The Rakiraki Hotel

... other wise nobody would have picked me up!). The car that picked me up was full of three guys, and the second I sat down, I noticed the 3 rifles in the car with me, for a second I thought that it really wasn't going to be my day, but it turned out they had just returned from a hunting trip.
I returned to the crash site to find Rob and Ben freezing half to death, but luckily we didn't have to wait long for the cavelry to arrive. The local garage were out fairly ...

... is set back from the beach and protected from the wind so still nice to spend hours around there. The local beer and cocktails are both really nice too and the food is very good. On our first night we also go to see "fire-walking" and a "Kava Ceremony". We try not to show our disappointment that this does not involve copious amounts of free sparkling wine... Day 53-58 Today we move onto "Mana Island ...

Fiji is beautiful and full of lovely friendly people. On the islands, the food and accomodation is very basic and unpretentious. We met so many people here in a brief chill out week after the Kalalua Trail in Hawaii. We were surprised to see so many similarities in Fiji to home, the food for one is surprisingly similar ...

... was always THIS good! Some words from Cathy: I was quite impressed with all the "different" things Brandt has tried while we've been in Fiji. He tried scallops for the first time. He ate crab from the actual shell, taking apart and digging in for the meat...and he loved it! He actually ate shrimp...and not just normal shrimp that you can pick up at Safeway...he ate the shrimp where you have to peal the head and body off! I even get a little ...

... to wonder as to the extent of their poverty back home) but rather being 'treated' to an impromptu French lesson by French-Guy-Who-Videos-Everything who seemed completely oblivious to the fact that he was interrupting their exam! After our school visit, our next stop was a distinctly uninviting-looking river for water games and 'bili-bili' rafting. Wading waist-deep in the muddy river, we were split first into two teams to play a fun game of water-based American football ...

... eggplant, taro, bananas, watermelon, papaya, pineapple, fish, chicken, egg or cheese finger sandwiches, spinach, and greens. It was delicious. We all sat on the floor (that was interesting!) and sampled everything. We asked the women whether this was a typical meal, and they said most of the food was traditional, but the amount and presentation was more like they served for holiday meals. We talked about families and how Fijian and American families differed. The ...

... into the town of Raki Raki, where we were to rendez-vous with Ana, (our Ravi Ravi friend and liason). By day three of our trip we had already gone more than half-way around the island on the Akbar Express or maybe it was the Lautoka Express. Either way, it was by bus, a very loud transmissioned, open-air sort of bus. Ana and her three children, Mereleki age 13, Leno 9, and little Louisa, 2, hosted us during our stay in ...

... likoolist, mis oli üks väike roosa hoonetekompleks, millel ei olnud aknaid ees ja tudengeid võis seal korraga õppida umbes 100-kond... Mida edasi, seda mägisemaks meie ümbrus muutus ning alates kusagilt Rakirakist hakkasime liikuma järjest keskmaa suunas. Kogu saart ääristab 2 põhimaanteed - lõuna pool on Queens road ning põhjapool Kings road. Kohalikud kutsusid mõlemat lausa highway'ks. Kui Queens road oli üsna maantee moodi (va pidevalt tee ääres luusivad ning ka mõnikord ...

Hellloooooo, This is just a quickie to let you all know that i'm all ok and having fun! Fiji is reet hot and the tan is coming along pretty sound like, i spent one day looking like a lobster but it's gone a nice brown now, yippee! But, sadly it's still not as hot here as it is at home, as if england is warmer than fiji.......hhhhmmmm, it's all very odd! I've got a lot of tales to tell you i'll give you a wee peep into what i've been up too, these tales involve sharks, islands, wrecks ...