Monday 30th March-

Last Thursday we went to the Botanic Gardens. We bought a small picnic on the way there. It was a nice sunny day and we ate our food on a bench, attracting a lot of big scary birds and cockatoos. We walked around the gardens and it took a long time as it was very big with lots of different sections. There were some ponds, a rose garden, a rockery and a herb garden that we could smell from far away. There were a lot of big spiders hanging about too, and one section of trees had thousands of big bats hanging in them. We tried to look around the Government House, but you could only get in on a tour.
On Friday we went to the Blue Mountains. The day started off cloudy and rainy, but it was our last chance to go. The train to Katoomba took about 2 hours, and by the time we got there the sun was starting to come out. We got a pass for the bus that goes all around the area to all the sights. It was a London double decker and all the Asian people were fascinated by it. We took some photos of the mountains, but they weren't very blueat the time. We saw a couple of small waterfalls, and a rock formation called 'the three sisters'. We had a short ride on the world's steepest incline train that took us down the mountain (it used to be used to transport coal). We then walked along a path through the woods and it had a few areas of scenes and facts from when it was used as a coal mine. We then got a cable car back up the mountain. We did a few more walks at different stops and then eventually got the train back to Newtown.
On Saturday we were leaving Australia for Fiji. Our flight was at 2pm, a bit later than it was originally supposed to be. Annoyingly, the Newtown train station was closed that morning, so we had to get a bus to Central and then a train to the airport. We had some food and a look around the shops, and we seem to have got into the habit of finding people giving out free samples of Baileys. The flight over was fine, and we had our best aeroplane meal yet- an oriental chicken and rice dish, some melon, and a brownie. When we got to Nadi it was very hot. We got quite confused in the airport about where we were supposed to go because we weren't sure if people were touts or just being friendly. We waited ages to be picked up by our hostel, and all the other people gradually left until there was just us. A friendly lady who felt sorry for us phoned our hostel and a guy came and got us. It was about 8 or 9 pm by this time. We hate arriving at places in the dark because we can't get used to the place or have a look around. We went to bed, and during the night there was some heavy rain. Our room was quite nice and big and we can hear the sea at night. All that separates the hostel from the beach is a small swimming pool. There are no shops nearby so we just have to eat in the bar. There are about 4 dogs, some puppies and a cat wandering around. If you show a dog some attention it will follow you around all day. It was cloudy but warm, but the sun broke through a bit later. We booked a 6 day tour arond the Yassawa Islands for Tuesday. That evening there was a band playing on the beach so we watched them while we had our dinner and some drinks. One of the dogs joined in one of the songs with some howling.

Friday 3rd April-

On Monday the sun eventually came out so we sat outside by the pool. For dinner we went to Smugglers cove, which is another hostel nearby, and it was a lot nicer and more hotel-like, so we booked 2 nights in their dorm for when we get back off our trip.
Tuesday morning was the start of our island trip. We were picked up in a bus at 7.15am and taken to Port Denarau. We checked in and got on the Catamaran. Fijian men seem to have super-human strength, carrying 3 or 4 of the big rucksacks at once. There were loads of stops on the way to our island (Coral View) and it took about 4 hours to get there. We had to get on to each island by another small boat, which involved a transfer in the middle of the sea, and then near the island you jump out and wade te rest. There were some Fijian women waiting for us (although sometimes you can't tell as the men wear skirts too). We all had to shout 'BULA' and they would shout it back, this is the fijian welcome. We then went into the main area for lunch and we got chatting to another couple and 2 girls on our table. The food there was OK- breakfast was bread or fruit or cereal, luch was a rice dish, and dinner was a buffet. We also had afternoon tea and cake. After dinner they put on some entertainment. There was a small band playing and there was some fijian singing and dancing. We had to join in with some dancing games- limbo and 'pass the stick'. Our room was a little hut, which was quite cool, although the shower was cold. Our first night and day there it rained a lot, but luckily our last day was very sunny so we could sit out n the hammocks. When we left they sang us another song. We next went to Korovou eco-resort. We were welcomed there with more singing and another 'Bula!', and a flower put in our hair. Our room here is another little hut, and this time our shower is nice and warm, although we get many short powercuts throughout the day. The food here is very similar to Coral View, but a bit nicer. Last night we were entertained by some Fijian dancers, and we had to join in with a bula dance and musical statues! The days here have been quite warm and sunny so we have been chilling out by the pool. The beach is about 5 metres from our front door, but the tide is often in. Today we tried making a bangle out of a coconut ( i say we, Helen supervised Chris making one). You had to whack it on a stick to take off the outer shell thing, then saw off a bangle shaped piece, scoop out the coconut flesh and then sand it and varnish it. Ours is a bit of a weird shape and too big, but cool non-the-less.
Everyone in Fiji is on 'Fiji time'- which means they're very relaxed and take their time.

Monday 6th April-

On Friday night there was a dancing and fire show which was very good. The fire show involved 3 guys twirling some sticks around that were on fire at both ends, although they dropped them a few times. We got talking to a guy on the trip who turned out to be from Derby, the next village to Helen's!
Saturday was even hotter, so after checking out, we sunbathed by the pool. After lunch we moved on again to Bounty Island. It was quite a long boat journey so we didn't get there until about half 5. The island is very small and beautiful, and it is where they filmed 'Celebrity Love Island'. We were shown to our hut, which was similar to the other 2.There were 2 big spiders in there, and a gecko on Helen's rucksack (hoping that it had just crawled on to there and hadn't hitched a lift from Korovou). The food there was very good. For dinner we had a buffet, and for once it included red meat- sausages and some little steaks- very welcomed after all the fish and chicken. Breakfast included cereal, toast and pancakes, and lunch was another buffet that included sweet n sour pork. On Sunday we took advantage of the free snorkelling gear. We could snorkel right infront of the resort and it was really good. Even where it was really shallow there were still lots of fish. We did some swimming in the pool and sat by it reading until we had to leave for Nadi at about 5. We got the boat and then a free coach to Smugglers Cove on Nadi Bay. The dorm has about 30 beds in it- which should make an interesting nights sleep.