once again refrain from mentioning names here as I'm sure you know who you are. However, I must mention my flatmate Andrew in this context as we've spent ridiculous amount of time together at work and elsewhere and still really had no issues at any stage. I may owe you some for the countless rides to work and back...you can collect that debt in Finland!

Take care and all the best guys. Keep in touch and keep it real. Over and out.

Cheers,

Tero