Blogs from Mamanuca Islands, Fiji, Oceania - page 8

Just over two weeks into my travels and I have already visited three countries… Without planning on going to Fiji, I got an invitation to go there which I couldn’t refuse (plus given that I don’t really have any ‘official’ plans it is easy for me to just hop on a plane to wherever). Another early start at Sydney airport - becoming a bit of a trend - and then it was on the pacific blue flight to Nadi (pronounced Nan-di, as with every Fijian word there seems to be a rogue ‘n’ after vowels!). Coming into land and seeing the colour of the ocean was breathtaking, then we had to work out how to get to ‘our’ island… This involved a negotiation with an afro-haired lady in the ‘Beachcomber Resort Island’ office at Nadi airport, ... read more

Since I last updated the blog, a lot has happened. After all our visitors left us (sniff sniff!) at the end of January, we started the job hunt to keep ourselves fed for the last stretch in Melbourne. But then, Claud got a phonecall to go home, as her dad had had a heartattack. She got to spend two days with him before he passed away on January 26th. Thankfully, Claud is back with us now, in fantastic spirits, despite the hard times she and all of her family have gone through. Our next, and final, three months of travelling are in honour of Jim. So after the three gobshites were reunited, it was time to say goodbye to Melbourne - not an easy task! Myself and Sib went to Babka Bakery on Brunswick Street about ... read more

Hey Everyone! so i spent last night on mana island which was pretty cool, a little pov and a little bit scary all in one! ahhahah so i went to the island yesterday on a quasi sketchy boat...but it floats so it wwas cool by me...took about a half hour frmo the main land (which is really just a big island anyway)... well the brochures made this place look decent....but they ommited to put in the brochure thta the resort was actually within a fijian community...ahhaha..seriously....my dorm (which was pretty much a thatched roof hut.... was beside someones house and i could see a school from the other side lol it was really random but at the same time pretty cool... and really random! hahaha..ok so ya it was a beautiful island with crystal clear water......there ... read more

An 11 hour flight put us over the date line minus a day in the southern hemisphere Fiji islands. Waking up on the flight to find a large Fijian man sitting next to me was a shock to say the least. Space being at a premium i later spread out to hog our precious extra seat. Stepping off the plane we breathed in the warm humid air tinged with a scent of smoke, the sugarcane. We were introduced to Fiji time straight away with a large immigration queue. How long does it take to stamp a plane full of Americans and Aussies in? Fijian guys with ukeles played to sooth the crowd. We received our obligatory shell necklace next and were shown to our booking office to receive instructions and vouchers for our holiday. It was ... read more

Bula everybody, so first off a bit of a rant, I left the cook Islands on the 26th of October and had a four hour flight but didnt arrive in Fiji until the 28th, the 27th did not exist in my world this is due to crossing the international date line. Im annoyed at this as it is one day i can not get back, the world has thrown me for a loop, im confused and bewildered, but i have thought of a way to get around this, basically once i am done with this trip, i will have to go on another one but in the other direction so i can get my day back otherwise i will be in a state of time confusion forever and that just cant be so, surely you all ... read more