Fiji Time - no need for a watch

BULA!!!

In the spirit of 'Fiji time' this blog is a little late. But when there are no clocks and no work to go to lateness becomes very subjective, as I have come to appreciate whilst in Fiji, the most chilled place on Earth.

Despite having only 2 weeks of island hopping in Fiji I feel I have learnt more about their culture than any other I have encountered on this trip. A combination of tropical climate, clear blue ocean and little to do other than eat, sleep, swim or perhaps laze in a hammock has provided both relaxation and, for me, an abundance of time to chat to the wonderful local people. In their presence I have learnt to embrace 'Fiji time' rather than worry about how many hours of tanning I could be fitting in. For this reason, I felt I didn't really fit in with the other visitors, but I was too busy learning Fijian and jamming on the ukulele to mind about that.

Having the odd occasion when I felt the need to be active allowed me to enjoy snorkeling at the picture-perfect  Blue Lagoon, messing about in a kayak or playing a competitive game of Volleyball come rain, shine or torrential downpour. One, more frequent, almost daily, activity was the Meke Fijian evening entertainment which varied from a few staff dancing to a CD to a full orchestra of voices and percussion instruments and dancers in grass skirts, occasionally wielding fire batons and swords. The participatory elements were always fun despite the actual shows getting rather repetitious by the second week. Never wasting an opportunity to dance, I was often the first audience-member up to learn the Bula dance or start the conga. My dancing skills were rather let down by my terrible fishing ones, I had one hand-line fishing lesson and caught nothing but a cold.

The best thing I caught in Fiji was the people's enthusiasm for life - even their greeting (Bula) means alive! The inter-island Rugby match we saw was a great example of the lively community spirit as people of all ages picniced on the side-lines and impromptu cheerleaders formed at the goals waving palm trees and chanting. Going to Church services both Sundays were further eye-openers, the first as the village was so terribly poor and the second, where they could afford mics, keyboards and speakers, was so sing-song pretty much everything had a tune. The only similarity between the two services was the major increase in congregation between the beginning and end of them - no one is ever in a rush or worried about being late in Fiji. I hope it stays that way!

Land of the Long White Cloud

With two weeks to spare before our flight out of New Zealand we found ourselves with little of the country left to explore and a long journey back north through previously visited places still to complete. Needless to say it hasn't been the most exciting part of the trip. Being re-acquainted with an abundance of spare time has, however, been somewhat rewarding for both my body (lots of lovely lie-ins) and my mind, which is beginning to reflect on the trip as a whole - more on that in my final blog - I bet you can't wait!

So, where the Maori's found long white clouds (and named the land accordingly) we have endured long 'big green bus' journeys but thankfully the clouds have been few and far between. If I were to name this country based on it's appearance it would be called 'Land of Lakes and Mountains under the Big Blue Sky'. From the stunning autumnal leaves of Queenstown reflected in it's lake, the mountains of Kaikoura flowing straight into the ocean, through the Canterbury plains that reminded us of home - complete with John Deere tractors, everywhere has been bathed in glorious sunshine. Even Windy Wellington and the beautiful Bay of Islands have had good weather for our stay. Unfortunately our Milford Sound experience was lacking in the blue sky department but atleats there was no precipitation that day. In a regoin which has an average annual rainfall of 7m, that was a miracle in itself.

To avoid inevitable boredom, without relying on our dwindling funds, we have visited many a free museum, sat in parks, walked the hills and doubled our list of books read. Window shopping has become one of our favourite past times despite it's tendency to disappoint as we find bargains that just won't fit in our backpacks. We have, also, invented games using our diaries to test our memories of the trip - it seems I have inherited my Mother's unusual memory for dates.

Now all our bus buddies have dispersed, homewards or in more tropical directions, our last days in New Zealand have felt rather lonely and cold (though presumably not by current English standards). Not to worry! Our long anticipated flight to Fiji is almost upon us. I am hoping to be able to name our final destination 'Land of tropical islands, white sand and turquoise water' or in other words... Paradise!

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Enjoy the rain for now - I will try to bring the weather back with me from Fiji (unless ofcourse there's a cyclone!