BULLAAAAAAAA Everybody !!!

How is everyone? I'm here in the lovely Fiji but sadly moving on today to the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles. Apologies for not updating the blog for almost three weeks but a lot of these Fijian islands have internet access and those that do are only dial up so I thought I'd save the update until I got back to the mainland.

Soooo, carrying on from where I left off on the south island of New Zealand. Firstly I have to mention how bloomin' cold it was down there. On our way to Dunedin (or Edinburgh ;-)) it snowed. What the hell is that all about? Dunedin was a really cool place though. We visited the Speights Brewery which was a really interesting tour and the guide was extremely passionate about beer bordering on being a slight mentalist. At the end of the tour we got to sample all the beers they make there and pour our own which was pretty cool cool.
From Dunedin we made our way to Invercargill via the Catlins. The Catlins are home to loads of sealife including penguins, sea lions and dolphins but sadly they were feeling shy when we there as we saw sweet fa. INvercargill is a very small town but somehow I managed to get lost the morning we were due to leave which caused a slight freak out but I somehow managed to get back in good time.
From Invercargill we headed to Te Anau and stopped off at a museum to see Henry the oldest tuatara. Sadly he too was feeling shy that day. I was starting to thing these animals don't exist and it was all some kind of big ploy to entice backpackers into spending money unecessarily. We also stopped off at McCrackens rest for a couple of tacky photos which some of you may have seen. Te Anau is the gateway to the Fiordland Nation a Park and in the evening a couple of us went to watch a 30 minute film made and funded by one the local mentalists to advertise the beauty that the Fiordlands has to offer. It was pretty awesome made even better that you could take alcohol in with you. Sweet As !!!
From Te Anau we made our way to Milford Sound (part of the Fiordlands) and this was a breathtaking day out and the photos that I took (please refer to New Zealand Pics - Part Four) really don't do the place justice. Even the ride out to Milford Sound was spectacular going through tunnels and windy roads with snow topped mountains and fresh water streams as a backdrop. Awesome day out !!!
After stopping another night in Queenstown (a good excuse for another Fergburger) we made our way onto Christchurch. I had two days to kill in Christchurch and I loved the place. It reminded me of back home (not sure if that's a good thing or not) a kind of cross between Covent Garden vs Cambridge vs something else nice. It was a really cool place made special as I stupidly paid $16 to go to an aquarium where they also had two kiwis. I was happy to see a kiwi though and crossed that off the list of things to do. It was also an excuse to by a Canterbury hooded top as well....woo hoo.
From Christchurch we headed further up the east coast of the south island to Kaikoura. Kaikoura (meaning kai - to eat, and koura - crayfish!?!) is a lazy little seaside town. The two main attractions to do here are whale watching and dolphin swimming. Fortunately for me I had two days here as well and I managed to fit both of these activities in. The whale watching was awesome and we managed to spot two sperm whales and I was able to take some awesome pics. The highlight for me however was the dolphin swimming. This was an experience and a half swimming with wild dolphins. We were told to mimic them byt swimming round in circles and singing to them as well. We all looked like dorks but they seemed to like my rendition of Gorillaz and the liked Jamiriqua too.
Sadly Kaikoura was my last stop in New Zealand and for the next three days I slowly made my way up to Auckland via Wellington and Taupo. The weather in Wellington was nice which made a change from the last time I was there and in Taupo a couple of us went to a natural hot water spa pool. That was really cool even if we did get soaked on the way back to the hostel. My last night in Auckland I spent with Karen, Terry and Phoenix and they introduced me to kava. I thought they were talking about cheap champagne but it was actually a Fiji drink that looked like muddy water and had a similar taste. I had a really nice evening and Karen those pizzas were lovely so thanks again for making me feel welcome.
I loved New Zealand and I will definetely come back one day to visit/live and explore the place in greater detail. It truly is a beautiful country with so much to offer. I'll be sure to stay away from the evil horses next time. The stables sent me an email the other day and I'm plotting my sarcastic reply to them at the moment. Watch this space!!!!

Fiji.....well upon arriving in Fiji I was shocked to see how poor the country was. I hadn't studied the place at all it was a very spontaneous decision to come here in the first place but I'm so glad I did. I have spent the past week cruising four of the many Fijian islands and have packed so much in. I have snorkelled several times and have seen loads of nemos, coral and even the odd octopus hidng under rocks. We had a morning out to a sacred cave dive which was a cool. I walked up to the top of one of the islands and the views were amazing. We also had a day trip out on a yacht called 'Seaspray'. Apparently this yacht was used in a 60's series called The Adventures of Seaspray or something like that. It sounded like a cross between Miss Marple and Miami Vice. The food on the yacht was awesome and the main feature of the day trip was to the island where they filmed Castaway. This was by far the best beach I have seen in Fiji and maybe the best beach ever or at least on par with the Whitsundays. It was great to share the same sand that Hollywood super star Tom Hanks once stood on and several of us attempted to recreate scenes of the movie, ie the FIRE scene, the harpoon fish scence and of course the WILSON scene. One of the highlights of my week in Fiji though would have to be the visit to one of the local villages. We were invited into the local school and met several of the school children. Upon arrival their first question to us was to ask if we had swine flu. Very funny!! The children there are so happy and it was a great experience to see how they live and work on these small islands. We also had a trip out to the church on Sunday ( the first time I'd been to chuch in years) and this was a cool experience to. Lots of singing and dancing to be had.
Later today I'm heading out to LA and looking forward to it partly but not looking forward to the pace. Maybe it's wrong to assume the pace in LA will be fast but once you've spent a week in Fiji time I have a feeling it's going to be busy.

I'll update you on LA in a week or so but in the meantime I hope everyone is in ship shape and I'm looking forward to seeing you all again!

Take care everybody!!

Dan xxxx