Returning the camper van went surprisingly smooth, the whole ordeal flowed along like we were in a custard river! After an employee gave the van a swift once over to check for scratches, we were refunded for a new kettle purchase and Chelsea was presented with a bag of chocolates (Lindor, Ferrero Rocher and Milktray) as an apology for the appalling customer service we received in their Christchurch branch (never use Apollo Car Rentals). There was also a letter explaining what may have happened in Christchurch and informed us that the awful assistant-manager had been sent on stress management courses.

Sharing our chocolate hoard around the shuttle bus to the airport, we had another swift check-in before whittling down our last remaining New Zealand dollars on puzzle magazines and burgers.

After being herded onto our Fiji Airways plane and greeted with the unmistakable stale air smell of an aircraft, we buckled up for the relatively short three and a half hour flight to Fiji - we had read that the weather there consisted of thunderstorms and horizontal rain but I still had a quiet ember of hope that the weather forecast may have got it wrong.

On arrival my glimmering ember of hope was coaxed into a timid flame as the the sun was shining through empty looking clouds.

The heat as soon as you stepped off the plane was immense; the damp air and raging heat made a very sticky atmosphere. Nadi airport itself was very basic with light fittings and panels boards loosely fitted, exposing vast black caverns behind. I had read that for a developing country Fiji was incredibly over priced and on a par with Australia as opposed to similar Eastern European countries. I thought it all added to the allure of the place, it was very rudimental but it meshed together perfectly.

The people in Fiji live up to their high accolades of hospitality! Everyone is trying to help you, and not in the false 'we want all of your money' fashion like in India, they genuinely want you to have a smooth ride and show you a jovial welcome.