"If you love something, set it free. If it doesnt come back, hunt it down and kill it" - Anon
After Oz, its time to get back to the old country and catch up with a few mates as well as see my mates Robyn and Paul wed in Welly before off to Fiji for some more Pacific Island exploration.
Tuesday 13th January
Well, after a very hectic few days in New Zealand, Im now in Fiji relaxing at the 'Beach House' on the Coral Coast along the Queens Road. A week ago after arriving in New Zealand, I was picked up by my bro Nat at Wellington airport, who took me back to his flat, which is in the final stages of completion and where we went to sleep to the sweet lullabys of curtains being made.
The next day it was off to Greytown, the venue for Paul and Robyn's wedding and where the Stag do was about to start. We arrived just in time for the tee-off for the golf which was the first activity for the day. After this (and I must note that our team won the ambrose) there was a lot more drinking and a few more pubs and I can only say that what goes on tour, stays on tour. I managed to fall into my bed at the Greytown Hotel (the 'Top Pub') at around 3:30 the next morning.
The next day was supposed to contain a bit of sightseeing, but the problem is that to walk out the door involves walking past the bar, so the best laid plans went out the door - or rather stayed behind closed doors until closing time, when once again I stumbled into bed at a very early hour of the following morning. At this stage, I must add that the staff of the Top Pub were at all times amazingly hosptible considering the wedding contingent's continuing display of idiocy - a show that just kept on going!
Saturday was the big day, so after a few warm up beers, we headed out to Carterton where the ceremony was to be held. It was very hot, so in my winter weight suit (all ready for London) it was a particularly unpleasant few minutes waiting to be let into the church. All went well, Paul and Robyn got married, everyone smiled and we all jumped in cars to head out to the reception at the Juno Olive grove, which looked fantastic and provided a chance to rehydrate, eat and relax listening to the Jazz band entertain us. The formal part of the reception was pretty good and Mike's (the best man) speach wasn't really that long. (- no really Mike it wasnt!) Surprisingly it was the bridesmaids that stole the show, so my congratulations to them for a fantastic performance.
After a night of debauchery which once again ended in the wee hours after cramming many people into my room playing guitar, drinking and singing we headed out to the Olive Grove for a BBQ and a really nice feed of Crayfish and Paua. We continued in the custom to which everyone had become accustomed and somehow after another big night I packed up and went to bed. The next day we said goodbyes to everyone and jumped on the train back to Wellington where I arrived just in time to catch my flight through to Fiji. I got in at about 7:00 and arrived in the terrible 'Downtown Backpackers' in Nadi soon after. This place wasnt the worst place Ive ever stayed, but it was certainly right down there. The breakfast typified my stay, as after I got to the last piece of toast, I found that it had been buttered on top of a cigarette butt. Certainly didnt taste that nice, and resulted in me leaving a semi-chewed up gob of mush on my plate and a rapid trip to the bathroom to scrub the taste out of my mouth with as much toothpaste as I could fit in. Perhaps F$8.00/night including breakfast WAS too good to be true!
After running out the door of the hostel, I caught a bus into Nadi (pronnounced Nan-di) town and then a local bus through to the hostel where Im writing this. The internet connection is a 56K modem shared over 4 computers, so you can probably imagine that it is incredibly slow. Just like the rest of life in Fiji. I love it! Even the fact that my guitar has lost a tuning knob, and has been rendered almost useless is failing to bother me.
Thursday 15th January
On Tuesday I participated in a kava (or in Fijian, yoqana) ceremony, and was so sleepy and relaxed afterward that the rest of the day slipped away without me noticing. Yesterday I decided to recifiy my lack of activity by going on a guided jungle trek up some local rivers to a couple of waterfalls where we swam and examined the diverse range of flora and how it is used. It was a very enjoyable 4 hours and I celebrated by playing some beach volleyball with some of the other backpackers and some locals. It proved to be an expensive excercise, as somehow, (well probably as a result of a fearless dive in the vicinity of the ball actually) about $50 fell out of my pocket and was never to be seen (at least by me) again.
Now I am in Suva, the nations capital, enjoying fast internet, airconditioning and the infamous sword sellers. I have been very interested to talk to these guys who come up and chat about where Im from, where Im staying and what Im going to do today. Just as Im about to wander off they try and offer a 'gift' which they will then inscribe with my name and try and sell you for $20. This is great! There are however some backpackers out there who are not quite as forceful as me and who are easily identified by the pieces of carved wood they are carrying around with them!
Hopefully Suva will also present me with an opportunity to fix my poor ailing guitar! In any case, its off to Lautoka tomorrow over the apparently very beautiful Kings Road over the east and north coasts of Viti Levu.
Monday 19 January
Suva was a great time, and I managed to get my guitar back into shape - which was lucky, as no sooner as I had fixed it as the "FeeJee Experience" bus pulled into the hostel we were staying and immediately set about drinking as much Kava as they could whilst having a few beers and a bit of a singalong before we headed out to dinner. The most interesting thing about this particular tour was the male/female ratio. There was one bloke and 12 female travellers. The poor guy needed someone to talk about rugby with, so we had a fun time exploring the nightlife of Suva. The next morning I had a little rest from the previous night, whilst playing with two of the kids of the family who lived there and bade my farewells to a fantastic place and very friendly and welcoming people. From there I climbed on the bus to Lautoka via the Kings Road, which by the time I arrived in Nadi after a transfer that night would mean Id completed a complete lap of the island of Viti Levu.
After the previous days efforts of about 8 hours in the bus (it would only have been around 4 if Id gone the other way but the scenery wouldnt have been half as good!) I decided to go on a tourist cruise out to an island for the day. I ended choosing the Malamala Island cruise, and spent a day on a piece of sandy rock no larger than 6 acres in total surface area. After some really good snorkelling in the morning we had lunch and I met a few other punters before a game of volleyball and the trip home. I then only had 6 hours to wait before I had to get to the airport for my flights to Raratonga, and in a town such as Nadi where there is absolutly nothing to do at night, I found that a couple of hours sleep was just the ticket.
Click here for the next part of my trip to the Cook Islands and Tahiti
Any comments, innaccuracies or abuse, send to: ryananglem@hotmail.com