PS...the highlight of my plane ride was meeting some Rugby Players who play for the New Zealand Warriors!
Elise on top of the desk! haha
The trail Elise made
Final push
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Im Going out with a BANG!!
It was the last day of my Australian Experience. June 4th I was packing up and getting ready to to take a bus to Sydney...get on a plane to New Zealand..and land to my final destination... San Francisco. I said my goodbyes and I was ecstatic to see my roomie Elise one final time! We spent the day together and once I was done packing I had four suitcases and two carry-ons. I had no idea how I was suppose to carry everything but I knew it would all work out. In our last hours together Elise and I had a visitor sent our room. It was a rat. We spent the night leaving trails and trying to block the rat from getting under the bed. It was pretty hilarious watching Elise use the broom to poke out the rat while screaming. Neither of us could move and we were both terrified to do anything. Once the rat made its way all around the room I finally poked out of a shoe and OUT of the ROOM. I have to say...I wouldn't have spent that day any other way!
PS...the highlight of my plane ride was meeting some Rugby Players who play for the New Zealand Warriors!
PS...the highlight of my plane ride was meeting some Rugby Players who play for the New Zealand Warriors!
Feejee
I am adding to my blog even though I am already home because I still want to remember my AMAZING experience in Fiji. I went to Fiji to get away from the -3 degree weather in Canberra. I arrived with welcoming Fijians and a shell necklace. The weather was perfect and the Nadi Resort was gorgeous. I was staying in an eight bed room but it seemed like a 4 star resort! I went down for dinner and the people were so nice. The waitress even put a little flower in my hair in order to look pretty. The next morning I was ready to start my FeeJee experience. I was picked up with Kathryn (roommate), and I met Caroline and Nicola that same morning while loading on to the bus. We then picked up Niki, Ashley and last but not least our only boy Wolf (yes that is his real name) from their hostel. The four girls were from England and Wolf was from Holland. Our tour guides were Kay and Willie (who are the best people in the world)
We began our Experience getting to know each other on the bus and shopping around in Nadi for last minute items. We then went to a beach that was rated by Forbes as one of the top 25 beaches in the world. It was beautiful with low tides and a the cleanest sand ever. I went horseback riding around the beach and just relaxed not worrying about life. Our group then ate lunch made by Willie and Kay...then our adventure left off to go sand boarding! I really had no idea what sand boarding was and what it entailed. Basically its going down a sandy hill with a boogie board! I did it once...and never again. Definitely not my type of sport! ha. We then arrived to our first hostel, Mango Resort. The resort was beautiful in the day and the rooms had beds with nets. The bathrooms were the only disappointment, in any case, dinner came with a traditional Fijian show and then a good taste of cava. Cava is basically the alcohol used for ceremonies. Two cups of those numbs your mouth and you are definitely on a good one. That night was one of the best sleeps ever!
Our next stop was to Uprising Resort in Pacific Harbor. Before we could arrive to our hotel, tracking through the rain forest was the first stop. We prepared ourselves with shoes and some of (Ashley and Wolf) decided to go barefoot,. Little did any of us know that we were actually going through deep mud, rivers, and grass that left whips! I felt like I was on a mission from god because the bites and grass cuts covered both my legs! Fortunately we took a break and jumped around a waterfall and spent Fiji Time there. After that beautiful moment, it was back to tracking and we were headed out to eat. I personally was just excited to get food and take a nap. We then had a Coconut show which I vaguely remember because I was half asleep during it. I could not fall asleep for the life of me so I decided to take advantage of Happy Hour until it was time for dinner. Our dinner was delicious and I could not wait to go hang around the campfire. We all got together singing songs in a circle while drinking Bounty and Coke. Bounty is not your typical rum as one sip takes you to a different world! Niki, Willie, Kay, some locals, workers, and I stayed up until who knows when enjoying the drunken night. I left and one of the workers walked me to my room. We chatted and he ended up telling me that he gets paid 2 dollars an hour!!! WTF $2 an hour. I almost wanted to give him some of my money! It was definitely a very interesting night.
The next day we were off to Volivoli where supposedly its amazing. We stopped at a Village before hand to see the schools , go bamboo rafting and enjoy a ceremony with Cava. By this time our group aka Vuvali (family) was closer than ever. We made jokes, sang, drank, and just enjoyed being with each other. I would have never thought that within four days I could be so close with a group of people. The school was really great to visit because the kids sang us songs and showed us their classrooms. We donated some school supplies for the school and also donated money if we wanted to. During the Cava ceremony the locals were great and we even had dancing. I was a but tipsy since we had not eaten all day and I had about five rounds of Cava, I don't think I was the only one feeling the numbness. We had our bamboo ride which consisted of me doing absolutely nothing because I had told Kay the day before after tracking, "I don't want to do anything but lay around tomorrow." He would just laugh at me and nod. After the bamboo ride we arrived at the hotel and it was our last night together. Of course we took advantage of the last night. Wolf and I dropped about $100 on alcohol (Which is like $55 American dollars) and had some Bounty with Coke and about ten 40s of beer between 5 people. Haha we even had to buy the 40s from the Fijian Black Market. Willie was drunk off his high horse and Wolf was turning pink from all the drinks. Willie (Willie is like grandpa style btw) told me about his family and that he actually owned a small island. One corporate company is after the land and offering all this money. Willie is definitely that old grandpa that is kind, funny, a bit out of his mind. I loved him!!! I could barely understand half the stuff he said but he was so just soo sweet. After scolding him about NOT selling his land, it made me think. These people have such great land, weather, and just a simple way of living. I hope they never become Westernized! Our society has no culture and our lives revolve around work and making money. I WISH I could avoid thinking about either subject! Anywho, we all stayed up until right around sunset with lots of hook-ups, almost hook-ups, and Willie trying to steal my bed. I will remember that night forever. Oh! I forgot to mention "THE BOY" on the FeeJee Experience bus you can hop on and off at any the stops. We had Niki and Wolf stopping at Volivoli and we picked up some guy (I obviously was NOT very welcoming) that I called the "The Boy." For some reason our group was not nice or helpful to him. We did not like him and even my nickname caught one. I did feel bad but even Willie said the girls on the trip were the BOSSES! haha
Our last day was a bit of a joke. We just ate Indian Food in someones kitchen then headed to a pond with mud and then a hot pond with mud. I really just wanted to go to the last hotel. Nicola, Caroline, and I treated ourselves to a nice hotel for our last night. It was heartbreaking leaving the group and especially saying bye to Kay and Willie. The last night we went to a final dinner and the next day was for shopping. We went to a local market where locals definitely try to hustle. It reminded me of the Mercados in Mexico! At that point I did not was to leave Fiji ever!!
I would have to say that this Fiji Experience was the best trip I have ever taken. It was fun and I met some pretty interesting characters. I will miss my Fiji Vuvali!!!
Some Words I learned from Kay, Willie, and Vinnie (tracking host)...
Wanavu- Awesome (my favorite word)
Toso- move it
Vuvali-family
Lako-Go
Fiji Time- Mexican Time just add 10min
Bula- Welcome, hello, thank you
Song we Sang while Tracking
"We like to Toso Toso
We like to Toso Toso
We like to....
Toso!!!"
Also: Fiji was first spelled Feejee when founded by Captain Cook
Some videos
We began our Experience getting to know each other on the bus and shopping around in Nadi for last minute items. We then went to a beach that was rated by Forbes as one of the top 25 beaches in the world. It was beautiful with low tides and a the cleanest sand ever. I went horseback riding around the beach and just relaxed not worrying about life. Our group then ate lunch made by Willie and Kay...then our adventure left off to go sand boarding! I really had no idea what sand boarding was and what it entailed. Basically its going down a sandy hill with a boogie board! I did it once...and never again. Definitely not my type of sport! ha. We then arrived to our first hostel, Mango Resort. The resort was beautiful in the day and the rooms had beds with nets. The bathrooms were the only disappointment, in any case, dinner came with a traditional Fijian show and then a good taste of cava. Cava is basically the alcohol used for ceremonies. Two cups of those numbs your mouth and you are definitely on a good one. That night was one of the best sleeps ever!
Our next stop was to Uprising Resort in Pacific Harbor. Before we could arrive to our hotel, tracking through the rain forest was the first stop. We prepared ourselves with shoes and some of (Ashley and Wolf) decided to go barefoot,. Little did any of us know that we were actually going through deep mud, rivers, and grass that left whips! I felt like I was on a mission from god because the bites and grass cuts covered both my legs! Fortunately we took a break and jumped around a waterfall and spent Fiji Time there. After that beautiful moment, it was back to tracking and we were headed out to eat. I personally was just excited to get food and take a nap. We then had a Coconut show which I vaguely remember because I was half asleep during it. I could not fall asleep for the life of me so I decided to take advantage of Happy Hour until it was time for dinner. Our dinner was delicious and I could not wait to go hang around the campfire. We all got together singing songs in a circle while drinking Bounty and Coke. Bounty is not your typical rum as one sip takes you to a different world! Niki, Willie, Kay, some locals, workers, and I stayed up until who knows when enjoying the drunken night. I left and one of the workers walked me to my room. We chatted and he ended up telling me that he gets paid 2 dollars an hour!!! WTF $2 an hour. I almost wanted to give him some of my money! It was definitely a very interesting night.
My dirty shoe! I had to throw away those sneakers!
Our Asian Pic
Haha this was an epic fail of a piggy back ride! All the girls felt like princesses!
The next day we were off to Volivoli where supposedly its amazing. We stopped at a Village before hand to see the schools , go bamboo rafting and enjoy a ceremony with Cava. By this time our group aka Vuvali (family) was closer than ever. We made jokes, sang, drank, and just enjoyed being with each other. I would have never thought that within four days I could be so close with a group of people. The school was really great to visit because the kids sang us songs and showed us their classrooms. We donated some school supplies for the school and also donated money if we wanted to. During the Cava ceremony the locals were great and we even had dancing. I was a but tipsy since we had not eaten all day and I had about five rounds of Cava, I don't think I was the only one feeling the numbness. We had our bamboo ride which consisted of me doing absolutely nothing because I had told Kay the day before after tracking, "I don't want to do anything but lay around tomorrow." He would just laugh at me and nod. After the bamboo ride we arrived at the hotel and it was our last night together. Of course we took advantage of the last night. Wolf and I dropped about $100 on alcohol (Which is like $55 American dollars) and had some Bounty with Coke and about ten 40s of beer between 5 people. Haha we even had to buy the 40s from the Fijian Black Market. Willie was drunk off his high horse and Wolf was turning pink from all the drinks. Willie (Willie is like grandpa style btw) told me about his family and that he actually owned a small island. One corporate company is after the land and offering all this money. Willie is definitely that old grandpa that is kind, funny, a bit out of his mind. I loved him!!! I could barely understand half the stuff he said but he was so just soo sweet. After scolding him about NOT selling his land, it made me think. These people have such great land, weather, and just a simple way of living. I hope they never become Westernized! Our society has no culture and our lives revolve around work and making money. I WISH I could avoid thinking about either subject! Anywho, we all stayed up until right around sunset with lots of hook-ups, almost hook-ups, and Willie trying to steal my bed. I will remember that night forever. Oh! I forgot to mention "THE BOY" on the FeeJee Experience bus you can hop on and off at any the stops. We had Niki and Wolf stopping at Volivoli and we picked up some guy (I obviously was NOT very welcoming) that I called the "The Boy." For some reason our group was not nice or helpful to him. We did not like him and even my nickname caught one. I did feel bad but even Willie said the girls on the trip were the BOSSES! haha
Our last day was a bit of a joke. We just ate Indian Food in someones kitchen then headed to a pond with mud and then a hot pond with mud. I really just wanted to go to the last hotel. Nicola, Caroline, and I treated ourselves to a nice hotel for our last night. It was heartbreaking leaving the group and especially saying bye to Kay and Willie. The last night we went to a final dinner and the next day was for shopping. We went to a local market where locals definitely try to hustle. It reminded me of the Mercados in Mexico! At that point I did not was to leave Fiji ever!!
My 40!!
I would have to say that this Fiji Experience was the best trip I have ever taken. It was fun and I met some pretty interesting characters. I will miss my Fiji Vuvali!!!
Some Words I learned from Kay, Willie, and Vinnie (tracking host)...
Wanavu- Awesome (my favorite word)
Toso- move it
Vuvali-family
Lako-Go
Fiji Time- Mexican Time just add 10min
Bula- Welcome, hello, thank you
Song we Sang while Tracking
"We like to Toso Toso
We like to Toso Toso
We like to....
Toso!!!"
Also: Fiji was first spelled Feejee when founded by Captain Cook
Some videos
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