A Taste of Paradise....

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After a few days spent chilling at the Coral Coast in Fiji (where it actually rained - how rude!), we decided to spend a few days relaxing even more in the Mamanuca Islands, namely Bounty Island (hope you like the pun!). Further relaxation was needed there though, as we got local buses from Coral Coast to Nadi - very cheap, but don't think they have breaks (heck, some don't even have windows!!!). The locals kept on telling us when to get off the bus, and after what seemed a very strange detour around dirt tracks of Fiji, we arrived at the marina & caught the ferry to Bounty Island.

It was the setting for the first Celebrity Love Island ITV show (and don't they let you know it!), but you can see why!Fabulous beach, and only 20 minutes to stroll around the whole island! Treated to a "Bula Welcome" upon our arrival from the Yasawa Flyer boat (we were the only ones getting off here), we later had a Kava ceremony (a traditional kind of root-based drink) - complete with traditional dress (well, sarong & a flower in the ear!!). A traditional Fijian feast then followed, and some traditional song & dance before bed - in a dorm, much to Zoe's surprise/disgust!!! At first we were meant to be sharing a dorm with 30 New Zealand school kids on a trip (I never had school trips like that!), but the manager was very understanding of our predicament, and duely moved us to a smaller dorm!

Spent 2 days snorkelling & sea-kayaking around the island; water is amazingly clear, and as soon as you go under it's like getting in an aquarium. Saw so many different types & colours of fish, but the bright blue starfish stands out for me - will try to get a pic uploaded! The only draw-back was getting stung a bit, but we survived & the variety of sealife carried us through!

We then returned to the mainland for two nights, prior to leaving Fiji. We stayed beachside (again!), and were so chilled out that getting up at 4am to watch England play seemed like a good plan - though did start to wonder why until they finally scored!!! We've now flown into New Zealand, and are based in a hostel in central Auckland; off to watch the All Blacks play Ireland tonight...

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Comments

[kirsten]

wow!
well it certainly beats probation....! i'll keep all in the office updated, as they all scratched their heads when i suggested they read your 'blog', nothing much has changed here, except weve had a bit of sun!!! photo's please!!

[josephine]

not a wee bit jealouse!!....
heyhey you two kicks heard its bloody freezing in nz. still better than the uk eh?! no need to answer that one really. glad to hear you are having lots n lots of fun and frollocking. will skype ya when i can get the headset to work!! dont loose zoe in amoungst the hobits now, would spoil the trip i reckon. rightio catch yer laters little sis xx

[Ben]

Hey
Alright you 2 jammy gits! Hope you're enjoying yourself and saw a good rugby match. Sat in the office fairly happily until I started reading about Fiji and NZ.... God I'm jealous! Fingers crossed for the world cup, imagine you're having to do some pretty antisocial hours to follow England, still there's always all nighters! So what about bunji jumps?.... Nevis awaits in Queenstown! Have a wicked time, take care.