Fiji
Fiji is, without a doubt, the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen. I could tell you all about the miles of perfect beach, the clarity of the water, the lush green leaves of the coconut trees that even seem to curve _just right _and how I spent days lying in a hammock writing my journal and listening to the soft sound of the sea, but I just don’t think I’d get close to portraying how utterly unbelievably perfect it was. Instead, I’ll tell you that I got sunstroke on my first day sunning myself on the boat out to the island, then spent 3 days in bed feeling rough. During this time, Sarah managed to catch some kind of stomach bug, and so did a guy named Paul that we ended up traveling with, while Helen got bitten by every mosquito in Fiji. All in all, we had a lot of bad luck with our Fiji trip. Oh yeah, and it rained. A lot. Not every day, mind, there was still enough sun for me to get sunburnt again (honestly mum, I was wearing loads of sunblock), and I still don’t have a decent tan. I went swimming with sharks, we snorkelled in underground caves, we partied on Beachcomber (THE party island in Fiji), we failed to understand Australian Football, and generally had an amazing time doing very little.
On our second island we were treated to a glimpse of how Fijians live. All of the workers on Kuata island grow up on a village just across the water so the villagers often hang out at the resort. We drank kava with them, which is the local drink of choice: it’s leaves ground up in water and it tastes horrible. They also showed us some traditional dances and rituals and all knew our names. A true example of how friendly the Fijians are!
Now I’m in New Zealand, where it rains just like home and it’s cold just like home and I wish it was sunny. I can’t wait to see this country though, it sounds pretty awesome.