Well hello everyone after so long! Since we last wrote from Seattle we have done so much and not had chance to do a blog! Therefore we will try to condense all our news into this one!

From Seattle we went to Portland, Oregon. Spent a few days here but didn't do a lot. It's the beer capital of the USA though so we sampled a few at the many brewpubs they have there, Dad you would've loved it! We also did a day trip to visit Mt St Helens Volcano which is back over the border in Washington state. It was really interesting. It last errupted in 1980 and was a huge erruption. Phil loved being there and learning about it even more as he'd studied that particular volcano at school. We went to the blast zone (which was HUGE!) and the whole area was desolate even 27 years later. We went to look across at the summit of the volcano but on the day we went it was in the cloud so we never got to see the whole of it unfortunately.

From there we flew with United Airlines down to San Francisco, it was either fly for 1hour 30mins or bus it in 20 hours! We had 5 days in San Fran and loved it! It is such a great city and in a pretty setting on the coast. We met up with Cris and Rob again (who we've met lots along our travels) and our friends Rob and Saf from back home who were holidaying there. So there was a little group of us which was nice.

On the first evening we all went to see a baseball game - cos 'it's soooo American!' It was the San Francisco Giants V's the Chicago Cubs. We sat right at the back high up but it was a great view as the stadium is right on the waterfront so we could look out at all the boats beyond the pitch. Baseball games tend to last a long time, this one was over 3 hours long, but as we were all having a great time drinking and singing along to all the cheesy songs the time just flew. It was relatively easy to learn the rules too (a bit like Rounders!) but unfortunatley the Giants lost.

Also whilst in San Fran we hired bikes and rode over the Golden Gate bridge. which was really windy and very high up! The top of the bridge is often shrouded in fog but it looks amazing and it's amazing to see how fast the fog drifts about over the harbour area. While inland in the city it's totally clear and warmer!

Rob, Saf, Phil and I did a tour to Alcatraz one evening too. Phil also loved this as he loves the film The Rock! We saw all the places in there which are in the film and were told that this particular film has the most real scenes of Alcatraz in it compared to other films about the prison. It was a very interesting and well presented tour we did and a bit eerie as we did it at dusk. We heard about some of the escape attempts. No-one survived getting off the island though. It's only about 1 mile away from the shore but the water is icey and the currents are too strong to swim in, the ideal location for a high security prison!

The next day all 6 of us did a wine tasting trip to the famous Napa Valley. It was even hotter inland so the perfect day for it. We visited 4 wineries and did a lot of tasting. I seemed to like all the wines! Our first stop was the Mumm champagne winery which was a great way to start the day. After the tasting we treated ourselves to a bottle. We were also told that they have nice champagnes which they cater for weddings. Cris told them I was due to get married so they let us all try some extra ones to try and get our business for the big day! She was such a liar! We had lunch included too later on and just had a really good day out. We were driven to the valley at the start of the day but got on the ferry back to San Fran which was a nice change. We went for a curry that night with 3 bottles of wine we'd bought during the day.

Rob and Saf had to go home after that so it was just us two, Cris and Rob for the last 3 days. We saw the 'worlds most crookedest street' which is pretty winding on a steep hill compared to all the other straight roads. Rode on a famous San Fran cable car too up and down the hilly streets, we stood on the outside hanging on which is the traditional way to ride! Went up the Coit tower, walked along the harbour front and even went ten pin bowling on our last day. Had a great time in San Fran and I would definately like to go back as there is so much to see and do in the surrounding area too.

Caught a connecting fight to LA then flew to Fiji. We lost a day though as we flew over the date line in the wrong direction. When we arrived we had 3 days in Nadi which was hot and humid but also rained a bit too, boo! We had a look round the town, did some sunbathing and did a day trip to South Sea Island. This is the smallest island in the Mamanuca group and was absolutely gorgeous. It was our first glimpse of the paradise islands in Fiji and we weren't disappointed. We walked round the island within 5 minutes! Sunbathed and went snorkelling in the clear waters. Total bliss!

Set off on our Feejee Experience the next day which was a trip around Viti Levu (one of the 3 main islands). It was a good trip and as it wasn't peak season there was only 8 of us on it. They take you round the island doing activities along the way, mostly off the beaten track. You can hop on and off and spend as much time in each overnight stopover as you wish to. Throughout the trip we did various things including sandboarding, river tubing, bamboo rafting, weaving jewellry (just the girls!) and sugar cane tasting.

This wasn't a trip for people used to life's luxuries however! Did a 3 hour trek through the rainforest in the pouring rain! It was great to see it in the rain, all lush and green. The ground was bright orange clay so was very wet and slippy, I fell over and got an orange bum. Half the trek was through a creek which was knee deep and waist deep if you weren't careful! I fell in! By the end of it we were all drenched and really muddy, gross! Good fun though.

The tour took us inland on gravel roads through many small villages. We went to visit a couple and got to see first hand how most Fijians still live. Their houses are small shacks made from wood or corregated iron and most places don't have electricity. To enter the village everyone must wear a sulu (sarong) so Phil got a nice Fijian one. There is always a community hall in the village where you meet the chief. To enter here you must remove footwear and headgear. The boys sit at the front cross legged and the girls behind with legs to the side. We did a Kava ceremony with the chief. This is a traditional drink in Fiji, made from the ground roots of a plant mixed with water in a huge wooden bowl. It looks like muddy water and doesn't taste much better! It is not alcoholic but it is said to have an affect on you if you drink lots, the Fijians love it! It was interesting to do the ceremony though and learn a bit of the Fijian culture.

Despite the relative poverty we never encountered any begging in Fiji and the people are the happiest and friendlist we've ever met. Everyone greets you with 'Bula' all the time and as we drove about in our big green Feejee Experience bus people would wave to us. Another interesting visit we had was to a high school. Sulus back on for this! Feejee Experience take us here to help support the school and we took along notebooks and pens for the children. The children were so happy to see us and showed us around their school. English is the official language in Fiji so all lessons are taught in English and eveyone must speak it always at school. They have their own Fijian language too though. Classrooms were basic with small wooden desks, a blackboard and not a lot else. The children loved having their photos taken and would keep asking us to take a photo of them then show it to them, good we have digital cameras! They were amazed by it. It was fun to visit them and before we left they put on a dance and singing show for us.

Phil and I stayed a little longer at Volivoli beach on the northern part of Viti Levu. We had 3 days here to chill out before catching the next Feejee Experience bus that turned up. It was a beautiful location and the weather was good so we caught some rays. On the first day we wandered down to the gorgeous beach and guess what?? Phil bumped into Rose who he used to sit opposite at work! He knew she was travelling too but it was such a coincidence. Had a good party and bonfire on the beach before saying bye to our fellow Feejee experience friends the next day. Did a 45 minute scuba dive which was absolutely amazing. We did one on the Great Barrier Reef 5 years ago but that was pretty tame. This was a proper dive, down to 16m and with a few swim-throughs. The coral was gorgeous and we saw loads of tropical fish.

On the last day of our tour we had a nice spicy curry for lunch - Phil tried goat! The curries here are good as about half of Fiji's population is Indian. Finished off with a trip to natural thermal mud pools. It was really hot and the mud squished between our toes. Everyone got covered in it which made for a great photo! Washed it off then relaxed in another thermal pool, with no mud. The whole area was in the middle of no-where so no tourists or posh spa treatments - back to basics! Was a great way to finish the trip and our skin felt soooo smooth!

Back to Nadi for a night then off to Beachcomber Island - another tropical paradise with a reputation for being the party island. It was a lovely little resort and not too crowded. Was fairly basic too, with sand floors everywhere and wooden buildings. No highrise buildings allowed in Fiji. Spent 2 days and 1 night here, splitting our time between sunbathing, swimming in the sea, eating the lovely food and boozing! We both tried parasailing for the first time too and loved it. I was a bit scared beforehand but once in the air that was forgotten. It's such an amazing feeling just floating along high in the air. Got great views of the islands and coral reefs below.

Our final destination in Fiji was Robinson Crusoe Island. To get to the other islands we'd been on large catamarans, but this time we were on a little boat which went down a river and out to sea. RCI was a resort too but different to Beachcomber - more basic and chilled out. It's described as the ultimate island experience, and it was! Had 5 nights there in a private lodge (no dorms for us thanks!), but there was no hot water and all the fresh water was brought in by boat from the mainland. The showers were metal buckets with a shower head attached to the bottom! Got in with a decent crowd of people so did some good drinking in the evenings. Spent the days sunbathing, kayaking, snorkelling, playing beach volleyball (Phil), reading in hammocks on the beach and watching the crabs scuttling about - there were LOADS of them!

The Fijian staff were great and we got to know them all. It's like a big family there and they do all the entertainment aswell as the general work. They put on some spectacular Fijian dancing shows which we got to see a few times but never tired of. It was all South Pacific island dancing, including knife and fire dances. We especially loved the fire dancing which looked amazing at night - they are so talented. Also saw the guys climbing palm trees to pick coconuts - Phil wanted to give it a try! We had food cooked in an earth oven and were then amazed as a couple of the guys walked bare-footed over the searing hot coals. Is there anything these people can't do??!

Although we'd loved our island experience, we treated ourselves to a comfortable hotel for the last night in Fiji. Hot running water and air-conditioning! Had 2 1/2 weeks in Fiji but could have done with another month as there are so many more islands to visit. It's such a great country and you can't appreciate just how lovely the people are unless you meet them. So everyone, get to Fiji!

Was under 3 hours flight to Auckland and when we arrived last night it felt bloody freezing! Had gone from 33 degrees down to 18! It's spring here. So now we are back in NZ, our fourth country of our trip. Was almost 5 years since we were last here. We have come back to visit the northen most part if the North Island which we missed out last time. We have hired a car for 11 days and set off on our trip tomorrow then have 3 more days back in Auckland before flying down to Christchurch. We went here last time too but we are going to visit my dads cousins who we stayed with last time. Can't not see them seen as we are in the country!

So sorry it's been such a long blog but we did have loads to catch up on! Hope it wasn't too straining for your eyes, we won't leave it as long til the next one! Gotta do all the pics now!......

Hope you are all well,

love us 2 X