Hey guys! Time for another update, and this one will take in two different locations, the Fiji Islands and Hawaii!

As I stepped off the plane from Auckland, my instant inpression of Fiji was the heat. Coming out of the air conditioned interior of my flight, the hot, humid fijian conditions hit me like a wall! My second impression was how helpful all the staff at the airport were, everyone seemed to want to organise transport to hostels and book trips to the Islands, and this friendliness was a theme that was to continue throughout my time in Fiji. My first stop was a night at hostel in Fiji's third biggest town, Nadi. I had a nice quiet day, reading and lounging by the pool. In the evening however, I took some time to extend my stay in fiji from four days to two and a half weeks, in order to make a trip to the smaller Islands of the Yasawas possible.

So early the next day I boarded a bus and then a catamaran in order to reach my first island destination; Naviti Island in the far north. I stayed at a very small, very basic and very good resort with about 15 other guests for the night. The fijian sense of welocime was again instantly noticable as all the staff were on the beach to sing my boat ashore, and as I was the only one stopping here, it was a tad embarassing! On check in, I was provided with a coconut to drink, which was so amazingly superior to the ones we get in England that I was amazed! We spent the day chlling out in hammocks, preparing our own coconuts (which you culd just pick up on the beach or just take from the trees) and messed around in the warm sea water, even when it was raining!! In the late afternoon, all the english lads on the island were challenged to a game of touch rugby by the fijians. five of us accepted, and this was a mistake! Due to the heat and general lack of ability, we were all exhausted after about ten minutes and the fijians ran riot for the next hour and a half. After we had retired to the bar for a well deserved beer, we discovered that we were playing elements of Naviti Island's rugby sevens team, a sport which is about as big in Fiji as football is in England, so the result was not as embarassing as we thought! In the evening, we were treated to live entertainment in the form of Fijian singing and dancing, which was truely amazing!

The next day, I moed on to the furthest north Island in the Yasawas chain, Safe Landing. I passed the first day on this Island by snorkling around the beach and reading in a hammock. In the early evening, I went aboard a small aluminum boat which took a small group of guests out to three reef spots for us to snorkel over. This was a great experience, in my opinion than the Great Barrier Reef snorkling I did in Australia, simply due to there being more colours, more fish and less people around! Well worth the $25 I paid, which is about ten pounds!! The second day at Safe Landing was a sunday, so with a small group we went to a local church service, was quite an experience, even if it was all in Fijian! In the afternoon, I went snorkling in the bay again and then played in a volleyball match against one of the Island's other resorts.

My next stop was Manta Ray Bay, which was very different to the first two Islands I had visited. Whereas they had been quiet, basic and very, well, Fijian, this place was a more tourist area, with many people attracted by the grade A snorkling and diving avaliable. Unofrtunately, more people meant higher prices! I spent the day here just reading in a hammock and then enjoying the great four course food that came included with the dorm room. In the evening we played cards and listened to the rain as we had a fully fledged tropical storm; the thunder was so loud that the beds vibrated!

The next day I moved on to Waya Island, a small place towards the south end of the chain. This was a return to the pre-manta Bay style, which I must say I prefered. Spent the day in the fijian manner, meaning doing very little save some snorkling and reading. In the evening, however, I was invited to join a Cava Cermony. This is a traditional fijian event where you sit cross legged on the ground and drink bowls of cava, a kind of root dried, chopped and distilled in water. It was not alcoholic, but it certainly made my tongue go numb! Still, it was a nice experience and quite an honour to be invited, as it is something that the fijian people do not really share with strange tourists. The day after was a great day! It was my birthday, and although I had kept it quiet, the one person I told passed it on to the staff and they made such a fuss! Firstly, I paid the customary $25 and went out ot the reef to watch some shark feeding. This started by one of the boys from the Island spear fishing for fish. The unfortunate animal was then chopped up and placed in the water to attract sharks and numerous other fish. While they approach we all left the boat and started snorkling around. I saw five reef sharks, and even got to touch one! This was one of the best activities I have done on my trip, and considering that doing a similar thing in Australia would have cost over $100, also one of the best value! In the early afternoon, before I left for my next Island, the staff on the Island produced a massive chocolate cake with "Happy Birthday Niel (close enough!!), 23", which they had baked especially for me while I was out playing with sharks! I was really touched, and, although not quite up to my mum's standard of cake, it was still delicious!!

The next day was to be my last night on the Yasawas, and I spent it on Wayaleilei Island. Again, we were hit by heavy rain, but that did not stop us playing in the sea! In the evening, we again had the pleasure of traditional fijian entertainment, this time with the added bonus of props such as spears! In the morning, before I left for the main Island, we again played beach volleyball. I had had a truely great week on the Islands and would reccomend to anyone making their way to fiji to spent as little time in nadi and the big cities as possible, and to get out and explore the islands!

On my return to Nadi, I had a few days just to chill out by the pool, which was needed after my hectic running about on the islands (not!). I did take a taxi tour out of the city to the coral coast, which was a less touristy area, and it was nice to see the real fiji, not the polished resorts in Nadi. A word to the wise though, the price of these tours seems to get more expensive once you are in the car, as they find loads fo extras to add on. That said, negiotiation is not only allowed but expected, however, do be a bit careful that you do not get stung!

With my time in Fiji coming to an end, I started my epic journey to Hawaii! This begun with a four hour journey to sydney, followed by a seven hour wait at that airport! After that I made a nine hour flight to hawaii, that ended with me arriving 10 minutes before I left Fiji, due to the crossing the date line!! When I got to Hawaii, due to a mess up with my flight, I only had 36 hours in the city! The one thing I really wanted to do was see the USS Arizona, the now submerged war memorial ship to the Pearl Harbour attacks. After a brief pause to sort myself out, I took one of the very cheap buses for an hour to reach the Harbour itself. The area on land is very underwhelming, the scenery domintated by grey concrete and a freeway bridge over the water. This was ok though, because the main event was obviously out on the water. I waited in line to get my ticket to board the navy ferry that would ship me out ot the observation deck direct above the wreck, but horror of horrors, they sold out before I could get one! I was, needless to say, quite disappointed by this, as this memorial was one of the reasons hawaii made it on to my trip at all. None the less, I was there and as I did not want to waste the trip, I took a tour of the USS Bowhind, a world war 2 submarine instead, which was also very interesting and an experience enhanced by the free audio tour. With the day drawing to a close, I returned to my hostel. In my dorm I met a couple of really cool dutch guys, and as it was my first and last night in Hawaii they decided we had to celebrate. We spent a very social night out at a local club, and even though it was a low key event, it was one of the best I had had since I left australia!

So, after my whirlwind stop in Honolulu, it was off to the mainland! I am currently in Los Angeles, and have already walked along the pathway of stars (stepping on Samuel L Jackson and Dolly Parton amongst others) and watched a film at the famous chinese theater on Hollywood Boulevard. Tomorrow night is the oscars so I may well go celeb hunting, and after that San Franciso and Las Vegas beckon me in a blaze of garishly neon fast food signs!! Will update soon!