Fiji Island Paradise

We spent a wonderful 5 days on Malolo Island (www.maloloisland.com) which was such a relaxing time. We spent the days at the beach (which was only footsteps from our beautiful bure). We spent the time sun bathing and snorkelling. The snorkelling here was fantastic and there was a coral reef just of the beach with loads of fish. We have snorkelled in the Maldives and Egypt before and this was just as good. We saw some different fish we had not seen before elsewhere also.  The sun was very strong, on the first day we sat in it and liberally applied lots of suntan lotion (thanks for the donation Miz – finally finished it up) but we still got burnt. On subsequent days we sat in the shade. The food here was also great. We opted for a “meal plan” which meant we could have a wonderful 3 course meal in the evenings at a restaurant situated in the trees (strangely named ‘Tree Tops’). The resort is small (only 40 rooms) and most of the rest of the clientele are Aussies. So glad we chose to come here and escape from the other place.

Christmas in Fiji and Escape to an Island Paradise

Happy belated Christmas to everyone reading. We have spent the last week just chilling out round the pool. For Christmas the resort did manage to put on something different and we had a special 3 course meal (which actually consisted of things from the normal menu) but they did lay on some entertainment. Firstly we had a local Fijian choir who sang some traditional carols in Fijian which was really nice. We then saw some fire dancers who waved around fire which looked quite scary.

By this time we were getting a bit sick of the resort. There was not much to do (after all the things we have done in the last 4 months a small pool does not really do it for us anymore as our only entertainment). Also we knew that there was a lot more to Fiji than this resort and we really wanted to do some snorkelling. We were also beginning to get really depressed with the room. Occasionally bird poo (it could have been bats) somehow got through the rafters and dropped onto the bed. This was not a welcome present. Also we could cope with the geckos and cockroaches but we also discovered a tarantula like spider the size of your hand. It was fine when it stayed in one place. However one morning on taking a shower Chris discovered it on the shower curtain. He disturbed it and it literally jumped across the room.  Also the room was so dark and generally dirty.

 With this in mind we went to the local tour desk and asked about some snorkelling trips. These consisted of going out to one of the islands for the day. We asked her if it was possible to stay overnight on these islands and she said it was.  She then arranged for us to spend 5 nights at a beautiful island called Malolo.

It was not cheap (especially considering we had already paid for the other place), however it was definitely the right decision. We took the ferry out of Denaru to the island and here we are. The beach is beautiful, the sea warm and swimmable and we can snorkel right from the beach.  The bure (room) is clean and spacious.  We have a blissful 5 days to spend here before returning to the mainland and the other resort for the last night (which happens to be New Years eve).

Fiji - TRD (Total Resort Disappointment)

Flights Taken : 18

Countries Visited : 9

Mean number of insect bites per night between us so far in Fiji : 12

We took a very pleasant flight with Pacific Airways from Sydney to Nadi in Fiji. When we arrived in Nadi we got a taxi for the half hour journey to our resort. By this time it was dark so we could not see much. However alarm bells rang when we got near the place and there were lots of “Mobil” signs. We then saw the massive petro chemical plant just down from the resort. On arrival at the hotel it was a bit haphazard but we eventually got to our bure (a bure is basically a shed with a thatched roof). Our bure is set in the garden and has lots of plants growing round it (this means lots of insects and no natural day light in the room). The room is adequate and we don’t really have many complaints, it is a basic 3 star place (probably more like 2 star as alot of stuff in the room is not fitted properly). We have stayed in far worse places and there is a bed and a hot shower and once we bought some insect repellent to spray liberally in the room it was not so bad.

In the morning however our disappointment grew, at breakfast we were able to look out on to the “beautiful beach” (website description http://www.firstlandingfiji.com/) and this turned out to be mud flats. Breakfast was also very unsavoury with numerous birds jumping everywhere including the serving tongs. We decided to look at the pool and this was also quite run down and small but usable. After some consideration we decided to try and book in somewhere else, however as it was over Xmas and New Year there was nothing available. At this point the internet in the hotel stopped working and we were resigned to staying here.

So we have spent a couple of days here and its not really improved. The tide does come in at about 3pm (this is when I took the pics) and the place looks beautiful then. However it is very shallow so swimming/snorkelling is not really possible. There is also only one other eating place within walking distance. This involved a walk along a marina in the dark which we found a bit dicey. We are making the best of it though, we are in Fiji after all and its very hot 30 degrees +, definitely worse places to be. Not sure anything special will be happening here for Xmas which is a shame. We are also planning to do a few trips out where we can experience the snorkelling and swimming that we came here for.

 

Last day in Aus - Home and Away!!

After 2 fantastic weeks in Australia we have come to the end of this part of our world tour. We have thoroughly enjoyed Australia and it has definitely been a highlight (although there have been several in the past 4 months!). We decided to spend the last day at Manly and the northern beaches. We visited Manly when we last visited Sydney in 2003 and had a great day there so wanted to see if it had changed. It definitely hadn’t, a wonderful beach and great walks along the coast round to smaller secluded bays which we enjoyed.




We then drove further north from Manly. This was because Ruth had seen a place on the map called Palm Beach and fancied a visit. This entailed a drive through some exclusive neighbourhoods with beautiful houses backing onto the water. There were also loads of brilliant beaches along the route. We arrived at Palm Beach and had a walk round. To our surprise we discovered it was the place where the famous Aussie soap opera “Home and Away” was filmed. This was a total coincidence and it definitely did make up for our failure to find Ramsey Street when in Melbourne. As avid followers of the soap in the late 80s and early 90s (well Ruth was - loved Bobbie, Frank and Mr Fisher!!) we had to have our pics taken outside the surf club (Alf was not there though – shame).

Summer Bay !!

So a great end to our Australian visit. Australia is such an amazing country and the people there do not realise how lucky they are compared to UK. There is so much space everywhere for everyone. Everything is geared to an outdoor lifestyle. You can pull up to a beach with free parking right on the front and all the amenities are there (toilets, free BBQs, picnic tables, showers etc) and this is in even the smallest of places. You can always find a car parking space even at peak times. Even the traffic was fine, we drove round Melbourne and Sydney and did not encounter any problems at all (we had even set the sat nav to avoid the toll roads). So Australia is somewhere we love to come back to one day, hope its not too soon!!

Out and about around the Sydney Area

We have spent the last couple of days just soaking up the atmopsphere in and around this amazing city. We have done alot of walking around the city and we have also taken full advantage of the hire car (and the trusty Sat Nav). The temperature has been disapointing in the low 20s which is unseasonally cool here for the time of year. The mornings have been cloudy but by the afternoon it has become bright and sunny but there is always a persistant wind. The driving has been fine (well done Chris), sometimes the Sat Nav gets totally confused in the city (because of all the tall buildings) but we are not in a rush!!.
We have made 2 major trips out of the city firstly to the Blue Mountains to the West. This was a great day out where we went to the sight of an abanded coal mine in Katoomba where there is a cable car and very steep railway to get down to the bottom where we did a long walk taking in the temperate rain forest. There was also the biggest waterfall we had ever seen going over the cliff (which we could admire from the cable car).

Entrance to coal mine (WG - sorry its not tin!)

Can't resist a tree fern

The Three Sisters rocks at Katoomba

View from Echo Point over the Valley at Katoomba

We also spent an afternoon at the iconic Bondi Beach where we watched the surfers braving the waves.

Bondi Beach

Overlooking Bondi



Typical parrot - really common here

On another day we drove about 1.5 hours north of the City to the Central Coast. We stopped on the way at the Australian Reptile Park (Ruth found a free voucher in a tourist magazine). As well as all the reptiles it also had some other animals and Chris quickly made friends.

New Friend no 1 -  a wombat

New friend No 2 (the bag of food helped!)

We then drove further on up the coast to The Entrance. It literally was on the sea at the enterance to an inland lake. There we saw the local pelicans being fed (they all appeared and waited politely just before feeding time). Chris was also very envious of the numerous fishermen around.

On the beach at The Entrance





Pelican feeding at The Entrance

Back in the City at Darling Harbour





Sydney !!!

Flights Taken :  17

Hotel rooms stayed in : 35

Most expensive internet encountered: $99 for 7 days (thats £66 – RIP OFF! @ Travelodge in Sydney)

We caught a flight from Melbourne and decided to rent a car from the airport for the duration of our stay here (7 nights). We decided to do this as we much preferred the freedom to get out of the city and do some daytrips. We have also visited Sydney before and although it is an amazing city we have seen it all already and we just thought that 7 days was a long time. With this in mind we have trips planned in all directions from the city coming up (not East though thats the sea!). Also we might as well get some more use out of Edna (we have also discovered that she is loaded with the New Zealand maps also - bonus).

We arrived at our city centre hotel and once Chris got over the cost of the internet (essential to keep the dot com wheels of csfsoftware turning) we began to settle in.

The next day we embarked on a 5 hour self directed walking tour of the city centre. This started at the hotel taking in the shops on Pitt Street, the Rocks, the harbour bridge (walked on it), circular quay, the opera house, a ferry to Darling Harbour which we walked round then back to the hotel. On arrival back at the hotel we were knackered but managed to regroup to go out in the evening.

Sydney defiantly remains the most scenic city we have visited, if you have to live in a city it seems the ideal. It also reminded us slightly of the start of our trip back in Istanbul (seems ages ago now). Anyway here’s some of the pics of our manic walking tour today.

Walking on the harbour bridge

Writing a postcard to his Mum !!

Side of the Opera House looking towards Botanical Gardens

Leaving Circular Quay on a ferry

Darling Harbour