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Hello! Or Bula as they say a lot in Fiji. How are we all? Hope everybody is well. Apologies for the fairly massive gap between blogs. I'd planned to do one earlier but I've spent the last 6 days on a tropical Fijian island that only had electricity and water occasionally. So internet was definitely out of the question.
As you may have gathered from the title I'm pleased to report that me and Chris's attempt to meet up again was a success. As the time drew nearer I think we both started to think that meeting up in the middle of the Pacific Ocean was a fairly ambitious plan for two travellers who have suffered from their fair share of bad luck. But it all passed off without a hitch and we were able to have a truly emotional reunion. Like a film it was. Not a film that anybody would watch, but still...
On our first morning together we sorted our whole week out, paying for 6 nights on Mana island and headed out there almost immediately. What followed has been just a really tough week. It's been really hard to find time to unwind and we've both been pretty stressed about our vast array of problems that are occupying out lives at the moment.
For anybody unfamiliar with the art of sarcasm none of the above is true. The only time we interrupted our 'lying on the beach doing nothing' was one afternoon when we commandeered a vessel (hired a kayak) to loop around the whole island and that was much too much like hard work.
Of course last time I wrote to you I was only halfway through my New Zealand trip and still had two weeks to go there, so I'll try to stretch my memory back that far and tell you what I got up to whilst I was there.
I think the first major port of call was the Franz Josef glacier which was really amazing to behold. I've not come across too many glaciers in my time, surprisingly, so I wasn't really sure what to expect. It definitely takes your breath away the first time you glimpse it. I couldn't afford the ice activities that are the main tourist attractions of the area so instead I walked up a nearby mountain to get some amazing views of the glacier instead. Well, they would have been amazing if the clouds hadn't been blocking the view and it hadn't rained the whole way.
The next stop was Wanaka for a night where I got to do a slightly drier walk up the local hill, Mt. Iron. This offered some jaw dropping views of the surrounding area in every direction you cared to look. I spent the whole time wondering why all the locals didn't seem as amazed by their surroundings as I was.
From Wanaka it was a quick blast down the road to Queenstown, where I stayed for 6 nights. I absolutely loved it. It's set in a ridiculously good spot, with lots of surrounding mountains, Lake Wakatipu and the Remarkable's ski mountain range providing the backdrop.
Whilst there I went out a few times with some good friends that I made on the bus, ate the 'Big Al' at the infamous 'Fergburger', walked up a couple of mountains, had a much needed hair cut and completed my holy trinity of New Zealand adrenaline activities by doing a canyon swing. Upside down and backwards, as it just wasn't scary enough to do it normally.
I also went on a day trip to Milford Sound. I think that the best thing I can say about it is that somehow it manages, not only to live up to the massive hype that it gets throughout all of New Zealand, but to exceed it. It's the sort of place that even a blind man with no photographic experience could capture an award winning photo. Just pick any direction to point your camera in and shoot away.
Despite the epic drive to get there it successfully managed to provide the icing on the cake of both New Zealand's scenery and my trip to this amazing country. I honestly couldn't recommend a visit highly enough, especially if nice scenery is your thing.
So, back to now. We're in Nadi at the moment waiting for our flight to LA later tonight. If you want to give your brains a puzzle then you should know that as we will cross the international date line during this 10 hour flight we will arrive in LA long before we leave Nadi... Confusing I know.
We have 13 hours in LA and then it is onwards for another long flight to San Jose in Costa Rica, which signals the beginning of the last leg of our trip, 7 weeks travelling North through Central America to eventually end up in Mexico City. Pretty exciting.
I'll leave it at that then, I think I've gone on for long enough. Well done if you read it all. I hope everything is OK where you are. Speak soon.
Si
X
P.S. Chris hasn't done anything foolish yet, I'll keep my eyes peeled though!
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jackie
non-member comment
hello simon. new zealand sounds amazing. better than austrailia? all those fabulous treks! i'm really envious. how many photos have you taken?!! hope you remember where they all are! good to know the troublesome two are back in buisness! look after each other and enjoy the last leg of your trip. might be slightly different different culture and ways of doing things there compared to very laid back and accomodating asia. take care of each other and stay alert! love to both jackie xx