My Fijian Experience

     So it has been forever since I've posted anything but it was really crazy the week before I left for spring break and then I was gone for a week and couldn't post anything.  However, since it was so busy, there wasn't much I did before I left for spring break so I'm going to begin with my time in Fiji.  Yes, I went to Fiji for Spring Break and yes, it is spring break because our seasons are opposite and Spring started on September 1st.  I went with 9 other housemates.  We left 4 September (the Australian way to write dates or rather just the non-American way) through 11 September.  It was a 4-5 hour flight (view from my seat in picture to the right) and although we left our  house at 10 am in Australia, we did not get to our hotel til 10 pm that night.  Our hotel was a 3 hour drive away from the airport but it was worth it because where we went- Pacific Harbour- is the adventure capital of Fiji.  Our hotel was a four star hotel and it was absolutely beautiful.  We could see two other islands from the hotel and they have a swimming pool and a beach right there (picture at the very top is from the deck of the hotel). 

     On Monday we went Ziplining which was really cool because you could do tricks and stuff on the ropes.  I went completely upside down and also did a few spins on the ropes.  It consisted of 7 different ropes that led over rivers, rain forest, tree canopies, etc.  It was a spectacular view.  The other days were really cloudy so we couldn't do any of the water sports really but we were able to go kayaking.  We kayaked down the river on which the movie Anaconda was filmed.  I learned that I am a beast kayaker.  We raced everyone and we beat even the guys.  Being a very friendly and fun group, we met many of the hotel staff and other guests.  One of the hotel guys Ratu really liked me and so helped us plan some cool things.  Ratu showed us how to climb a coconut tree (picture to the left), husk a coconut to drink from, and took us on a boat ride to another island.  We climbed the coconut tree kind of like Mulan climbs that pole in the movie.  Ratu climbed all the way to the top of the coconut tree which was probably 30 ft high and got coconuts for us.  He took a machete and started slicing the coconut and we drank directly from it.  Another cool thing we learned how to do was to make a fan out of the leaves from a coconut tree (picture below to the right).  We weren't able to take it home with us since it is a plant but it was really really cool and hopefully I can find a way to make one again. 

     Another awesome adventure that Ratu set up for us was a bike ride to a waterfall.  Ellena (the one girl in m house that is not from America and is from England and one of my closest friends here) and I really wanted to ride bikes and we really wanted to see a waterfall so we asked him if someone could take us.  Apparently the hotel used to do trips to this waterfall  but hadn't done it in 4 months.  We were the first to do it so that was really exciting.  We biked 5 miles just to get there on an all rock road.  Also it poured the day before so some parts of the road were knee deep in water.  We took off our shoes and just had to walk through the mud with the bike.  Pretty nasty because then we had to bike the rest of the 2 miles barefoot and muddy.  But we then hiked up a hill to a huge huge huge waterfall.  We passed that and went on to 7 more waterfalls that were all connected by swimming holes.  We sat under the waterfalls, climbed through the waterfalls, and swam.  It was so so so pretty and the water felt amazing after biking for so long.  The ride home was much less enjoyable because I was so sore from the first 5 miles and the rocks did not make my butt feel very good so getting back on the bike was less than comfortable to say the least.  But we made it back and it was some of the prettiest sights I had seen yet.  That is until.....

     Ellena and I went white water rafting.  No one else wanted to come because it was kind of expensive and they had already spent $700 USD each on drinks and food that week but since Ellena and I did not spend that much, we had enough for the adventure.  And yes Dad, to prove how well I am doing at spending money, I only spent $30 the entire week at the hotel not counting adventure trips.  So we had to be ready by 6:45 in the morning and we drove 2 hours to get to the river.  The rapids were very small, only class 2 and 3 but seemed more like 1 and 2, nothing compared to what my family did in West Virginia.  But, it was the most amazing views I have ever seen.  To describe how low key the rapids were, I took my non-waterproof camera on the trip and had no problems with it getting wet.  So fortunately I have tons and tons of pictures and they are all amazing.  There was one waterfall that was called the Massage Waterfall and we got to stand under it as it massaged our backs.  All the guides were from the local village in which they have no cars, no electricity, eat wild boar, bathe in the river, etc.  We were able to  hear many stories about village life.  Our guide also taught us how to count to ten in Fiji.  So now I know to count to ten in 5 languages (English, Spanish, French, Bambara- the language spoken in Mali, Africa, and Fiji).  For my own purposes of remembering them they are or at least sound like dua, rua, tolu, va, lima, oro, vatu, walu, viuwa, tinni.
     Now I'm back at 172 Coogee Bay Road with all my housemates and its back to reality and school work.  It was a fabulous week but Sydney feels like home and I missed it.  I had so many new experiences in Fiji and it was the greenest place I've ever seen in my life.