Blogs from Oceania - page 6496

After breakfast Kate and i found ourselves a secluded spot on the beach we chilled for a while and done our swim/jog exercise again! how good are we...? after lunch i took a kayac out for about 1/2 an hour my god it was hard work on my arms! We both had a massage today which totally chilled me out. Tonight we were both up for a few drinks and a dance in 'pirates nightclub' alas this was not to be i got up and danced to 1 song and soon after that they put on loads of fijian music which the staff danced to for an hour by the time they had finsihed enjoying themselves we were in bed!... read more

On arrival we made camp and set about looking for a Lord of the Rings tour we liked. We found it and the next day we were picked up at 9am sharp, by no less than a black chauffer driven vehicle all blinged up! It was really cool! First stop was Helms Deep, a quarry still in use, quite cool really. The main sites were the bridge Lothlorien, the under bridge roots were the hobbits needed to get off the road (fist film), Peter Jackson's house, the boat from King Kong and some really good views of Wellington. Generally a relaxed day being driven around, nice.... read more

Eleanor was lucky enough to be given two tickets to the Australian Open tennis, this prompted a short trip to Melbourne and a chance to catch up with my brother Phil and his family. We all went which meant that there were four drivers making the ten hour trip a breeze. We made an early start on Saturday the 20th (6.10am) and arrived in Melbourne around 5.30pm after stops at Goulburn, Albury and Seymour. It was a warm day so the air conditioning was appreciated. That night Christine prepared a great salad, cooked a very nice Pasta dish and Phil did some kangaroo and sausages on the barbeque. We washed it down with a few nice reds (John Loxton Shiraz) and had a delicious coconut cake for desert that was also cooked by Christine. Sunday was ... read more

So, after leaving the fun of the flight from LA, landed in Fiji 12 hours ahead of London time. Were greeted by a group of Fijians playing local instruments and sailed through immigration. Grabbed bags, went to the ATM and caught the free shuttle bus to the Nomads Skylodge hostel about 20 minutes away. The room was so nice, with air conditioning and ensuite and the hotel grounds had a swimming pool and lots of little holiday bungalows. Although it was only 06:30 in the morning, it was pretty hot and the sun was raising fast. Decided it was time to hit the beach, so jumped on the bus and talked to a random local to find out where to get off. After a 20 minute walk in the boiling heat and midday sun, we found ... read more

yey, Sun!! So New Zealands absolutely stunning but the weather was a bit rainy (2 days straight) so we were praying for the gorgeous sun before we hit the northern hemisphere again. Looks like we got our wish, 26 most days which is great. We arrived nice and early, 3am to be precise! greeted by a live Cook Islands style band, they were very upbeat for 3am. We watched as familys welcomed each other back to there home island, placing beautiful garlands of colourful flowers around their necks. The Cook Islands is made up of 22 islands and 18,000 people roughly live on on them, 9,000 being on the main island of Rarotonga, where we are. It's very small with one main town, nothings built up like most towns. Believe it or not theres also no ... read more