So, Fiji! We gonna be here 2 weeks instead of 4 days, which is what we got to spend in Hawaii instead of 2 weeks 'cause of the accommodation problem. I'm really glad we did as it is a fantastic place. We literally got off the plane welcomed by a fijiian band (at 5 in the morning!) and dragged into a travel agents. We were told we would be best off going out to the islands cause of the military coup or something?. Next thing we knew we were on a boat for 5 hrs on our way to the island the furthest away from the mainland! When we arrived we were in sooo much pain we hadnt realised the strength of the sun 'cause of the cool breeze and we were so tired we fell asleep in it!?!? I had to stay out of the sun the next few days as i was a walking blister, lol. But there was plenty to do. We snorkelled in the Blue Lagoon (where the film was made), trekked through dense jungle and up mountains (fantastic views of the island), swam in crystal clear water and bathed on a whiter than white sandy beach (Orsmans Bay), Chilled in hammocks under coconut trees, watched the locals perform theirs songs and dances. It was fantastic, but after 8 days we were getting board so after some tearful goodbyes (we made some good friends with the locals and felt like part of the family we had been there so long!) we caught the boat to Manta Ray, it was a lovely island and im told you can swim with Manta Rays (in season) but there was nothing to do as their boat was broke which they used for skurfing and tubing and the board they used for wake boarding was too! as was the sky tv, the guy who done the massages was off and the fijiian band was none existant, ha ha but hey no complaining im in paradise right. Plus after 8 days of no alcohol a Tia Maria and coke was bloody heaven on earth! We stayed there 2 nights and it was back to Nadi (mainland) ready to catch our flight to N.Z It was a nice 2 days overcast but we had a lot of sun (no i'm not tanned, i'm whiter than when i left England!). The town was interesting, there is a big Indian influence which you can see but i love all that, great indian restaurants and exotic saari shops. On the whole they are really nice friendly people, living in a fantastic place and love tourists with all their stories of travels far and wide living out of a little bag! cause lets face it they will probably never get to leave their island let alone the mainland, except if they join the military and come to England, sad but true. Anyway i've gabbled on enough i'm sure you're all board now, speak to you all when i get to N.Z. Take care, Love and peace ellise xxx