Hi Guys,

Hope you're all well. It's been a while since I last posted, this is due to being constantly on the go and then fighting the elements in Australia, and then ultra relaxing in Fiji, which has meant it's been nearly a month since my last post.

Since then, I went to the Whitsunday Islands. I travelled overnight to Airlie Beach, and when I arrived it was Australia Day, which basically means everyone drinks all day, so it would be rude not to join in. It was a really hot day which made it even better, and we drank lots. I woke up the next day not feeling the best and about to go on my 3 day boat trip, I began to regret all the alcohol!

The boat I was on was called Avatar, it was a tri-marang, it looked like something that Batman would have, except it was white. It was a mean looking thing. The sleeping quarters however were tiny so i decided to just sleep on deck. The first day started off wet but the weather suddenly improved and we spent most of it travelling on the boat. We did stop for a snorkelling session, but it required swimming against the current to the area so I got the first mate to give me a lift there and back in the small speed boat. That night I slept on the deck, it was surprisingly windy and cold, there were reports of a cyclone coming, but I did manage some sleep. The stars out there were amazing, it's the clearest most lit up sky I've ever seen, and I saw so many shooting stars. That was the highlight of my trip.

The next day we went to Whitehaven beach, which was really nice and then some more snorkelling, again I made full use of the speed boat. I forgot to mention we had to wear stinger suits and head protectors, some people said they felt like they were dressed as gimps, i thought i looked like Kick-Ass from the film.....

I think boats are the only type of transport that I'm not completely comfortable on, the water got choppy and I couldn't bear to go inside when it was like that, so getting food was a problem, I had to be quick otherwise I started to feel sick really quick. I survived though! The final morning the water was really choppy so I skipped breakfast, I don't think it helped that a few of us had been drinking the night before, although we were the last ones to go to sleep at 11.30pm!!

After returning, I took the bus the next day to Cairns. By now the weather had turned foul and no boats were leaving so I timed my trip perfectly. After arriving in Cairns, I was told on the 3rd day I was there that we would all be evacuated and moved to a hostel out of the city. As my friends had moved to a hostel nearby, which was apparently cyclone proof (a grade 5 cyclone by the name of yasi was on it's way straight to Cairns), I decided to move there. I'm not sure how you test buildings to be grade 5 cyclone proof but it did look like a sturdy building. That day everyone was buying supplies from the shops, for some people it was like they thought they would be trapped for 2 weeks, they bought so much food and water. I bought 2 tins of beans, and some pasta, and some alcohol, after all we were going to be trapped inside. The people in my first hostel were later evacuated to a sports hall where it stunk, lucky escape!!

The next day, we were locked in from 11am. We spent the afternoon going to rooms and partying, but each time the bouncers, who were maori's and massive, kept finding us and telling us to go to our rooms, not really sure why as it was only a bit of wind at that time, but they weren't very sociable so you couldn't really reason with them. After being chased a few times and finally getting on the internet to be told to go to my room, and then seeing a reflection of the massive bouncer behind me in the window, I gave up and went to my room. I'd heard people were so scared that they had put mattresses against the windows and taped them up. We didnt do anything. I sat and waited for soemthing to happen. There was quite a bit of wind, but only slightly worse than a gusty day back home, and I ended up falling asleep. Apparently the cyclone missed Cairns at the last hour.

As a result of the cyclone my flight to Melbourne was cancelled, which meant I couldn't go and ultimately would miss Neighbours night, which was really hard to take, as this was on my must do list for travelling. Guess Dr Karl Kennedy will have to wait to meet me now. I ended up going back to Sydney for a couple of days, where I emt up with some friends.

I then fly to Fiji, which I was extremely excited about. I was joined the next day by my friend Emma, who had decided to come to Fiji and found out I was going the same time. We had met in Fraser Island and the whole group had travelled pretty much up to Cairns together. We spent a few days in Nadi before setting off to the islands. We stayed at Coral View, Manta Ray and Waya Lai Lai. The people there were so friendly and each time we arrived at an island they would always sing their hello song, and when we left the good bye song, I love all the music they sing. It was so chilled on the islands, and I was amazed that all the staff knew my name. We made lots of new friends, and I spent lots of time in hammocks. I was always hungry though as meal times were always set out so I was always clock watching!

On our final island Waya Lai Lai, we were all invited to church to celebrate Waya Lai Lai day. It was a nice experience but they made us sing Amazing Grace, which probably wasn't fun for the people listening, although they did give us a sympathy round of applause at the end. Somehow they kept calling me Sam on Waya Lai Lai, I couldn't be bothered to correct them all the time so I just went with it. I think the islands got better as we went along, and I was happy with our choices. When we returned to Nadi I was a bit gutted but also glad as the rain had come and another cyclone was on it's way. Emma was a real cool person to travel with in Fiji, I'm glad she came along, so Emma if you're reading this then thanks! We were like brother and sister, she reminded me a lot of my sister. I had an amazing time in Fiji, and it's now my favourite place so far.

I arrived into Auckland today. I'd heard some bad stories of the airport process here, but I have to say except for Fiji, where we were greeted by a singing group and the most easy going immmigration, Auckland airport was the best. I got through immigration no problem, the guy was relaxed which helped. Then at customs I declared I had hiking boots and the woman who checked them cleaned them for me. I was really happy about that. I was through with no problems and got the bus to my hostel. I've bought my ticket for the Kiwi Experience bus, and hopefully I'm leaving tomorrow travelling south but I'm on the waiting list so will have to wait and see.

I'm really excited as I have a feeling my trip is just going to get better and better now, there's so many cool things to do in New Zealand, I have to do a sky dive and also a bungy jump, the 134m one, i've seen some videos that have scared me but I have to do it!

Hopefully I'll post again in a week or 2. Take care