Fiji 2nd -12th Sep

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Well, hopefully you are still reading the blog, it has all been a bit quiet!

We have just got back from 10 nights in Fiji. A beatiful island with lovely people. We stayed in a 'bure' which means house, just few metres from the beach. The resort had freat faciltities including a fabulous pool. The walk along the beach was amazing, with a lovely cooling breaze, a fabulous view and the gentle lapping of waves. Best of all, there were loads of hermet crabs. As a result it became tradition to stroll back along the beach after breakfast and spot them. In fact what Bella liked most of all was picking them up and saying "Hello little Fella".

The room itself had an outside bath and shower. In case you're wondering it was walled off - it wasn't that type of resort. It also had a terrace meaning we could sit outside at night (a luxury after the cooler nights in the motorhome. The weather was gorgeous - in the 30s in the day. As a result we have two tanned kiddies. In fact Noah's legs are so brown all that was missing was the head wobble and he'd have fit right in (a porportion of the population are Indian).

Our days were spent adjusting to 'Fiji Time', with clocks resembling the words 'who cares'. The more we got into Fiji time, the more we relaxed. We spent ages in the pool and as a result, both kids have become so muchmore able in the pool. This was more so with Bella, who had developed a fear of water and wouldn't swim without a float suit and inflatable ring - basiclly enough to keep a baby elephant afloat. Anyway by mid-way through our timethere the ring was dicarded alog with her fear. She was so pleased with herself she swam round the pool for the rest of the day telling complete strangers she was 'floating'. So cute. Noah has also come along, although he'd already proved himself to be more of a water baby.

A highlight was when we took the kids out into the sea on a 'spy board'. Basically a floating board with a window. This was fab as they both got great views of clown fish swimming in and out of anenomes, and there were other fab things to see. Bella told us it was the best thing she has ever done! The snorkelling was also great.

A fantastic time had again. It was a great 'break' within our Oz journey and was lovely to be in such warm weather.

However we did have some challenges in the latter part of the holiday. Firstly, Shelley was being bitten (and had been from day one). This wasn't unusual - it was her reaction to the bites that was different. They became the size of golf balls and were were really irritating. Anyway I guess I had to get used to seeing them.
Seriously, for Shelley they were both irritating and painful. They looked really sore, which was confirmed by the fact that whenever she passed the resort staff, they would throw themselves to the floor and pray for her.
And secondly, both kids were sick (and I mean sick) THE NIGHT BEFORE we flew home. Can you believe it? Plus shelley was also feeling rotten by this time (probably not helped by the bites), so the last 24 hours were more than a little interesting. It culminated in a two hour (extended) bus transfer where the operator had scheduled hotel transfers inbetween. Whilst we were getting concerned we'd be late for our flight - the driver was dropping people off at numerous hotels near the airport (all in Fiji time). Jolly good - you lot go and sit by the pool a little earlier. I'm sure there are other flights we can book. And not a customer feedback questionnaire in sight. So after checking in and having to practically get straight on the plane (at least they weren't calling our name - which has happened before!) 5 hours later, we touched down in Sydney.

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