Christchurch and Kaikoura, New Zealand

April 1^st – April 6^th 2012

We flew from Nadi and were meant to be going to Christchurch. Because of the flooding in Fiji the flight was severely delayed, once we got off the ground we experienced a bit of turbulence and got dropped off in Auckland instead. No one seemed to know what to do and the airline didn’t offer any answers. We explained our situation but were told that we needed to make our own arrangements to get to Christchurch, it felt like we were meant to be grateful that we were in New Zealand even though we were on the wrong island. After being told that flights were $900 to Christchurch and after a few tears we were told that we had been booked on to an Air New Zealand flight leaving in less than half an hour. We had to get to departures and check in but we were too late and missed the flight. Eventually after lots of confusion and queue waiting we were booked on to another Air New Zealand flight free of charge. We made it to Christchurch and after a shuttle bus journey got to our accommodation The Old Countryhouse. We settled in to our lovely dorm room and had an early night to make up for a stressful few days.

Christchurch Centre

After a good night’s sleep we decided to walk to the city centre or what was left of it after the devastating earthquake a couple of years ago. The city was eerily quiet, like a ghost town. Big fences contained some areas and there were buildings boarded up and rubble everywhere. We finally got to the new hub of the city where they’ve made use of shipping containers and turned them into shops and cafes. They looked brilliant and really gave the place some life. We stopped for lunch in one of the contemporary containers and had a tomato and brie toasted baguette. We then walked west to the botanical gardens where we found a tourist centre and booked a coach and accommodation in Kaikoura. We walked along the River Avon and enjoyed the sunshine though there was a definite temperature drop from what we’d been used to for the last few months.

April 3^rd was our trip to Kaikoura and our coach was at 7am. We got up before dawn and walked to the coach stop which was a fair walk away but we needed to save money so didn’t arrange a taxi. The journey was a comfortable one and took just 2 and a half hours. As we got closer to Kaikoura we saw dolphins in the water and seals on the waters edge. We got dropped off right outside our hostel which was called Fish Tank and dropped off our bags. It was wet so we tried out our new brolly and went out for supplies. We had soup for lunch in the great hostel kitchen and booked ourselves on to the 7:15 whale watching tour for the next day. I get travel sick on boats so invested in some expensive seasickness tablets to stave off the queasiness tomorrow. The tour was quite expensive and I didn’t want to waste my money by spending the whole time throwing up. We wandered around the shops and treated ourselves to a hot chocolate in one of the cafes.

Sleeping Seals

We woke up at 6:15 and after breakfast made our way to Whale Watch. On our way we saw a beautiful sun rise over the ocean. We had a safety briefing and boarded the bus which took us to the harbour. We took our seats and made our way out to sea. The sea was choppy but my tablets seemed to be working. It took a while to track down a whale but once we did it was absolutely breath taking. We watched it dive with its tail in the air, water dripping off and a rainbow forming in the light. We were lucky and saw a total of four whales as well as a massive pod of dusky dolphins, albatross birds and seals too. It was an unforgettable day and one of the best day trips that we have ever done.

Sperm Whale

Dusky Dolphins

We decided to stay for another day in Kaikoura as we loved it so much. We picked up some snacks and decided to do the Kaikoura Peninsula walk which would take about 3-4 hours according to Lonely Planet. We set off and climbed hundreds of steps to get to the top of the peninsula, after a good hour of walking we got to some viewpoints with some breath-taking views of the hills and surrounding countryside. The highlight of the walk was the seal colony where you can get quite close to them in their natural environment. The walk was tiring and the sun caught us out as although it was a breezy day the sun was powerful so we were a little burnt. We made a big veggie fry up for dinner which received lots of jealous comments from fellow hostel guests!

 

Kaikoura Walk

Kaikoura Walk

April 6^th was our last day in Kaikoura and we packed everything up. Our coach wasn’t until after lunchtime so we could relax and take it easy. We took one last stroll along the beach and watched as the waves crashed into the stones. We couldn’t get back into our nice hostel in Christchurch so ended up in a different one which was really grotty. Luckily we only had one night there, the following day we were meeting Craig’s mum and dad at the airport and sampling motorhome life in New Zealand. 

Fiji

February 29th - April 1st 2012

I didn't keep a journal at all in Fiji and therefore have to rely on photographs to remember exactly what we got up to, which to be quite honest wasn't very much! We immersed ourselves entirely in Fijian life and adjusted to 'Fiji Time' where things take as long as they'll take, there is no rush and you just have to surrender yourself to the laid back way of life.

We turned up at our lodgings which was a dorm room at Bamboo on Fiji's main island of Viti Levu. After some time here watching volleyball and taking part in Kava ceremonies we organised our island hopping adventure which would be 16 days exploring the Yasawa's and Mamanuca's. There are no ATM's on the islands, some don't even have electricity 24 hours a day so we had to venture in to town to try and get enough money for the whole trip as the local ATM would only let us have so much. After a bit of stress we finally found a bank that would allow us to take out as much as we needed. We boarded our coach which led to the ferry terminal at Denerau.

Nabua Lodge - Nacula Island

Our first island and a beautiful one at that. We learnt the 'Bula' dance and played games with the other guests most of whom where beautiful blonde Swedish girls. We went for a walk in the hills and stared down at the crystalline water. We slept in bunkbeds in a dorm 'bure' and showered outside. On one of the days we ventured to the Blue Lagoon to go snorkelling in the clear waters. This is where a Brooke Shields movie was filmed and it was supremely beautiful.



Nacula Island

White Sandy Beach - Naviti Island

We had our own private hut in the gardens right by the beach and I celebrated my 24th birthday here. Disappointingly it rained on my birthday though I did get cake! We did more dancing and game playing, Craig won one of the games again as he won on the last island too, he has a knack for it! I had to lead a dance congo line which was extremely embarrassing, Craig winds me up about it to this day due to my lack of dance skills under pressure! We met great people here, Klaus, Keeley and Colin who we had laughs with round the dinner table. We played card games with the locals and frisbee on the beach.

Bula Dancing

Octopus Resort - Waya Island

This was my belated birthday treat as Octopus is one of the more upmarket resorts on the Yasawa's. We got a great deal when we booked it meaning that we stayed in a four person bure for the same price as the big dorm. It had a beautiful outdoor shower attached so you could shower under the stars but with hot water as all the other places in Fiji had been cold water so far. The beach here was stunning but there was also the advantage of a pool which we made full use of. The food here was much nicer and there were more treats like ice cream and milkshakes although you had to pay extra for them. We joined in with the quiz night with some Australians and a couple of French girls. We drew several times on the general knowledge questions but always lost the tie breaker which was an embarrassing dance or performance. Keeley joined us on this island which was lovely.



Octopus Resort Beach

Wayalailai Ecohaven - Waya Lai Lai Island

Our dorm on this island was the biggest and hottest. By this point we were getting fed up of learning the bula dance as we already knew it off by heart! One day we decided to climb to the top of the island which was the hardest climb I've ever undertaken due to the speed at which the Fijian guide took us up there. Many people turned back but after a few tears Craig pushed me on and we reached the top dripping with sweat but it was worth it for the achievement and views. The rest of the time we walked on the beach, lazed around in hammocks and read books. I was in the middle of Stephen King's The Tommyknockers.

View from the top of Waya Lai Lai

Bounty Island

Bounty Island was another slightly more upmarket resort. We had a small dorm to ourselves but only stayed for one night as we needed to stay somewhere in order to get our boat to the next island chain, the Mamanuca's. The island was small compared to the others that we had been on, we walked around it in less than an hour. The food here was really delicious which was great as the last place wasn't so great. It would have been nice to stay here longer as they had free activities but we didn't have time.



Bounty Island

Mana Island

The accommodation on Mana Island was the worst. The dorm bunk beds were old and uncomfortable, the rooms had one tiny fan and no air conditioning so it was incredibly hot and the food was horrible. We spent a lot of time moaning with the other guests which bought us all closer! We met the wonderful Neil and Alice here as well as lots of other lovely people. We heard a story of a British guy that was attacked by several dogs on the island just a day or two before we arrived which shook us up and meant that we didn't want to walk around the island alone. We led on the beach and Craig learnt how to make coconut jewellery. We watched a local Fijian man dance with fire, did drawing with the local children and saw the most amazing sun sets.

Beautiful colours

Our trip around the islands had been great, they sum up paradise with their white sandy beaches, clear waters and lovely friendly locals. After the islands we returned to Bamboo where we had a traditional Lovo dinner before seeing a bit of the south of Viti Levu. We visited Sigatoka Sand Dunes and went to Fiji's capital Suva. We stayed in the Rainforest Lodge and at the Beachhouse on Fiji's beautiful Coral Coast.

Our last few days weren't so great as Fiji was hit with terrible storms leaving many homes without running water or electricity. We didn't know if we would make it out of Fiji due to the weather but luckily managed to catch our flight although it was extremely delayed. It was a shame to leave Fiji on a bad note as we'd loved our time here although probably stayed a lot longer than we really needed to.

Melbourne, Australia

February 23rd - February 28th 2012

 

We arrived back in Melbourne before dawn and walked with our heavy rucksacks to the top of Elizabeth Street right by Queen Victoria Market where our hostel was situated. We were incredibly tired as we'd had a sleepless night on the coach but weren't able to get into our dorm yet so we left our rucksacks and after breakfast walked down to the river. This was our second time in Melbourne as before we spent a week in a luxurious apartment in the Docklands area with Mum and Jo. We had to return as we were flying from here to Fiji.

Once our room was ready we walked back up the hill to the hostel and checked in. This was our first encounter with an Australian hostel as we'd stayed for two months in our own camper, a couple of weeks in apartments with mum or at Reva's lovely house. The hostel was an absolute dive. The room was disgusting but mostly because the people living in it seemed to think that they could tip their whole rucksack contents on to the floor and leave it there. Some English guy left food in his locker and obviously never cleaned it as whenever he opened it the whole room would be filled with the gross smell of rotting food, my bunk was right next to this locker. The kitchen was horrible, hardly any utensils and the ones that were there were filthy. I'd love to say that we looked at the state of the hostel and walked out in disgust to a better one but when your budget is so tiny you just have to grin and bear it. We left for supplies and got some chips for dinner, the lovely guy must have felt sorry for us and gave us free food, maybe because of our depressed faces at the thought of going back to the dorm!

Disgusting dorm

After a sleepless night thanks to the idiots in the hostel we left early and went across the road to the market where we bought army style metal cups for our tea and coffee and treated ourselves to apples and grapes! After a look around the hundreds of stalls we strolled down to the Ian Potter Centre and had a look around the galleries. There was a great exhibition of the photographs of Fred Kruger and some lovely aboriginal pieces too.



Art Gallery

The following day we decided to go down to the National Gallery of Victoria. We walked down Swanston Street and across the bridge to the big museum. At the entrance is a huge glass wall with water running down it which is a striking feature. The galleries were huge, we walked around it examining most pieces in detail, the variety was massive and there were some beautiful Impressionist paintings. After lunch we found one of Melbourne's famous lanes covered in graffiti art. In the afternoon we went to the library and after using the free internet sat outside on the grass soaking up the hot late afternoon sun.

Graffiti

Graffiti

On February 26th we decided to walk down to the Australian Centre of Contemporary Art or ACCA which was again across the river. The space is housed in an industrial building to reflect the area around it. There was an exhibition by Pipilotti Rist called 'I Packed The Postcard In My Suitcase' which comprised of installations involving light and sound. After the exhibition we went outside in to the blistering heat and walked to the Hopetoun Tea Rooms which we had seen when we were here last. We treated ourselves to a milkshake and cake each which wasn't cheap as it came to $31. The cakes were delicious so we felt it was money well spent and a treat from mum as she had left us with a bit of money on her travel card. We spent the evening talking to family on Skype, I was feeling low as over the past week my camera had slowly started to give up and the lack of sleep in the hostel was getting me down. Talking to mum cheered me up instantly though, I wished she was able to spend longer with us.

Pavlova

As we would be leaving Australia for Fiji in a few days I needed to desperately get my camera looked at and fixed. After enquiring in a camera shop we went to see a guy who immediately diagnosed the problem as the copper wire linking the camera to the lens had frayed due to so much use. He wasn't able to fix the problem in the time we had left but recommended that I simply buy a new lens which would sort the problem. He gave up his time to have a look at the camera and didn't ask for anything in return, what a lovely guy! We went to a few shops and I got a new lens for $200 which was $50 cheaper than anywhere else so I was happy to at least know that I would have full use of my camera again. Craig bought a mini netbook as it was such a good deal so that we would be able to use wifi and hopefully save money on internet cafes. After a stroll around the city we had dinner at a little fish and chip restaurant which was lovely and better than making food in the hostel kitchen.

February 28th was our last day in Melbourne and in Australia! We were so happy to leave our hostel and will be glad to never have to return. Our time in Australia had been an amazing one, we travelled thousands of miles in our own little campervan experiencing all different landscapes and cities. We had lived in a cramped little camper, experienced luxury and had a taste of living in a real Australian home as well as seeing what a few dollars a night will get you in a hostel. We visited new friends made in Asia and discovered real Australian hospitality. Our highlights were Cairns and Tropical North Queensland and off the beaten track areas like the Waterfall Way and Charters Towers. Sydney was great to see but we definitely preferred the countryside and the places where there were few tourists and backpackers.