Helloooooo :)

Apologies for the lack of updates recently, we have struggled witht he internet and when we do get it, we have to pay for it, so it doesn't leave us much time to update our blog.

So, since our last update, we made our way around the coast of Fiji, stopping at the Coral Coast, Pacific Harbour and Raki Raki.

The island is so beautiful and we met wonderful people while we were there.

There was plenty of snorkelling, Kayaking and fishing to be done. Stevie went snorkelling on one occassion with a group of guys that we had met at the resort we were staying at called Mango Bay. Stevie popped his head out of the water to catch the end of a sentence from a couple of the other guys "....shark."

Stevie: Did you just say shark?

Matt: Yeah.

Stevie: Where?

Matt: Right beneath you.

Stevie popped his head down to see, sure enough, a 5 1/2 foot reef shark swimming below him.

Everyone went as quickly as they could to shore!!!

We went on a fishing trip to catch our dinner one day. Stevie, Kathryn (an Ozzy girl we met) and myself all caught fish around 1ft long to eat for our tea that evening.

The resorts that we stayed at were lovely as well, the beaches perfect and the water crystal clear.

We headed to the North East side of the island with another couple called Matt and Lucy. We spent a few chilled out days at a resort up there, sipping cocktails while both the boths tried there hand at line fishing everyday.

On Thursday 27th October, at around 10pm, I had a funny feeling about our flights. I knew we were flying on Saturday 29th, but for some reason I had to check. We then had a panick as we saw our flight was actually at 8am on Friday 28th!! We had left our backpacks with our couchsurfer lady in the Village of Vi Sei Sei, so had to pay for a 3 hour taxi ride back to her house, arriving at 1am in the mrning (on the Friday). We then got our heads down for a few hours before getting up at 5 to make our check-in. Lucky we made the flight or it would have voided the rest of our ticket!!

We landed in Auckland on Friday, stayed for one night as we were very tired, then got an early bus to Tauranga, then onto Mt Maunganui to see an old friend, Andy Rason, that I know from Doncaster. He came out here 18 months ago and never went home.

We climbed the Mount, which is more like a hill, but it had great views from the top. And it made Steve and I wonder how we ever managed to do Machu Picchu, as we were knackered by the time we got to the top, which took all of 35 minutes!

So from the Mount, we went back to Tauranga to get a bus to Taupo. We stayed for 2 nights in Taupo trying to do the Tongariro crossing, but it was closed :( we hope we can do it on our way back up. I did, however, get to do a skydive, which has to be the most exhillerating thing I have ever done. I was so nervous going up in the plane, which was tiny, and I even asked if I could change my mind. My Tandem Master said no, he would still take my money so I had to go! I didn't have time to think about it much though, before I knee it we were at the edge of the plane then we were out, freefalling through the sky and the clouds. It was absolutely amazing and something I would recommend to everyone.

We also went to see the Huka Falls and the hot thermal springs. The springs were HOT! At the top it was too hot for Stevie and I to get into, but it was a tiny bit cooler further down. We came out looking like little pink lobsters.

From Taupo, we decided to hitch-hike. It was a first for us, but everyone we have met has said NZ is the place to do it.

So we stood on the side of the road in Taupo that leads to the Highway we wanted. After 5 minutes, we wondered whether we were doing it right. Was our sign too small, too dull, should we smile, not smile, wave, did we even need a sign?? After 20 minutes, we were beginning to think maybe it wasn't going to work, when a lady called Patricia pulled over. She was heading in the direction we wanted so we hopped in. It was a tiny car so we packed all our bags and the 2 of us in there sharpish before she changed her mind.

It turned out Patricia had already passed us, and felt guilty for not picking us up, so turned around and came back for us!

When Patricia dropped us off, we waited about 10 minutes before Peter picked us up. He already had another hitch-hiker in the car so that was a squeeze as well! He took us to Palmerston North.

From Palmerston, we were picked up within seconds by Dave, who took us to Pahiatua. From Pahiatua, we were picked up again within seconds by Matthew, a teacher on his way home from work, who took us all the way to Masterton, our final destination.

So, the reason we headed for Masterton in the first place was to see Sammy Curtis, the OLCC overseas player. We had dinner with Sammy and had a few beers last night. It was 'sweet as' to have a catch up, and again to see a friendly face that we know is awesome. We had lunch today before he dropped us off on a stretch of road for us to hitch again.

When Sammy dropped us, we were picked up straight away. Unfortunately, we didn't get his name as we couldn't really understand a lot of what the guy was saying. He took us as far as he could, then Warren picked us up. We didn't wait around at all today!

So, we are now in a place called Whitby, near Wellington, with the Carey's/Harrison's. We'll be here for a few days with the family, then who knows...

We will upload pics when we get chance, hopefully soon!

We miss you all and love you heaps!

Stevie & Sam xxx