Advertisement
Bula!
The group from South Sea...one of my favorite memories in Fiji I returned from my trip to New Zealand and Fiji in November 2005. I was busy with finishing college and neglected the last entry to my travel blog...i received several comments from blog readers asking to "be put back in the loop" so here it is, my Final blog! Feel free to leave a comment! Since my first blog entry (in June 2005) "Shelly_in_WellyNZ has been viewed a total of 7,156 times and over 105 comments and messages have been posted!! Thanks for visiting and contributing! I will be traveling to Europe in the Fall to teach english in France for about 8 months...and you bet I will be documenting my adventures in my Blog..stay tuned! Our second to last day in Fiji:
The trio (lauren, rachel, myself) boarded a ferry to Manta Ray Island where we met up with Ryan, our new friend from OZ, via South Africa and London...
We were greeted with a soaking monsoon and thunderstorms...
However the weather did not get us down...we sipped on some "welcome cocktails" at the hostel's fabulous thatched roofed bar and watched the rain.
Rachel and Ryan and I figured Fiji is a once in a
Sunset and a Cocktail
the last night in Fiji! lifetime opportunity so we should not waste it inside because of a little rain...So we took some kayaks and ventured across the bay to a neighboring island.
After hours of playing on the island, we had forgotten that it had been raining. Our adventures included: a very intense mud fight which led to the covering of ourselves entirely in mud (we looked like natives of a small south pacific tribe that is featured on the National geographic channel), a barefoot climb through the island bush and to the top, an awkward and precarious slide/climb down the top of the island, and a playful swim/kayak back to our hostel. By the end of it all, we had named this island "Muddy Body Island". It was great fun!
We made it back in time for dinner by a world class gourmet chef. I still have not figured out why he is in a small hostel in Fiji, but hey, who wouldn't want this guy's life in the south pacific?
The rest of the night was joyously spent on sipping tropical cocktails courtesy of the Manta Ray bar...which led to the laughing and late night dips in the ocean under
the Full Fijian moon.
We headed back to our thatched roof bure and fell asleep under our flashy mosquito nets while listening to Ryan tell stories of African safaris, hairy babies, and crazy jokes, my favorite was the "Purple Marshmallow" joke!
Our Last day in the South Pacific: Another tropical breakfast! Who can complain?? After filling our tummies with the gourmet goods, (pineapples, fresh eggs, guava, kiwi, mango, coconut etc) we headed down to the beach for a snorkel.
Ryan, Rachel, and Lauren and I all snorkeled around the lagoon in front of our island. We saw some beautiful tropical fish and coral. Some more clown fish were entertaining us! Lauren turned back to grab some grub, but Ryan, Rachel, and I forged ahead. We ended up at a long deserted beach where we sent the next hour or so laying in the sand and opening coconuts. I taught the two how to get a coconut from a palm tree and open it without any tools except a shell and a rock. It was wonderful eating the fresh coconut meat!
We noticed we were getting rather sunburned and very hungry so we hurried back to
the hostel just in time for a big lunch. Sadly we packed up and it was time to leave our island. I said Movai to all my new Fijian friends and walked in the water to my dingy that took me to my ferry, all the while, being serenaded to by the Fijian islanders.
Fortunately, The fun did not stop here: the ferry we were on was packed with many Fijian workers of neighboring islands...who were eager to invite us in on their party! We had a few drinks and then drifted off to sleep before we reached the main island. Rushing, we packed up our belongings and caught a taxi to the airport, by this time it was night time and we had not eaten anything since our island lunch! Rachel and I hit up the Duty free shop for some last minute souvenirs, and then we had to say goodbye to Ryan. We promised to meet up again one day, in the southern hemisphere, and I am sure we will!
Rachel and I jumped on our plane to L.A and we scored some great seats, we had a whole row of 4 seats to ourselves! Awesome!
Our home at Manta
We slept in this great bure the last night The plane ride was spent catching up on sleep, and writing in my journal. We awoke to a stewardess handing out complimentary champagne, which Rachel and I saw as a fabulous way to celebrate a journey to NZ well done!!
In L.A I parted ways with Rachel, my travel companion for my whole trip in NZ and Fiji...and I recalled how we had met in the customs line in the Auckland airport, just 6 months ago. Now we were saying "see you soon" in the L.A airport after a trip of a lifetime.
I waved goodbye to my travel partner and again, I was on my own. I settled in for a 10 hour layover and reflected on my adventure.
When I arrived in Florida, I still had the sand, salt and shells in my hair, I smelled of Fiji and the South Pacific.
It had finally come to a close: my adventure of a lifetime,
I will always hold it forever as a beloved experience. NZ is where I met a family of friends who proved that now matter what, cultures, languages, or backgrounds, you can find common ground to see each other. New Zealand
Hammocks in the morning
We chilled in the hammocks before we said Movai to Fiji is were I embarked on experiences that challenged myself and made me realize just what I can do, and that there is not much one can't if you put your mind to it!
To my faithful blog readers, you have been wonderful travel companions and supporters. I appreciated all your wonderful comments.
Thanks for tuning in! I hope you enjoyed the ride as much as I did.
Let me know in the comments section, what was your favorite blog to read. I would love to know what part of my trip was the most interesting to follow! I appreciated all your wonderful comments. Look for my new blog in Europe 2006, coming up very soon!
Until the next big adventure, Shelly_in_WellyNZ is signing off....
cheers mates,
Shelly
Advertisement
Tot: 0.093s; Tpl: 0.009s; cc: 10; qc: 25; dbt: 0.0354s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1mb
anonymous
non-member comment
Hi Shelly Thank you for the final blog from the south seas! I really enjoyed reading all your blogs. Can't say that I have a favorite. I once lived in NZ and visited virtually every town and city. Had a great time. Are you still going to keep this same site for your European journals? You can be sure that I'll be watching for you this fall. I think you are a wonderful writer and you also take great pictures. All the best to you in the future. Another Shelly.