Days #27, 28, & 29. Sydney/Fiji.

Spending the night in the Christchurch AP wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  I actually got a couple good solid hours of sleep.  However, I didn't realize all the food places closed pretty early, so I did go to bed a little bit hungry.  Had a bag of chips and some trail mix.  Now this is the part where you will say, "Heather is retarded."  I spend the night in the friggin airport, right?  And somehow I end up making it to the gate with only 30 minutes to spare!  

Arrived Sydney around 10 am and got to my hostel - The Blue Parrot - at 11:30.  I had looked up the hostels in Sydney and Blue Parrot got some good reviews.  After spending some time in this very expensive ($50 American) dorm, I realized that it's not so popular because it is especially nice.  It's because the two Kazakhstani sisters who run it are drop dead gorgeous!!!  Seriously, they are soooo pretty.  They greet you with a smile and a whiff of perfume.  Dressed to the nines in the latest fashions.  Perfect make-up.  Yup, they'll keep the rave reviews coming for the Blue Parrot :)

Took the metro to the Opera House and Harbor Bridge.  Walked around that area for a while.  Worked up an appetite, so I stopped at a pub and ordered the Australian version of the amazing NZ wedges.  NZ's are better :)  Of course I was thirsty too.  An ice cold pear cider did the trick.

Got up at 5 am the next morning to catch my flight out of Sydney to Fiji!  Accidentally left my Nalgene water bottle with the "Welcome to OB: Please do not feed our bums" sticker on it.  Anyways, made it to Fiji in the afternoon and wandered around looking for my driver.  I waited for quite a while.  Finally this slightly feminine Fijian man in a lime green "Hawaiian tourist" type shirt, with sculpted eyebrows and a flower in his hair, came up to me and asked where I was going.  "Bamboo Hostel" I replied.  His eyes got wide and he said OMG I used to work there!  He ushered me outside and called a taxi over, insisting I take it to the hostel and they'd pay the driver.

As soon as Bamboo came into view, I saw that there were tons of people playing volleyball and I immediately fell in love with the place!!!  Got checked in by a guy named Samu who was slow as molasses.  Oh I forgot, I'm on "Fijian time" now :)  A very tall lady showed me to my room and another Fiji boy carried my huge pack up the stairs for me.  Such service!  After paying for my room, I immediately went down to their cafe/kitchen and ordered some fried eggplant slices and a banana pineapple smoothie.  I was STARVING.  The eggplant was amazing.  The cook dipped each slice in a batter and fried it to a golden crisp.  Served with sweet chili sauce, of course.  My smoothie was really frothy, blended with fresh fruit and ice cream.  MMMmmmm.  After that I got in on the volleyball action.  So much fun.  It was more like jungle ball though, as everyone seemed to think it was a one-person team and that one person was THEM.  A lot of confusion on the court, but still such an awesome time.  It started to rain.  I dropped out after that and just watched from the thatch-roofed open air dining area.  One by one the locals started joining in, and eventually they had the entire court to themselves.  Now they were good.

I sat in the stifling evening heat, swatting at mosquitoes and eating a most tasty traditional dinner.  A slice of tuna baked in garlic, fried eggplant, and boiled kava (like a sticky potato) covered in a silky, dreamy coconut sauce.  Hit the spot!  Then I participated in the Kava ceremony.  The locals took a bunch of this ground up root and seeped it in water like a tea.  Then they passed around coconut bowls filled with the brown liquid for you to drink.  It tasted like mud.  And it made my mouth numb.  How the process goes is, when they hand you a bowl, you have to clap and say "Bula!" (means "hello"), drink, and clap 3 more times.  Some people were playing guitars, some were singing - mostly Fijian songs, and the hostel owner, Richard, was playing his clarinet.  After a few rounds, I went to bed and slept the whole night through.  Guess it's like Nyquil too, haha.  (I know I will prolly be getting an e-mail from dad on this one, hi dad!  love you!  :)

The next morning I woke up to beautiful sunshine pouring through my window!  No more rain.  After enjoying Bamboo's "free breakfast" of toast, papaya, and tea, I went over to the main office to try and make some headway with Samu.  We decided the best plan for me would be the 7 day, 6 night Yasawa Island hopper.  This package costs about 400 US dollars and includes transport, boat fair, lodging at the resort/hostel of my choice on the island of my choice, and most meals.  For the 5-star resorts, meals would cost extra.  It took Samu over an hour to call and book me this package, write a receipt for another night at Bamboo, and reserve my last 4 nights at the Octopus Resort on Waya Island.  ONE HOUR.  This Fijian time…. I've never experienced anything like it!  At any rate, I was glad to have it all sorted.  After that, was going to walk the 15 feet over to Smuggler's Cove hostel and bootleg their pool, but one of the locals, "Rico", had a better idea.  Take a taxi out to these secret rocks and jump into the river!  Yea!!!

This sounded way better than sitting around at a boring pool.  A guy from Germany wanted to go too, so we hopped into a taxi with Rico and took off for the rocks.  After a bumpy 45 minute ride during which the driver careened all over the road to avoid "obstacles" (i.e. semi's crossing, horses, muddy sink holes), we made it safely there.  My first jump was off the high rocks, and of course, I hurt my ear.  This always happens when I go deep in any kind of water.  I get an earache :(  This one was really painful too.  We stayed at this beautiful spot for a few hours, basking in the sun and swimming in the cold water.  I ate a can of baked beans for lunch.  I wanted protein, but something healthier… not fried, in other words.  This seemed an easy answer.  However, it didn't taste quite as good as I hoped.  I watched while everyone else kept jumping off the rocks.  But for me, my earache just kept getting worse.  All the way back I had to hold my shirt over my ear trying to keep the wind out (the taxi's windows didn't work, you had to either manually push them up or down).  Then I went to lie down for a while, hoping the water would eventually run out.  No such luck.  So I finally went to the office and they poured peroxide down my canal.  It feels a little better but I'm hopeful it will clear up overnight.

They are serving lamb or chicken tonight, neither of which I particularly like.  Instead I made myself the last of my Easy Mac that I brought all the way from America!  Can you believe I still have some after a month of traveling??  And I also cooked my last package of instant mashed taters.  Rico had never tried mac n cheese before, so I gave him a taste, apologizing that it really wasn't the "real thing" and don't judge it until you've had a big bowl of cheesy, bubbly homemade goodness straight out of the oven.

I can't believe how dirt cheap everything is here.  Seriously.  Can't wait to explore the Yasawa Islands!

~

Plan:  Yasawa Island hopping - tomorrow should be Beachcomber at Mamanuca Island

Budget: 

Sydney - $37 hostel, $16 shuttle, $4 metro pass, $9 pear cider, $8.50 wedges, $7 Indian food  ***in Ozzy dollars which means everything is way more in US dollars :'(  

Fiji day #1 - $8 hostel, $1 fried eggplant, $2.50 smoothie, $4 dinner, $2.50 drink

Fiji day #2 - $8 hostel, $20 taxi, $3 lunch, $1.50 water