If possible the Feejee Experience was even better than the Kiwi Experience! The 4 day tour loops around the main island and the ticket includes so many activities. The buses are much smaller too, those in NZ had carried about 40 people but our bus only had between 10 - 15 people each day, making it much easier to get to know each other.
Our first day started with an 8.30am pick up, and we were taken into Nadi Town to buy sarongs and any other items we may need. Our guide, Api, was covering for another guide who was ill. Api hadn't been a guide since January so was a bit rusty, and kept looking to us for approval of his suggestions as though we would know better! Luckily our driver, William, had been driving for the Feejee Experience for 6 years so was able to jump in when Api forgot to tell us important information.
After the town we drove to a beach where the guides prepared a BBQ lunch for us while we spent some time in the sun. Sunshine was very welcome after 3 weeks in the winter in New Zealand! After lunch we had a trip to a local village, Malomalo, where Api gave us a tour and explained a bit about the culture within the different tribes. We had to wear our sarongs which was a bit of a surprise for some of the guys who couldn't see much difference between a sarong and a skirt!
Afterwards we went sandboarding down the dunes which was really fun! I would have gone down loads of times if it hadn't been for the steep and difficult path to the top!! Once we arrived at Mango Bay Resort we were invited to a Kava ceremony. Kava is the traditional Fijian drink made in a large mixing bowl and has a slightly numbing effect. The ceremonies involve sitting around the bowling and clapping at the necessary points in the chant, and after a smaller bowl is passed around to each person. To accept the bowl you have to clap and say "bula", and then down this cloudy drink, which in all honesty tastes like drinking muddy water! Not my favourite alcoholic drink... After dinner we all sat by the bonfire while one of the hotel reps played covers of different songs. He did surprisingly well given that 2 of the strings on his guitar were broken!
The following morning we went on a 3 hour trek, which was one of the best treks I have ever been on. It started off with a walk along a path, which then led through the rainforest and ended with a walk through a creek. It had rained the night before and some of the paths were very slippery and there were a few tumbles but luckily no injuries. The creek walk involved almost swimming at some points, when the water would reach up to the waist. At first I didn't want to get my walking boots soaking wet so I attempted to go barefoot, but after about 10 minutes of walking mainly on rocks my feet started becoming very sore so I gave up and put my boots on. A good decision at the time but I'm still airing them out now!!! Once we got to the river a boat came to meet us with our lunch, and then we all got tubes and floated down the river to the waterfall. The waterfall had a jump off it which (against all my better judgements) I managed to do, but there were also some smaller pools to swim in. Afterwards we were picked up by a boat and taken the rest of the way down the river. However it was now much later in the day and unluckily had started to rain so we were all freezing!!! We were so happy when we finally reached the bus and were able to change out of our wet clothes! Our dorm room at Uprising Resort that night slept 25 people but luckily I was so tired that I managed to sleep through most of the noise made by the group of drunk guys that stumbled in at 3am...
Our first activity the next day was a school visit, so we stopped off at a shop to pick up some stationary to offer as a gift. We put on our sarongs again and got off the bus to be greeted by a group of kids who gave us each a necklace made from different flowers. We had one kid to take round 2 of us, and our guide was called Mere. She was very no-nonsense and took us straight by our hands and led us around the whole school. We then played a bit of volleyball with a group of the kids in the playground before being treated to a show, where the younger kids belted out songs at the top of their voices! My favourite was "If you're happy and you know it..." which I hadn't realised could have so many verses!!!
Our next stop was another village where we went to a Kava ceremony in order to ask permission to use the nearby river for our bamboo rafting. At the village we were shown how to make bamboo bracelets, or at least the girls were while the guys sat around drinking vast amounts of kava! The bamboo rafting was really fun. We had 3 rafts, each carrying 5 of us, and Api had to punt on the last raft. And he was useless! He'd never done it before and ended up falling in so many times that he gave up and just pulled the raft along by the rope! The rest of us played volleyball in the river while we waited for them. Then we played a cat and mouse game, and some more volleyball before getting back onto the rafts and racing each other to the other side of the river. I am pleased to say that our team won!!!
Our resort that evening was at Volivoli where Sascha, and incredibly camp fijian man, put on a series of different games, including crab racing and limbo... However I'd had chicken for dinner which obviously hadn't been prepared properly and gave me stomach cramps so I had a fairly early night and skipped the bonfire that evening. I was up most of the morning vomiting and felt really ill, so Api took me to the doctors to see if they had something to cure food poisoning. Well that was an experience in itself! A very elderly indian man sat me in a chair in a room which looked like a living room with a table in the middle and gave me about 8 different types of pills to take at various intervals of the day. There were no computers, just a hand written log book. Shortly after we got back we had to get on the bus so I decided not to take any of the pills (there was no information about any of them, they just came in a small plastic bag) but instead drank a lot of water and slept as much as I could on the bus journey.
We were meant to have a curry lunch so while the others were eating I sat outside to get some fresh air (there was no way I was going to attempt to eat a curry!) and the next stop was the mud pools and hot springs which again I gave a miss. I was actually lucky that I hadn't been ill on any of the other days, I would have been gutted to have missed out on the other activities. I was feeling much better when we got back to Nadi, but still decided against going to Beachcomber Island the following day, an island notorious for drinking and no sleep. I didn't fancy staying in the 100 bed dorm they have there!
So the next couple of days I spent lying on the beach, finally managing to finish my book. It was actually really nice to do nothing for a couple of days, I've been moving about so much lately that a beach and sunshine was a nice change. And when some of the others came back to the resort in Nadi with horror stories about their stay on Beachcomber I quietly set my face to smug!
Next stop is South America, the last stop on my itinery. I cannot believe I'm already halfway through my trip...
Thursday, 18 June 2009
New Zealand, North Island
A three hour boat ride connects the South Island to the North Island. As we were approaching Nelson we were warned of large swells and it was recommended that we waited in Kaikoura for a couple of days for the sea to calm down, but being on minimum time we decided to brave it... At this point of the trip we had a new group of friends, there were 10 of us, 5 guys and 5 girls. The guys were lured into buying a ticket to the VIP lounge on the promise of unlimited food and drink, whereas the rest of us just found a table in the cafe and played cards and read for the duration of the trip. And it really wasn't that bad, as long as you were seated the waves weren't a problem.
On arriving we met our bus driver (Rangi) who took us to our hostel in Wellington. Strangely enough there is never much to do in the bigger cities and as we were all feeling a bit tired from travelling we opted for an evening of bowling. And, not surprisingly, I was useless!!!
The next day I woke up with a horrible cold so was very bunged up on our bus ride to Taupo. Little did I know that I'd actually be jumping out of a plane that day! The weather was so beautiful and clear that our bus driver rushed us to Taupo so we were able to do our skydive that afternoon. The guys and Polly and I all went up together. As we were getting our jumpsuits on they strapped a number 13 pouch to me... unlucky! And then told me that I'd be the first one out of the plane. Needless to say I was terrified! The plane ride up to 15,000 feet takes just over 20 minutes. The scariest part of skydiving is actually leaving the plane, because you have to move over and dangle your legs out of the plane, and the wind catches them. And it feels so damn high! But before you have a chance to realise what's going on you're out of the plane and falling. The freefall lasts for just over a minute, but it is only towards the end that you can actually figure out what's going on. And when you do, you realise just how amazing it actually is. It doesn't feel like you're falling particularly fast and the views are outstanding. You could see for miles, all the way down to the south island. When we landed we were all buzzing, I could barely stand still!
That evening I bumped into some guys I'd met in Australia, so the following day we all hired bikes for the afternoon. We rode down by the river but somehow ended up on a footpath rather than the cyclepath, which meant that we had nicer views but also meant that there were some sketchy turns, and we had to be very careful for walkers!
Rotorua was our next stop where there are lots and lots of activities to choose from. Polly and I opted for Zorbing. For any of you that don't know, imagine a huge inflatable hamster ball which you climb inside (Polly and I went together) along with a splash of warm water and roll down a hill. I'd imagine it would be a similar feeling to the inside of a washing machine, it was SO much fun! We immediately wanted to go again, but as always our funds didn't allow it. Rotorua has lots of hot springs (unfortunately giving the whole town a faint smell of eggs) so when we got back to the hostel we went into the spa pool which felt like a big bath, it was lovely.
We said goodbye to the guys in Rotorua and the 5 of us headed up to Auckland for a night before continuing on up to the Bay of Islands. It was noticably warmer and absolutely stunning. Polly and I took a boat ride around the islands and stopped at a bay where there were dolphins jumping out of the water and generally showing off. It was amazing. Unfortunately there were babies so we weren't allowed to swim with them... it would have been freezing anyway!
The next day I took my last journey on the Kiwi Bus back to Auckland, I was really sad to have finished my tour of New Zealand. We met back up with the guys and spent a couple of days in Auckland, but there wasn't all that much to do there. We did find a game of Cluedo at the hostel which I was overly excited by! For our last night in Auckland we went out to the Base Bar and celebrated Bobbi's birthday which was a few days later. And somehow managed to go to two Irish Bars at the end of the night, Monday nights aren't the liveliest nights in Auckland.
So after 3 hours sleep I said goodbye to everyone and set off for the airport... I could quite happily have spent another month in New Zealand.
On arriving we met our bus driver (Rangi) who took us to our hostel in Wellington. Strangely enough there is never much to do in the bigger cities and as we were all feeling a bit tired from travelling we opted for an evening of bowling. And, not surprisingly, I was useless!!!
The next day I woke up with a horrible cold so was very bunged up on our bus ride to Taupo. Little did I know that I'd actually be jumping out of a plane that day! The weather was so beautiful and clear that our bus driver rushed us to Taupo so we were able to do our skydive that afternoon. The guys and Polly and I all went up together. As we were getting our jumpsuits on they strapped a number 13 pouch to me... unlucky! And then told me that I'd be the first one out of the plane. Needless to say I was terrified! The plane ride up to 15,000 feet takes just over 20 minutes. The scariest part of skydiving is actually leaving the plane, because you have to move over and dangle your legs out of the plane, and the wind catches them. And it feels so damn high! But before you have a chance to realise what's going on you're out of the plane and falling. The freefall lasts for just over a minute, but it is only towards the end that you can actually figure out what's going on. And when you do, you realise just how amazing it actually is. It doesn't feel like you're falling particularly fast and the views are outstanding. You could see for miles, all the way down to the south island. When we landed we were all buzzing, I could barely stand still!
That evening I bumped into some guys I'd met in Australia, so the following day we all hired bikes for the afternoon. We rode down by the river but somehow ended up on a footpath rather than the cyclepath, which meant that we had nicer views but also meant that there were some sketchy turns, and we had to be very careful for walkers!
Rotorua was our next stop where there are lots and lots of activities to choose from. Polly and I opted for Zorbing. For any of you that don't know, imagine a huge inflatable hamster ball which you climb inside (Polly and I went together) along with a splash of warm water and roll down a hill. I'd imagine it would be a similar feeling to the inside of a washing machine, it was SO much fun! We immediately wanted to go again, but as always our funds didn't allow it. Rotorua has lots of hot springs (unfortunately giving the whole town a faint smell of eggs) so when we got back to the hostel we went into the spa pool which felt like a big bath, it was lovely.
We said goodbye to the guys in Rotorua and the 5 of us headed up to Auckland for a night before continuing on up to the Bay of Islands. It was noticably warmer and absolutely stunning. Polly and I took a boat ride around the islands and stopped at a bay where there were dolphins jumping out of the water and generally showing off. It was amazing. Unfortunately there were babies so we weren't allowed to swim with them... it would have been freezing anyway!
The next day I took my last journey on the Kiwi Bus back to Auckland, I was really sad to have finished my tour of New Zealand. We met back up with the guys and spent a couple of days in Auckland, but there wasn't all that much to do there. We did find a game of Cluedo at the hostel which I was overly excited by! For our last night in Auckland we went out to the Base Bar and celebrated Bobbi's birthday which was a few days later. And somehow managed to go to two Irish Bars at the end of the night, Monday nights aren't the liveliest nights in Auckland.
So after 3 hours sleep I said goodbye to everyone and set off for the airport... I could quite happily have spent another month in New Zealand.
Wednesday, 17 June 2009
New Zealand, South Island
Another long gap between blog posts so apologies for that...
New Zealand is an absolutely amazing place, it exceeded my expectations by miles. There honestly can't be that many places where snow capped mountains can be seen in the same view as beautiful coastlines?!
However, arriving in Christchurch I wasn't so impressed. As one of the bus drivers put it, Christchurch is "more english than England" and it's true. That, combined with cold and rainy weather, left me feeling glum. But that all changed on my first bus journey!
We first went to Kaikoura which is a small coastal town famous for whale watching and dolphin swimming. However the sea was too choppy for either of these so we instead opted for a walk to the seal colony, followed by a 3 hour walk over the cliff tops overlooking the sea.
We only spent one night in Kaikoura before heading on around to Nelson, dropping people at the ferry on the way. Nelson lies at the centre of New Zealand, and the actual point is only a short walk up a hill. It was still strange trying to adapt to the cold and having to wear layers and a coat!
After Nelson the group on the bus stayed pretty much the same all the way around to Queenstown, which meant that we were able to get to know each other fairly well. We were spending a few hours every day on the bus together... When we arrived in Westport we had our first options for activities and while a lot of people went jetboating, myself and another girl went on a horse trek. It was a beautiful day and we were all able riders which meant we could do a lot in just a couple of hours. We went galloping along the sand by the river, and at the end even took the horses into the water for a swim.
The next stop along the way was Lake Mahinapua, and anyone who has been on the Kiwi bus before will know what this entails... the Poo Party! This is a themed party at a small pub next to the lake run by an elderly man called Les. Our theme was "bin bags", set by our driver Buzz, and I was amazed by the outfits people managed to come up with! The winners were dressed in full length penguin outfits, which looked amazing but they were both sweating like crazy after half an hour! It was a fun night, with a late night trip to the lake along a path lit with glow worms.
Franz Josef was the next stop, where we did the glacier hike. It was a definite highlight of the trip, edging through narrow crevasses kitted up in waterproofs and boots with crampons. It was a tough full day hike but very rewarding, and the hot spa pool at the hostel was definitely nice to come back to!
Before getting to Queenstown we stopped at Wanaka which wasn't the most lively place but had a quaint little cinema with waitress service and sofas and armchairs which was fun. Queenstown was where our group separated as a lot of people stayed on for the ski season. I was just a little too early for skiing as the pistes were opening the following week. Most of the group did one of the bungy jumo options here, some did the 43m bridge jump but most opted for the 134m Nevis. I bottled it, there's no way I would be able to persuade myself to jump off the platform! I went hang gliding instead which was really fun, you get the most amazing views and it feels really peaceful gliding through the sky. Not very scary either! Queenstown also has a good nightlife, with lots of bars including the famous World Bar which serves cocktails in teapots...
After Queenstown I said goodbye to lots of the group and headed back round through Christchurch (just as grey as the first time) and around through Kaikoura again. The whale watching and dolphin swimming weren't running again, and it was raining which left very little to do! I was ready to get to the North Island!
New Zealand is an absolutely amazing place, it exceeded my expectations by miles. There honestly can't be that many places where snow capped mountains can be seen in the same view as beautiful coastlines?!
However, arriving in Christchurch I wasn't so impressed. As one of the bus drivers put it, Christchurch is "more english than England" and it's true. That, combined with cold and rainy weather, left me feeling glum. But that all changed on my first bus journey!
We first went to Kaikoura which is a small coastal town famous for whale watching and dolphin swimming. However the sea was too choppy for either of these so we instead opted for a walk to the seal colony, followed by a 3 hour walk over the cliff tops overlooking the sea.
We only spent one night in Kaikoura before heading on around to Nelson, dropping people at the ferry on the way. Nelson lies at the centre of New Zealand, and the actual point is only a short walk up a hill. It was still strange trying to adapt to the cold and having to wear layers and a coat!
After Nelson the group on the bus stayed pretty much the same all the way around to Queenstown, which meant that we were able to get to know each other fairly well. We were spending a few hours every day on the bus together... When we arrived in Westport we had our first options for activities and while a lot of people went jetboating, myself and another girl went on a horse trek. It was a beautiful day and we were all able riders which meant we could do a lot in just a couple of hours. We went galloping along the sand by the river, and at the end even took the horses into the water for a swim.
The next stop along the way was Lake Mahinapua, and anyone who has been on the Kiwi bus before will know what this entails... the Poo Party! This is a themed party at a small pub next to the lake run by an elderly man called Les. Our theme was "bin bags", set by our driver Buzz, and I was amazed by the outfits people managed to come up with! The winners were dressed in full length penguin outfits, which looked amazing but they were both sweating like crazy after half an hour! It was a fun night, with a late night trip to the lake along a path lit with glow worms.
Franz Josef was the next stop, where we did the glacier hike. It was a definite highlight of the trip, edging through narrow crevasses kitted up in waterproofs and boots with crampons. It was a tough full day hike but very rewarding, and the hot spa pool at the hostel was definitely nice to come back to!
Before getting to Queenstown we stopped at Wanaka which wasn't the most lively place but had a quaint little cinema with waitress service and sofas and armchairs which was fun. Queenstown was where our group separated as a lot of people stayed on for the ski season. I was just a little too early for skiing as the pistes were opening the following week. Most of the group did one of the bungy jumo options here, some did the 43m bridge jump but most opted for the 134m Nevis. I bottled it, there's no way I would be able to persuade myself to jump off the platform! I went hang gliding instead which was really fun, you get the most amazing views and it feels really peaceful gliding through the sky. Not very scary either! Queenstown also has a good nightlife, with lots of bars including the famous World Bar which serves cocktails in teapots...
After Queenstown I said goodbye to lots of the group and headed back round through Christchurch (just as grey as the first time) and around through Kaikoura again. The whale watching and dolphin swimming weren't running again, and it was raining which left very little to do! I was ready to get to the North Island!
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