The trip of a lifetime

Hola!!

After having an early night (further recovery from our Wellington antics) we awoke bright and breezy ready to meet the airport express to take us to Auckland airport so we could catch our plane to Fiji!! Ric and I were pretty excited at this point with the promise of some more sunshine and tropical temperatures! Everything went without a hitch and we successfully touched down in Nadi at around 4ish. Upon arrival we knew we had to jump on a local bus (that ran between Lautoka and Suva (the capital of Fiji). It was around a 2.5 hour drive to the Coral Coast (about half way between Nadi and Suva). The bus journey could only be described as exciting. As we left Nadi town there was a beautiful sunset and before we knew it we were racing down dark unlit roads in a 50 seater bus from about 1972. The driver insisted on overtaking everything in his path including 2 trucks at one point on a bend in the dark! As we hurtled along one look behind me settled us down as a number of Fijian locals sat there seemingly without a care in the world. This is obviously the norm out here, so we just settled into our seat and enjoyed the journey. It cost us around F$7 each and considering there are about 3F$ to the pound we figured a very good deal for a 2.5 hour journey!!

Eventually we arrived and as we jumped off the bus we headed down a dark pathway into the Beachhouse resort. It was difficult to form any first impressions as it was dark.... really dark. We followed the lighting and found the main office were we where greeted by the very friendly staff who addressed us by our first names, we must have therefore been the last booking of the day to check in. We were shown to our rooms and then we headed out to the bar area where we were served some food (even though they had stopped serving 30 minutes before we arrived); A tribute to Fijian hospitality. We settled in and realized that everything previously read about the place was no lie and that the resort was actually on the beach. There was a really chilled out feeling as other travelers sat around chatting and laughing as a widely eclectic mix of music played out in the background. We had a couple of beers and then headed to bed.

The next morning Matt was awake at about 7am. The sun was beating through a window of our high ceiling A-shaped bungalow. I headed out and as the 28 degree heat hit me, could not believe my eyes. It was at this point were I could actually get a glimpse of my surroundings. Beautiful layers of rainforest climbed the hills to which the road we had been riding on the previous night wrapped around. The resort consisted of well spaced out bungalows once again all blending into the natural vegetation. I stood on the decking outside of the front door and admired our sea view only partially blocked by a few palm trees. Nestled amongst was the main social area which consisted of open plan dining, bar and pool space. At the far end of the pool a small lawn which was abruptly ended by the beach and a few trees, 5 of which had large hammocks. We then helped ourselves to the free breakfast and found a nice spot where we sat staring at the beautiful clear ocean and beach that lay before us whilst enjoying cereal, toast and tea. As you can imagine it was a pretty idyllic setting and whilst most people who visit Fiji immediately head off to the more expensive (and in some cases less well equipped) resorts on 1 or 2 of the 300+ islands that make up Fiji. We only had 5 nights and at F$29 a night; we sat with a smile on our faces and both with varying degrees of smugness which at that point was probably only rivaled by the likes of Simon Cowell!
As you can imagine, after 2 months of being constantly on-the-go around NZ, the chance to sit by the beach / pool was pretty inviting. Much of the day was spent reading, and listen to iPods as well as getting to know a few of our fellow travelers. At 4pm everyday, they served free afternoon tea which was always a welcome treat after a hard days sunbathing / reading / snorkeling. There would be a huge tray of hot scones, real butter, jam and as much tea and coffee as you wanted. The rest of our days were pretty much the same but that’s not to say that they weren’t an amazing 5 days!! The evening meals were always superb and one particular evening we were treated to a traditional Fijian feast called Lovo. Basically, all the food is cooked in one huge underground oven and there was a lot of food! Literally piled onto the plate!! We were also honored to take part in another Fijian tradition called the Kava ceremony. This is a Fijian welcome ceremony and involves drinking half a coconut of water that has had the powdered bark of a local plant filtered through it! It essentially looks like muddy water and tastes like it too!!

Due to the fact that our flight back to Auckland was at 12 noon on our last day, we decided that rather than try and rush to the airport the morning before we fly (the 2.5 hour death ride) we would book ourselves into a hostel outside Nadi closer to the airport. Again we made to bus ride back to Nadi in the afternoon and checked into the hostel. We spent the evening relaxing by the pool and got chatting to two Canadian people and a German chap, before getting an early night.

In the morning we awoke early and packed before checking out and sharing a taxi to the airport with a couple who would also be on our flight back to Auckland. The flight was as smooth as they have all been and we arrived back into Auckland on time. We were very lucky with transport as there was an airport shuttle bus just about to leave (cue silly chasing after the bus). Then as we arrived into Auckland city centre we jumped onto an express bus to take us to Torbay to once again turn up on Tony and Line’s doorstep! That evening we had a chilli and caught up. The following day (having woken up late) we went down into Browns Bay to get our haircut and get some cash for Canada. The following day we went to the local shopping mall to watch a film. Then Saturday night was the big night out! Tony had managed to get us both tickets for the England vs. New Zealand rugby match which was a great laugh! We joined in with all the fan rivalry and being pretty much surrounded by Kiwi’s on all sides, we were severely out-numbered! After the game we met up with Tony and Phillip (one of Tony’s friends) at a bar in the casino in Auckland. We watched a few hands of Blackjack and then headed home on the last bus to Torbay (about 11:30pm!!). The next day (our last in New Zealand) we slept. Having been woken up at about half 7 in the am by the kids Ric had a nap before packing our bags, saying our farewells to Line and the kids and departing for the airport.

The 12.5 hour flight went surprisingly quickly due to the time at which we flew (8pm) and the time difference between New Zealand and Canada, which meant that we both got some sleep but still had time to watch a few films and old episodes of Top Gear (you gotta love the entertainment systems on these new aircraft!!) We arrived in Canada six hours before we left Auckland (work that one out if you can!!) and jumped onto the bus that would take us to downtown Vancouver. We checked into the hostel and settled down for a beer, met a couple of travelers (Tom and Dan) and arranged a game of pitch and putt for the following day. The next day we woke up late (again) and met Dan, Tom and Pete at the front door before walking to Stanley Park in the glorious sunshine to begin the world’s first International Pitch and Putt Championship (we made the name up ourselves!!) The game was great and by the end we were all playing really well! After a drink at the 19th hole, and booking ourselves onto a bus tour out into the Rocky Mountains on Wednesday, we decided to continue with the sports theme and go for a game of 5-pin bowling (it’s like 10-pin bowling but with half the number of pins and balls the size of crown green bowling balls). We also managed to squeeze in a couple of games of pool too before heading out the door. As it turns out, that wasn’t the end of the evening (not by a long way!!) and we strolled into a club and didn’t breathe fresh air until about 3am. We decided that we were hungry so we shared a medium sized pizza between the two of us. Oh, and a medium pizza here is like a large pizza back home and a fraction of the price!!

Today we watched the two Euro 2008 games simultaneously and then sat down to write to you lovely people! We’ll be having an early night tonight (we promise!!) as we are up early to jump onto the bus to the Rocky’s for 5 days. We’ll end up in a place called Banff and from there we’ll be heading to Seattle where we should have another update for you!

Take care of yourselves, and each other (couldn’t help it, sorry!)

Ric and Matt
xx