Circle Pacific 1998/99 - Day 30 - Fiji to New Zealand

• Flew out early to Auckland - great vibe here
• Checked into Auckland Central Backpackers
• Bought shield to convert our stove into an oven - yay - cornbread, etc
• Sightseeing in downtown Auckland

Circle Pacific 1998/99 - Day 29 - Fiji

• Day trip to Mala Mala island

• Nice picnic
• Snorkeled - saw blue starfish (Dave touched one - surprisingly hard), seas slugs, tiny electric blue fish, and sunset wrasse
• Swam

• Highlight: sailing on traditional catamaran - sat on front edge, trailing our toes in brilliant blue water - we each also rode on a runner - got to sail twice b/c no one else wanted to - unbelievable!

Circle Pacific 1998/99 - Day 28 - Fiji

• Ben, Gill, Irene, Elizabeth + Andrea left early this morning
• Ben invited us to his place in Wallsend
• More photos of our place outside the village

• Decided to head down the mountain a day early - rode down in the truck bed w/ Julia (California), Ryan (Canada), Sarah + Heather

• Others complaining about the price they paid - up to F$250 (we paid F$165)
• Enjoyed a relaxing dinner @ Traveler's Beach Resort

• Finished The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay - amazing

Circle Pacific 1998/99 - Day 27 - Fiji

• Hiked to waterfall - long hard hike (7 hrs, up + down, up+ down) - cool trees

• Hiked with Ben (UK) - 68 years old w/ bad knees - no complaints - has a girlfriend @ home (she couldn't come because she isn't retired yet)
• Great swimming @ base of falls - long bamboo poles to float on - cool water felt amazing after hot, humid hike

• Guides caught freshwater prawns + steamed them in bamboo for lunch - yum!

• After hike, played cards + Yahtzee

Circle Pacific 1998/99 - Day 26 - Fiji

• Church again - 2 hrs! - not as exciting as in Avarua - talked with more kids afterward
• Midday feast @ our hosts' place - no kava in sight :) - clockwise from lower left: Ben (UK), Irene (Canada), Gill (UK), 2 Mormon dudes on mission (USA), Shannon (USA), Andrea + Elizabeth (Austria)

Circle Pacific 1998/99 - Day 25 - Fiji

• Three villagers loaded our stuff into a small twin-cab pickup to head up mountain for village stay
• Picked up 2 other travellers - Dave joked that it'd be funny if one was someone from the Cooks hostel, and it was - Gillian - had a good laugh
• Stopped for provisions - booze
• Roads muddy + slick from recent rains - extra villagers pushed + stood on rear bumper to gain traction - road crew w/ tractor pulled us uphill @ one point - Dave rode rest of way in back w/ villagers - they asked him if Gill + I were both his wives
• Stopped several times on way up so one of the village guys could puke - no alcohol allowed in village, so they were getting it in while they can
• Landscape not as lush as Rarotonga - grass, small shrubs, pines - some hilltops burned clear

• Village mix of old + new - cheap metal + wood shacks - well water - TVs - pretty chickens - various dogs

• Met a few local kids - the girl in the middle (w/ very short hair) was really curious about where we were from, why we were in Fiji, where we were going

• As visitors, we have to stay outside the fence that encloses the village - moved into a bure (hut of woven bamboo) - awesome!

• Open-sided communal area for chatting/gaming/eating - hibiscus bushes are in bloom
• Guide took us to meet the chief + drink kava - Dave had to wear skirtlike wrap - heh - we didn't bring kava, so we paid the suggested $4 tribute apiece - drank it with his wife b/c chief was busy watching World Cup in his house

• Kava ritual: on your turn, clap hands once, take kava bowl, say, "Bula" to group, drink kava in one go, clap hands 3 times, hand off bowl - kava gross, tastes like weird dirt - maybe a touchy gingery - numbs your mouth - 5 rounds of kava drinking tonight - Shan had three - 2 hours total

Circle Pacific 1998/99 - Day 24 - Fiji

• Arrived in Nadi around 4 am - not ready for hawkers @ airport - chosen hotel not represented, so went with rep from Traveller's Beach Resort
• Good choice: he showed us to a room, said, "Get some sleep, and come to the office when you're awake." OK!
• Nice beachfront location on a small bay facing northwest
• Raj @ the hostel's tour desk helped us set up a village stay, a day trip to Mala Mala Island, and change our departure flight
• Walked around Nadi - kind of a dump, but good samosas - saw movie Sliding Doors - post-movie ice cream
• Great fiery sunset from beach
• Dinner @ hostel

Circle Pacific 1998/99 - Day 23 - Cook Islands to Fiji

• Flight from Rarotonga to Fiji (Nadi)
• Lost this day to the International Date Line