Blogs from Oceania - page 7824

London to Rarotonga in one go is a long flight. We stopped for a few hours in LA, what a hassle! We had to go through customs and passport control just to get to the transit lounge. Mind you, it wasn’t really a transit lounge, we did kind of enter the US and then leave again, we could have taken off into the night if we’d wanted to. Next stop was Papeete; we always seem to stop in Tahiti to change planes, never to visit. Finally we made it to Rarotonga, landing early Sunday morning. We were met in a van and were out at the hostel (Backpackers International Hostel, West Coast, reasonable discount for staying longer than a week, basic but friendly) by 8am. Even at that time it was hot and humid. We went ... read more

Waky waky, handle snaky, Inmiddels is het 1 september geweest en dat betekent… YMCA-time ofwel WERKEN! 1 Groot verschil tussen deze baan en al die andere baantjes die ik ooit had: deze keer stel ik me beschikbaar als vrijwilliger. Een goede daad zou je kunnen zeggen; je op deze manier in te zetten voor onze wereld. Ja, ook deze gedachte ging en gaat door m’n hoofd. Daarnaast is het mooi meegenomen dat onderdak en eten inbegrepen is. Dat ik toch nog per week NZ $100 krijg (zo’n €50). Dat ik gratis gebruik mag maken van de fitnessruimte, de klimhal en de sauna in het YMCA gebouw in Chch op 80 kilometer van het kampement. En voor 9 maanden lang dagelijks met jongeren in de buitenlucht activiteiten mag doen. Maar nogmaals, fijn om me een keer als ... read more

Saturday, 23 August 2003 Slept well last night, woke up around seven o'clock. I'm still in Temora, as I will be until next Friday when I hope to complete a successful week working in a centre here in town. I didn't want to waste the day, so decided to travel via back roads to Glenfell some one hundred kilometres north east of Temora. It was around ten-thirty when I started the car and drove out of town along the Young Road. Not far along the way I came across a sign indicating Glenfell. This road past very flat farming country, sheep grazed contently as I passed. I was particularly surprised to see the flocks of birds feasting on new seeds that grew on the side of the road. I followed more signs to eventually arrive at ... read more

Bula and Kava- the 2 works you must know when traveling to the islands of fiji!! Everywhere you go, the Fijians shout "Bula" including the McDonalds welcome sign. Thus, bula means welcome! Now, kava is made from the roots of the kava tree, which are crushed up and mixed with water. It appears as dirty water and actually taste the same as it looks. Though when drinking don't shout out "that's awful" like i did! When drinking kava, you sit in a circle and the "cheif" dips half of a coconut shell into the bowl of Kava and passes it to you. Before receiving the shell of Kava, you clap once and yell "Bula", then you drink and clap 3 times once finished. Drinking too much could cause your body to become numb-don't worry we ... read more

Fiji... A country I never really thought about visiting, but one I truly enjoyed. Although our time there was short, it was much appreciated. The culture and the people in Fiji make the country -- they are truly amazing. The locals are the most friendly people I've met and they welcome you with open arms. They take great pride in their culture and they are eager to share it with you. Kava, their beloved drink, is everywhere.... and it looks about as good as it tastes. A mixture of water and root of the Kava tree, Kava is a warm, brown drink that basically looks like muddy water. It's banned everywhere in the world because it is a drug -- but it is an intricate part of their culture and they love it! It doesn't have ... read more