Hi all!
So as you can see, it's clearly been a LONG time since we wrote to provide updates on our lives!
This has been unintentional, although it speaks to the reason for this blog in general, which I originally created yes, for our trip, but also to keep people up to date on what's going on in our lives when we all live so far away. Yet we've been SO busy, the blog has already fallen by the wayside! Yikes!
Ok, I know I know, now that we're back from our EPIC ADVENTURE, how exciting could life possibly be?? Well... I figured this post could serve as a quick recap, as well as a springboard for a pretty exciting adventure ahead...but more on that in a minute!
So! Since I am normally SUPER long winded - I have decided to bypass all that and get right to the point. HERE is what we've been up to the past few months since arriving back stateside!:
- Jon and I lived with our parents for a few weeks while we got readjusted to USA living.
- Jon applied for jobs while I worked on my photography website, Focus on Joy Photography
- After about 2 weeks of applying, Jon got FOUR job offers, because he is a baller.
- Jon accepted a position at Speight, Marshall, and Francis in Richmond, VA, with a 6 month training period at their office in Virginia Beach.
- We are currently living in an apartment in Virginia Beach, butttttttt......... we are in contract to purchase a home in Richmond, VA at the end of August!!
WHEW!
I think I got out all the big news!!
Oh yea! One more thing. Since Jon is busting his tail at his new job and I am patiently awaiting our move to Richmond to really hit the ground running with my photography business, I have decided to embark on a cross country adventure!! (Told ya there was big news ahead ;-)).
So! I'm hoping to write again semi-regularly while travelling across the country! My travels will take me to over 20 states spanning from Virginia to Maine to Texas and California (and back again).
Look out for exciting updates on my "Cross Country Extravaganza!" which you can find right here in the coming weeks!
See you on the flip side, readers ;-).
With love,
The Perpetual Nomad with the Most Amazing Husband Who 100% Recognizes Her Insatiable Wanderlust
Thursday, July 14, 2016
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
Travelling to Oceania
So you want to travel to Oceania? Our advice? Plan to be here for a LOOONNNGGGG time, because there is NO WAY you'll have enough time to see all the things you'll want to see!! We were in this part of the world for almost 5 weeks and we are trying to figure out a way to come back for at least another 2 months to see just SOME of what we missed! BUT! Here's our advice for the things we WERE able to see and do!
Australia:
It's amazing. And we only saw 3 cities. We would love to be able to come back and explore a lot more of it - we missed so much this time around! But here's what we can tell you...
Melbourne:
It's the best city. It just is. Seriously. I'm in love. Plan to spend at least 5 days here. In that amount of time you'll be able to hit a lot of the really great restaurants, while also having plenty of time to take advantage of its various free public spaces. These include: Federation Square (a large meeting area), St. Paul's Cathedral (beautiful church next to Fed Square), the ACMI (movie museum - spend at least 2 hours here - awesome hands-on exhibits), LANEWAYS (find a laneways map and explore them all - they are amazing!), and then all of the public parks such as the botanical gardens and Birrarung Marr. There's also a free conservancy near Cook's Cottage (Cooks Cottage costs a few dollars to enter but the park it's in is free). Overall, just enjoy the atmosphere, revel in the (mostly) free public transportation, and eat lots of delicious things. Don't forget to devote at least a day (preferably a sunny one) to driving the Great Ocean Road and exploring the southern coast and its beaches. And also, bring me with you when you go :).
Cairns:
March is not the time to be in Cairns as it is PRIME box jellyfish season (aka the deadliest creature on the planet. No bueno.) The jellyfish aren't around in Australian winter (aka July and August), so this is the suggested time to head to Cairns. Basically only plan to go here if you want to scuba dive and don't plan to be here for longer than you'd like to dive. Don't forget that you shouldn't fly within 24 hours of a dive, so plan accordingly. While we only did one day of diving, there are LOTS of options for 3 or 4 day live-aboards. If you are certified (or want to get certified) SERIOUSLY CONSIDER this option as it will allow you to go to the inner part of the Great Barrier Reef, aka where less people have the opportunity to go, it's more untouched, more pristine, and I've heard is better overall. Unfortunately we didn't have the time (or money) to do a live-aboard, but next time I will BE there. As for the city of Cairns, there's REALLY not much to it - only explore if you have some time while waiting to be able to fly out of there ;-p. As for the Daintree Rainforest, while very pretty, it wasn't something we felt too strongly about. Instead, drive up to Cape Tribulation and enjoy some time there, but honestly, you can skip the Daintree...
Sydney:
Sydney is really lovely, but it's also basically just a big city. Two to three days here is plenty and will allow you time to visit the Sydney Opera House (I think the tour is a must - quite fascinating and beautiful), as well as to head to the beaches - Manly and Bondi. Bondi is more touristy and Manly is where the locals go. We only went to Manly as we'd heard it's the better overall beach. Until that point, it was by FAR the nicest beach we'd been to on this trip. Manly Beach is highly recommended. As far as things to do, we'd also recommend climbing the Sydney Harbor Bridge if your budget allows for it. It is VERY expensive, but it is honestly one of the best "go-climb-this-tall-structure" experiences we've had (and we've had a LOT of them!) We had SO MUCH time on the bridge to just relax and enjoy the view - we never felt rushed at all while climbing (which is not something you can say of most of those experiences) AND our tour guide was SUPER knowledgeable about the bridge and the surrounding harbor. Overall a pretty great experience. Also, if you like eating dessert for breakfast, check out Pancakes On The Rocks - DELICIOUS.
New Zealand:
IS AMAZING. GO. JUST DO IT. GO NOW.
We went to FAR too many cities, so instead I will just say this - while it is definitely possible to see both the North and South Islands in 2 weeks, it is NOT possible if you actually want to enjoy yourself and SEE the country. We spent 2 weeks driving around the North Island and it was a good amount of time. We were never really rushed, we saw about 10 different cities, and went to almost every section of the North Island. If you want to really cover it extensively I would say 2 1/2 - 3 weeks is the right amount of time. As for the South Island, I've heard you need at least 3 weeks to cover just the South Island alone. Also, everyone says the South Island is much more beautiful, so if you only have time for one, consider doing the South. Or, you could be like us, and do the North in one trip, and South in the next so you're even MORE pleasantly surprised when you get there :).
As for our favorite places in the North Island, we LOVED Taupo - beautiful area, lots of green spaces, hiking trails, etc. and the lake is gorgeous. We also loved Napier on the East Coast, a quaint little town (much like Northport, where we grew up), and on a beautiful black pebble beach. We were also a big fan of the Northern section of the island up near Whangaray, although we wished we could have spent a bit more time in the Bay of Islands.
But like I said - New Zealand is amazing. Just book your trip now :-p.
Fiji:
Where we were in Fiji was amazing and DEFINITELY relaxing. We recommend going for as long as you're cool with sitting on a beach with a drink in your hand :). With Fiji we were a little concerned that if we stayed on the mainland we'd run into the same problem we'd had in Bali - the place had been overrun by tourism and was NOT what we were actually looking for. As such, we decided to head to one of the outlying islands (one of the 330 that comprise Fiji) and we were FAR from disappointed. The Octopus Resort, located on Yawa Island, was incredible - clean, nice amenities, great pool, and right on a gorgeous and pristine beach. A few years ago it was ranked as one of the top 10 beaches in the world, and it's easy to see why. Crystal clear water, amazing staff, great rooms, and a beautiful coral reef just FEET from the shoreline. Not only that, but we appreciated the opportunities to interact with the local staff, as well as to explore town. The town was located only a 15-20 minute walk from the resort and everyone there was quite friendly and welcoming. We really enjoyed our time in Fiji and look forward to going back when we find ourselves on that side of the world again :). When we do come back, if we don't stay at Octopus again, we will most likely look for a similar experience on a different, smaller island. It really was a little slice of paradise.
Australia:
It's amazing. And we only saw 3 cities. We would love to be able to come back and explore a lot more of it - we missed so much this time around! But here's what we can tell you...
Melbourne:
It's the best city. It just is. Seriously. I'm in love. Plan to spend at least 5 days here. In that amount of time you'll be able to hit a lot of the really great restaurants, while also having plenty of time to take advantage of its various free public spaces. These include: Federation Square (a large meeting area), St. Paul's Cathedral (beautiful church next to Fed Square), the ACMI (movie museum - spend at least 2 hours here - awesome hands-on exhibits), LANEWAYS (find a laneways map and explore them all - they are amazing!), and then all of the public parks such as the botanical gardens and Birrarung Marr. There's also a free conservancy near Cook's Cottage (Cooks Cottage costs a few dollars to enter but the park it's in is free). Overall, just enjoy the atmosphere, revel in the (mostly) free public transportation, and eat lots of delicious things. Don't forget to devote at least a day (preferably a sunny one) to driving the Great Ocean Road and exploring the southern coast and its beaches. And also, bring me with you when you go :).
Cairns:
March is not the time to be in Cairns as it is PRIME box jellyfish season (aka the deadliest creature on the planet. No bueno.) The jellyfish aren't around in Australian winter (aka July and August), so this is the suggested time to head to Cairns. Basically only plan to go here if you want to scuba dive and don't plan to be here for longer than you'd like to dive. Don't forget that you shouldn't fly within 24 hours of a dive, so plan accordingly. While we only did one day of diving, there are LOTS of options for 3 or 4 day live-aboards. If you are certified (or want to get certified) SERIOUSLY CONSIDER this option as it will allow you to go to the inner part of the Great Barrier Reef, aka where less people have the opportunity to go, it's more untouched, more pristine, and I've heard is better overall. Unfortunately we didn't have the time (or money) to do a live-aboard, but next time I will BE there. As for the city of Cairns, there's REALLY not much to it - only explore if you have some time while waiting to be able to fly out of there ;-p. As for the Daintree Rainforest, while very pretty, it wasn't something we felt too strongly about. Instead, drive up to Cape Tribulation and enjoy some time there, but honestly, you can skip the Daintree...
Sydney:
Sydney is really lovely, but it's also basically just a big city. Two to three days here is plenty and will allow you time to visit the Sydney Opera House (I think the tour is a must - quite fascinating and beautiful), as well as to head to the beaches - Manly and Bondi. Bondi is more touristy and Manly is where the locals go. We only went to Manly as we'd heard it's the better overall beach. Until that point, it was by FAR the nicest beach we'd been to on this trip. Manly Beach is highly recommended. As far as things to do, we'd also recommend climbing the Sydney Harbor Bridge if your budget allows for it. It is VERY expensive, but it is honestly one of the best "go-climb-this-tall-structure" experiences we've had (and we've had a LOT of them!) We had SO MUCH time on the bridge to just relax and enjoy the view - we never felt rushed at all while climbing (which is not something you can say of most of those experiences) AND our tour guide was SUPER knowledgeable about the bridge and the surrounding harbor. Overall a pretty great experience. Also, if you like eating dessert for breakfast, check out Pancakes On The Rocks - DELICIOUS.
New Zealand:
IS AMAZING. GO. JUST DO IT. GO NOW.
We went to FAR too many cities, so instead I will just say this - while it is definitely possible to see both the North and South Islands in 2 weeks, it is NOT possible if you actually want to enjoy yourself and SEE the country. We spent 2 weeks driving around the North Island and it was a good amount of time. We were never really rushed, we saw about 10 different cities, and went to almost every section of the North Island. If you want to really cover it extensively I would say 2 1/2 - 3 weeks is the right amount of time. As for the South Island, I've heard you need at least 3 weeks to cover just the South Island alone. Also, everyone says the South Island is much more beautiful, so if you only have time for one, consider doing the South. Or, you could be like us, and do the North in one trip, and South in the next so you're even MORE pleasantly surprised when you get there :).
As for our favorite places in the North Island, we LOVED Taupo - beautiful area, lots of green spaces, hiking trails, etc. and the lake is gorgeous. We also loved Napier on the East Coast, a quaint little town (much like Northport, where we grew up), and on a beautiful black pebble beach. We were also a big fan of the Northern section of the island up near Whangaray, although we wished we could have spent a bit more time in the Bay of Islands.
But like I said - New Zealand is amazing. Just book your trip now :-p.
Fiji:
Where we were in Fiji was amazing and DEFINITELY relaxing. We recommend going for as long as you're cool with sitting on a beach with a drink in your hand :). With Fiji we were a little concerned that if we stayed on the mainland we'd run into the same problem we'd had in Bali - the place had been overrun by tourism and was NOT what we were actually looking for. As such, we decided to head to one of the outlying islands (one of the 330 that comprise Fiji) and we were FAR from disappointed. The Octopus Resort, located on Yawa Island, was incredible - clean, nice amenities, great pool, and right on a gorgeous and pristine beach. A few years ago it was ranked as one of the top 10 beaches in the world, and it's easy to see why. Crystal clear water, amazing staff, great rooms, and a beautiful coral reef just FEET from the shoreline. Not only that, but we appreciated the opportunities to interact with the local staff, as well as to explore town. The town was located only a 15-20 minute walk from the resort and everyone there was quite friendly and welcoming. We really enjoyed our time in Fiji and look forward to going back when we find ourselves on that side of the world again :). When we do come back, if we don't stay at Octopus again, we will most likely look for a similar experience on a different, smaller island. It really was a little slice of paradise.
The Best of Oceania
So now that the third and final leg of our trip has come to an end, it's time for a recap of our time in Oceania. So! Without further ado!
Jess' Favorites
City as a Tourist: Taupo, New Zealand
City to Potentially Move to: MELBOURNE
Hike: Tongariro National Park, NZ
Beach: Octopus Resort, Fiji
Experience: skydiving!
Country: Australia
Best things Jess brought for this leg of the trip: bathing suit, camera, Phase 10/playing cards, GoPro, Padi Dive Certification card
Worst things brought for this leg of the trip: hmmmmmmmm...might not have any...
Jon's Favorites
City as a Tourist: Melbourne and Napier, New Zealand
City to Potentially Move to: Taupo, New Zealand
Hike: Tongariro
Beach: Octopus Resort
Experience: Skydiving
Country: New Zealand
Best things Jon brought for this leg of the trip: bathing suit, hiking shoes
Worst things brought for this leg of the trip: ...
Overall we LOVED this part of the world and are very much looking forward to returning ASAP!
Jess' Favorites
City as a Tourist: Taupo, New Zealand
City to Potentially Move to: MELBOURNE
Hike: Tongariro National Park, NZ
Beach: Octopus Resort, Fiji
Experience: skydiving!
Country: Australia
Best things Jess brought for this leg of the trip: bathing suit, camera, Phase 10/playing cards, GoPro, Padi Dive Certification card
Worst things brought for this leg of the trip: hmmmmmmmm...might not have any...
Jon's Favorites
City as a Tourist: Melbourne and Napier, New Zealand
City to Potentially Move to: Taupo, New Zealand
Hike: Tongariro
Beach: Octopus Resort
Experience: Skydiving
Country: New Zealand
Best things Jon brought for this leg of the trip: bathing suit, hiking shoes
Worst things brought for this leg of the trip: ...
Overall we LOVED this part of the world and are very much looking forward to returning ASAP!
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
The Longest Day Ever.
Today has been the longest day ever. But seriously.
We woke up this morning, March 22, 2016, in the Octopus Resort in Fiji. After eating breakfast, we packed up the rest of our things and checked out of our room. From the office we headed to the beach where we were able to enjoy a BEAUTIFUL morning on the island. We had wanted to go snorkeling but unfortunately the tide was too low (the coral was all peaking out from the ocean that's how low it was!) Instead, we relaxed on the beach and in the pool before eating our last meal at the resort and taking a walk down the beach to check out the massive lava rocks at the end of it. The rocks were beautiful and full of tiny seaside creatures from hermit crabs to guppies. There were also these crazy slimy-looking lizard-like animals that jumped back and forth between the wet rocks. They almost looked like tadpoles - would love to find out what they were - it was fascinating watching them! We also saw TONS of crabs (there have been hermit crabs all over the beach here) and hung out at the rocks before heading back to the resort to get ready for our loooooonnnnngg day.
We were able to take showers (which was fantastic - a perk of the shared bathroom situation) before getting ready to catch our boat to Nadi/the mainland. We had been told to get ready by 2:30, so of course we were out there at 2:17. We played cards and hung out on a hammock on the beach while we waited for our boat to arrive. The boat was supposed to get to Octopus at 3 pm...and yet at 4 we were still sitting on the hammock waiting to leave. Finally at 4:06 they herded those of us who were leaving onto a motorboat and took us to meet the Yasawa Flyer, the larger boat we'd be taking the 2 1/2 hours to Nadi.
I had been a bit nervous about getting sick on the boat since recently I've been experiencing sea sickness more than I usually do. Luckily, the boat ride was smooth sailing - hooray! The sun had slipped behind the clouds so it was a bit cool outside, but other than that, the rain held off and it was a really beautiful ride through the Fiji Islands (the Yasawa and Mamanuca Islands) back to the mainland - a fairly perfect way to end our time in Fiji.
We arrived at the mainland around 6 pm and were told there were free shuttles to the airport - awesome! We caught a free shuttle and arrived at the airport around 6:30 - perfect timing for our 9:40 pm flight. After WAAYYY too much difficulty (involving the airline not being able to find our reservation...), we were finally able to check in for our flight to Los Angeles. We hung out at the airport for a while, ate dinner, bought our final magnet, exchanged our money back to US dollars, and played cards before boarding our plane.
So why is this post called "The Longest Day Ever"? While in actuality it should only take us 18 hours to travel from Nadi to New York, during this trip, we crossed over the international date line. Meaning that when we took off at 9:40 pm, we had already spent 21 hours and 40 minutes in March 22. But by crossing over the international dateline, we actually went BACK in time to the beginning of March 22.
Due to crossing the international date line, flights, layovers, and time changes, we spent a total of 40 hours on March 22, 2016.
SUPER CRAZY!!
So! Our flight to LA was fairly uneventful, although there was quite a bit of turbulence (and I may have been clutching Jon's hand more than a little. Quite bumpy.) We watched the last Hunger Games movie together (since neither of us had seen it) and then I fell asleep for a long time while Jon watched another movie. We arrived in LA around 11:30 am ON MARCH 22, picked up our bags, cleared customs, and were once again on American soil. Pretty weird. Especially considering it was actually our first time in America in 2016, making it country #14 of our travels!
As soon as we arrived in LA we were PUMPED to be able to use our phones and access unrestricted internet again! We hadn't had internet access in about 4 days (since getting to Fiji) so it was nice to check in with family and friends and actually be able to use our phones. We bought sandwiches for lunch and waited for our flight, which was already delayed by about an hour.
Our flight to New York marks our 20th flight in the past three months (including every leg of our journeys, 21 if you include our skydiving flight). Yet when you come to the end of your travels, it seems like nothing moves at the pace you want it to. Our flights were delayed, we weren't given seats when we checked in, the airport was kind of a nightmare with WAY too many people and not enough space, there were 3 flights trying to board basically at the same gate so it was overcrowded and there was pushing, AND when we were finally given our seat assignments, we realized that we were not seated next to each other. Thanks for the super great experience, Virgin America!
So Jon and I boarded the plane separately and barely saw each other during the whole flight. I watched the first few episodes of House of Cards (pretty entertaining - I semi-get the obsession now) and otherwise just tried to stay awake after not sleeping for so long!!
When we arrived in New York I got another surprise - Gabriel Iglesias - the famous comedian - had been on our flight! After getting off the plane I went up to him to tell him that I liked his stand-up and he asked if I wanted to take a picture - always!
How fun! Our next stop was baggage claim before heading outside to find Jon's dad in the FREEZING COLD New York March (and nearly midnight) weather! He drove us to my parent's house where we were greeted with open arms and lots of smiles and hugs (and food!!) We stayed up for about an hour sharing stories from our travels.
All exciting stuff but it is DEFINITELY time for bed after an actually-super-long-for-real day.
Jess' highlight of the day: our final morning in Fiji
Jon's highlight of the day: the boat ride to Nadi
We woke up this morning, March 22, 2016, in the Octopus Resort in Fiji. After eating breakfast, we packed up the rest of our things and checked out of our room. From the office we headed to the beach where we were able to enjoy a BEAUTIFUL morning on the island. We had wanted to go snorkeling but unfortunately the tide was too low (the coral was all peaking out from the ocean that's how low it was!) Instead, we relaxed on the beach and in the pool before eating our last meal at the resort and taking a walk down the beach to check out the massive lava rocks at the end of it. The rocks were beautiful and full of tiny seaside creatures from hermit crabs to guppies. There were also these crazy slimy-looking lizard-like animals that jumped back and forth between the wet rocks. They almost looked like tadpoles - would love to find out what they were - it was fascinating watching them! We also saw TONS of crabs (there have been hermit crabs all over the beach here) and hung out at the rocks before heading back to the resort to get ready for our loooooonnnnngg day.
We were able to take showers (which was fantastic - a perk of the shared bathroom situation) before getting ready to catch our boat to Nadi/the mainland. We had been told to get ready by 2:30, so of course we were out there at 2:17. We played cards and hung out on a hammock on the beach while we waited for our boat to arrive. The boat was supposed to get to Octopus at 3 pm...and yet at 4 we were still sitting on the hammock waiting to leave. Finally at 4:06 they herded those of us who were leaving onto a motorboat and took us to meet the Yasawa Flyer, the larger boat we'd be taking the 2 1/2 hours to Nadi.
I had been a bit nervous about getting sick on the boat since recently I've been experiencing sea sickness more than I usually do. Luckily, the boat ride was smooth sailing - hooray! The sun had slipped behind the clouds so it was a bit cool outside, but other than that, the rain held off and it was a really beautiful ride through the Fiji Islands (the Yasawa and Mamanuca Islands) back to the mainland - a fairly perfect way to end our time in Fiji.
We arrived at the mainland around 6 pm and were told there were free shuttles to the airport - awesome! We caught a free shuttle and arrived at the airport around 6:30 - perfect timing for our 9:40 pm flight. After WAAYYY too much difficulty (involving the airline not being able to find our reservation...), we were finally able to check in for our flight to Los Angeles. We hung out at the airport for a while, ate dinner, bought our final magnet, exchanged our money back to US dollars, and played cards before boarding our plane.
So why is this post called "The Longest Day Ever"? While in actuality it should only take us 18 hours to travel from Nadi to New York, during this trip, we crossed over the international date line. Meaning that when we took off at 9:40 pm, we had already spent 21 hours and 40 minutes in March 22. But by crossing over the international dateline, we actually went BACK in time to the beginning of March 22.
Due to crossing the international date line, flights, layovers, and time changes, we spent a total of 40 hours on March 22, 2016.
SUPER CRAZY!!
So! Our flight to LA was fairly uneventful, although there was quite a bit of turbulence (and I may have been clutching Jon's hand more than a little. Quite bumpy.) We watched the last Hunger Games movie together (since neither of us had seen it) and then I fell asleep for a long time while Jon watched another movie. We arrived in LA around 11:30 am ON MARCH 22, picked up our bags, cleared customs, and were once again on American soil. Pretty weird. Especially considering it was actually our first time in America in 2016, making it country #14 of our travels!
As soon as we arrived in LA we were PUMPED to be able to use our phones and access unrestricted internet again! We hadn't had internet access in about 4 days (since getting to Fiji) so it was nice to check in with family and friends and actually be able to use our phones. We bought sandwiches for lunch and waited for our flight, which was already delayed by about an hour.
Our flight to New York marks our 20th flight in the past three months (including every leg of our journeys, 21 if you include our skydiving flight). Yet when you come to the end of your travels, it seems like nothing moves at the pace you want it to. Our flights were delayed, we weren't given seats when we checked in, the airport was kind of a nightmare with WAY too many people and not enough space, there were 3 flights trying to board basically at the same gate so it was overcrowded and there was pushing, AND when we were finally given our seat assignments, we realized that we were not seated next to each other. Thanks for the super great experience, Virgin America!
So Jon and I boarded the plane separately and barely saw each other during the whole flight. I watched the first few episodes of House of Cards (pretty entertaining - I semi-get the obsession now) and otherwise just tried to stay awake after not sleeping for so long!!
When we arrived in New York I got another surprise - Gabriel Iglesias - the famous comedian - had been on our flight! After getting off the plane I went up to him to tell him that I liked his stand-up and he asked if I wanted to take a picture - always!
How fun! Our next stop was baggage claim before heading outside to find Jon's dad in the FREEZING COLD New York March (and nearly midnight) weather! He drove us to my parent's house where we were greeted with open arms and lots of smiles and hugs (and food!!) We stayed up for about an hour sharing stories from our travels.
All exciting stuff but it is DEFINITELY time for bed after an actually-super-long-for-real day.
Jess' highlight of the day: our final morning in Fiji
Jon's highlight of the day: the boat ride to Nadi
Going Home
I can't honestly say it's hit me that we're going home. I've been really sad thinking about it. While there are so many new and exciting experiences that will be coming our way once we get home, there's so much more I want to see and do.
I think it always feels that way when you travel, or at least for me it does. You always wish you had one more day. One more hour. You wish you'd scheduled another day to relax or to grab a cup of tea. There's always more to do. More people to talk to. More places to go.
But there will always be more, won't there? I think it's part of what makes me excited to plan our next trip (which is, of course, already in the works ;-) I can't rest on my laurels!)
I simultaneously love that there is always more to see, and can't stand the fact that I will never be able to see it all.
I guess I'll just have to keep going until my wanderlust is satiated.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA :)
Right then,
I guess I'll just have to keep going.
I think it always feels that way when you travel, or at least for me it does. You always wish you had one more day. One more hour. You wish you'd scheduled another day to relax or to grab a cup of tea. There's always more to do. More people to talk to. More places to go.
But there will always be more, won't there? I think it's part of what makes me excited to plan our next trip (which is, of course, already in the works ;-) I can't rest on my laurels!)
I simultaneously love that there is always more to see, and can't stand the fact that I will never be able to see it all.
I guess I'll just have to keep going until my wanderlust is satiated.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA :)
Right then,
I guess I'll just have to keep going.
Monday, March 21, 2016
Rainy Day
Today we weren't so lucky with the weather. As I mentioned, we had checked the weather before arriving in Fiji and were pretty bummed to find out it was supposed to rain every day. That said, we knew it was rainy season when we booked our flights to Fiji. Sooooooo we'd pretty much been expecting it while crossing our fingers that the weather would be fine (especially since we'd already had such luck with the beautiful weather in other places it was supposed to be rainy like Kenya and Bali.)
So today the weather was less than stellar. It started out fairly gray in the morning and continued to get worse until around 11 am when it started downpouring! Fortunately, we were able to run to the cover provided by the restaurant/bar area with our deck of cards and hang out for the next two hours while it rained. We played cards for a while, reveling in the fact that despite the rain it was still nice and warm and the breeze was beautiful. So yes, lots of rain, but we were still happy to be able to enjoy the outdoors :).
After playing cards it cleared up slightly and we were able to relax out by the pool and on the beach. Fortunately, the sun came out right around 2 pm - perfect time for a walk to town!
Octopus Resport has a great selection of activities that visitors can take part in. Unfortunately some of them (such as the 7:30 am mountain hike that I had wanted to go on) were cancelled. However, we were very lucky that the sun came out so we could head off into town for a tour! About 20 of us went over the mountainside with our guide, Lye, an older gentleman who works at Octopus Resort and lives in the town of Nalauwaki. Lye led us the 20 minutes from our side of the island to the other, stopping for some scenic vistas along the way.
The way to town was a dirt path through a mountainside rife with...pigs! They were everywhere and quite cute (albeit a little stinky :-p). Lye led us through town, stopping to say "bula" (hello!) to everyone we met along the way, arriving at their kindergarten school...or at least what remained of it after the cyclone that came through the Fiji Islands two weeks ago. Fortunately, everyone in their village was safe after the cyclone and nearly all the houses and buildings survived intact. The only exceptions were the kindergarten school and the teacher's housing, both of which had been semi-permanent structures originally, and which were basically wiped clean.
Lye mentioned that they were collecting money to rebuild their school. It felt REALLY good to be able to provide aid to a community and know that it was going directly to building a school back in that exact spot. Hoping we can come back in a few years and see their progress!
After wandering all the way to the school we went back to the town center where we sat underneath a tin roof for a cava welcoming ceremony...which we were not ready for at all...
It is customary in Fiji to greet guests with a cava ceremony. Cava is a drink made from water and the crushed roots of the pepper plant. Basically it looks like muddy water. When guests enter a space, the host will prepare the mixture and everyone sits in a circle. The host will then offer each person the cava in turn. Before you take the bowl, you clap once and say "BULA", wherein everyone responds "bula" while clapping three times. You then drink the cava, hand back the bowl and clap three times, after which the bowl is passed to the next person. It is customary to finish the entire prepared bowl of cava, and so the ceremony continues until the cava is gone.
Well...that is all well and good...when you have a stomach of steel. But when you have a stomach like mine, and have just been sicker than you've been in YEARS the previous day, and saw them taking the water they used from their local tap, and yet you don't want to be rude...what do you do?
You drink the Cava.
So the ceremony began and the bowl was passed around the circle. And so Jon drank. And then I drank. And it tasted like mud water. And made our tongues numb. Don't worry, it's supposed to do that. I don't know if that makes it better or not.
The cava went around the circle once and EVERYONE drank it. I was shocked that everyone participated! Lye then asked our "chief" aka the first man who had taken a sip, if we should do another round. And (I think under duress from Lye) he said YES! AHHHH! But this time Lye said he was glad we'd all tried it and we were free to pass the bowl if we did not want to drink it.
WHEW.
So the cava came around again. And Jon drank it. AGAIN! I couldn't believe it! When it was my turn all I could think about was how sick I had been yesterday and I passed. After which half the circle decided to pass. I was so glad I wasn't the only one! Regardless, it was one of those moments where I was glad that I had been given the opportunity to try something new. I'm just still hoping I'm not sick as a dog later today!!
After the cava ceremony we sat under the tin roof waiting for some of the villagers to give a presentation. Lye told us that the ENTIRE village has a population of 437.
CAN YOU IMAGINE??? Living on an island your whole life and your entire village has a population of 437!!! Just crazy!!
As we were waiting under the tin roof, it suddenly began to POUR. SO HARD! And it sounded SO much louder under the roof! After about 15 minutes it began to let up just enough for us to quickly put our shoes back on and head to the town meeting room. When we got there, we sat in a semi-circle and some of the villagers presented native Fijian songs and dances for us. It was pretty magical, especially the way the sound echoed in the big room!
We then got the opportunity to participate in the dancing. It took me and Jon a few minutes to get the hang of it but we finally got it towards the end :-p.
After the dancing, some of the women set out goods for sale and I was able to buy my FINAL bracelet! (I have been collecting bracelets in each country we've gone to. Sometimes it's been hard to find a bracelet for sale (like in Zambia where I bought one at the border crossing into Zimbabwe!) - other times there have been millions to choose from (Thailand/Cambodia). This was the first time since being in Fiji we'd been able to purchase goods and I was quite excited to find a shell bracelet and also a bowl with turtles carved into it for our house (ya know, when we have one...).
After the market we slowly made our way back to Octopus. MUCH slower, in fact, because the rains had made our original path VERY muddy so we had to be quite cautious so as not to slip. We got back to the resort around 5 and fortunately the weather held for the rest of the day, albeit at a slightly cooler temperature (ya know, like 72. BRRRR!) There, we ate dinner, relaxed, and came back to our room early...all the while hoping that neither of us gets sick before our big travel day tomorrow... oy.
Jess' highlight of the day: our village visit!
Jon's highlight of the day: drinking the cava...
So today the weather was less than stellar. It started out fairly gray in the morning and continued to get worse until around 11 am when it started downpouring! Fortunately, we were able to run to the cover provided by the restaurant/bar area with our deck of cards and hang out for the next two hours while it rained. We played cards for a while, reveling in the fact that despite the rain it was still nice and warm and the breeze was beautiful. So yes, lots of rain, but we were still happy to be able to enjoy the outdoors :).
After playing cards it cleared up slightly and we were able to relax out by the pool and on the beach. Fortunately, the sun came out right around 2 pm - perfect time for a walk to town!
Octopus Resport has a great selection of activities that visitors can take part in. Unfortunately some of them (such as the 7:30 am mountain hike that I had wanted to go on) were cancelled. However, we were very lucky that the sun came out so we could head off into town for a tour! About 20 of us went over the mountainside with our guide, Lye, an older gentleman who works at Octopus Resort and lives in the town of Nalauwaki. Lye led us the 20 minutes from our side of the island to the other, stopping for some scenic vistas along the way.
The way to town was a dirt path through a mountainside rife with...pigs! They were everywhere and quite cute (albeit a little stinky :-p). Lye led us through town, stopping to say "bula" (hello!) to everyone we met along the way, arriving at their kindergarten school...or at least what remained of it after the cyclone that came through the Fiji Islands two weeks ago. Fortunately, everyone in their village was safe after the cyclone and nearly all the houses and buildings survived intact. The only exceptions were the kindergarten school and the teacher's housing, both of which had been semi-permanent structures originally, and which were basically wiped clean.
Lye mentioned that they were collecting money to rebuild their school. It felt REALLY good to be able to provide aid to a community and know that it was going directly to building a school back in that exact spot. Hoping we can come back in a few years and see their progress!
After wandering all the way to the school we went back to the town center where we sat underneath a tin roof for a cava welcoming ceremony...which we were not ready for at all...
It is customary in Fiji to greet guests with a cava ceremony. Cava is a drink made from water and the crushed roots of the pepper plant. Basically it looks like muddy water. When guests enter a space, the host will prepare the mixture and everyone sits in a circle. The host will then offer each person the cava in turn. Before you take the bowl, you clap once and say "BULA", wherein everyone responds "bula" while clapping three times. You then drink the cava, hand back the bowl and clap three times, after which the bowl is passed to the next person. It is customary to finish the entire prepared bowl of cava, and so the ceremony continues until the cava is gone.
Well...that is all well and good...when you have a stomach of steel. But when you have a stomach like mine, and have just been sicker than you've been in YEARS the previous day, and saw them taking the water they used from their local tap, and yet you don't want to be rude...what do you do?
You drink the Cava.
So the ceremony began and the bowl was passed around the circle. And so Jon drank. And then I drank. And it tasted like mud water. And made our tongues numb. Don't worry, it's supposed to do that. I don't know if that makes it better or not.
The cava went around the circle once and EVERYONE drank it. I was shocked that everyone participated! Lye then asked our "chief" aka the first man who had taken a sip, if we should do another round. And (I think under duress from Lye) he said YES! AHHHH! But this time Lye said he was glad we'd all tried it and we were free to pass the bowl if we did not want to drink it.
WHEW.
So the cava came around again. And Jon drank it. AGAIN! I couldn't believe it! When it was my turn all I could think about was how sick I had been yesterday and I passed. After which half the circle decided to pass. I was so glad I wasn't the only one! Regardless, it was one of those moments where I was glad that I had been given the opportunity to try something new. I'm just still hoping I'm not sick as a dog later today!!
After the cava ceremony we sat under the tin roof waiting for some of the villagers to give a presentation. Lye told us that the ENTIRE village has a population of 437.
CAN YOU IMAGINE??? Living on an island your whole life and your entire village has a population of 437!!! Just crazy!!
As we were waiting under the tin roof, it suddenly began to POUR. SO HARD! And it sounded SO much louder under the roof! After about 15 minutes it began to let up just enough for us to quickly put our shoes back on and head to the town meeting room. When we got there, we sat in a semi-circle and some of the villagers presented native Fijian songs and dances for us. It was pretty magical, especially the way the sound echoed in the big room!
We then got the opportunity to participate in the dancing. It took me and Jon a few minutes to get the hang of it but we finally got it towards the end :-p.
After the dancing, some of the women set out goods for sale and I was able to buy my FINAL bracelet! (I have been collecting bracelets in each country we've gone to. Sometimes it's been hard to find a bracelet for sale (like in Zambia where I bought one at the border crossing into Zimbabwe!) - other times there have been millions to choose from (Thailand/Cambodia). This was the first time since being in Fiji we'd been able to purchase goods and I was quite excited to find a shell bracelet and also a bowl with turtles carved into it for our house (ya know, when we have one...).
After the market we slowly made our way back to Octopus. MUCH slower, in fact, because the rains had made our original path VERY muddy so we had to be quite cautious so as not to slip. We got back to the resort around 5 and fortunately the weather held for the rest of the day, albeit at a slightly cooler temperature (ya know, like 72. BRRRR!) There, we ate dinner, relaxed, and came back to our room early...all the while hoping that neither of us gets sick before our big travel day tomorrow... oy.
Jess' highlight of the day: our village visit!
Jon's highlight of the day: drinking the cava...
Sunday, March 20, 2016
Ruh Roh
Last night I woke around 4 am with the WORST stomachache like I hadn't felt since living in Guatemala. Awesome. I proceeded to be sick for the next 2 hours (not fun when you're using a shared bathroom which is not attached to your room...) until I was finally able to keep down some medicine. I'm guessing I must have either eaten something bad or accidentally drank some water at some point. Either way, it was seriously the sickest I've been in YEARS and all I could think was "Fingers crossed it's not parasites!!!!!!!" After falling back asleep for a little bit, Jon and I woke up around 8. While I still wasn't feeling great, I did feel MUCH better than I had, so I'm hoping that the medicine keeps working and it's just something I ate/drank. Ugh.
At breakfast I was able to eat about half a piece of toast and some tea. Better than nothing.
We spent the day today doing much of the same as yesterday - relaxing, reading, listening to music, swimming, and sleeping, only without the incredible weather from yesterday. But we were QUITE ok with the overcast day with sporadic showers since before coming to the island the forecast had said 80% chance of rain every day all day. A few sprinkles and no sun? I'LL TAKE IT. We were just grateful to be able to actually spend the whole day outside since we had been expecting to be cooped up all day with the rain!
We were also able to go snorkeling again which was nice, except with the change in weather and stronger winds the current was MUCH stronger, so much so that it made me feel a little queasy and I didn't last too long in the open water!
We enjoyed the day, made more friends at lunch and dinner (which, thankfully, I was able to eat without issues) and headed back for another early night. (I know, we're old.)
Crossing our fingers that the weather holds out again tomorrow!!!
Jess' highlight of the day: feeling better
Jon's highlight of the day: chilling by the pool and snorkeling
At breakfast I was able to eat about half a piece of toast and some tea. Better than nothing.
We spent the day today doing much of the same as yesterday - relaxing, reading, listening to music, swimming, and sleeping, only without the incredible weather from yesterday. But we were QUITE ok with the overcast day with sporadic showers since before coming to the island the forecast had said 80% chance of rain every day all day. A few sprinkles and no sun? I'LL TAKE IT. We were just grateful to be able to actually spend the whole day outside since we had been expecting to be cooped up all day with the rain!
We enjoyed the day, made more friends at lunch and dinner (which, thankfully, I was able to eat without issues) and headed back for another early night. (I know, we're old.)
Crossing our fingers that the weather holds out again tomorrow!!!
Jess' highlight of the day: feeling better
Jon's highlight of the day: chilling by the pool and snorkeling
Saturday, March 19, 2016
FIJI!
I seriously can't believe the day has come. Country #13 in 2016 - FIJI!
When we first started planning this trip we talked about visiting 13 countries...but I wasn't exactly sure we were actually going to get to that many...and yet here we are! CRAZY!
We woke bright and early this morning to head to the airport for our 8 am flight. The flight was fairly uneventful, and we landed around 10:30 in beautiful, bright, sunny FIJI! After going through immigration/customs (and FINALLY getting another stamp! Thanks, Fiji!) we made our way to the domestic departures "gate" to await...our chartered flight!
For those of you who don't remember, Jon and I planned to go to an awesome resort in the Yasawa Islands...which can only be reached by boat or chartered plane. Since we missed the resort's ONE boat for the day (which departs at 10 am...because ya know, who cares about everyone else that arrives in the country after that), we had to pay for a chartered flight. While not our first choice, as soon as it was paid for we were quite excited about the prospect of taking a SEAPLANE to a remote Fijian island.
I mean, seriously.
So as I said we headed to the "gate" to "check in". We walked up to the Pacific Airways desk and told the man behind the counter our names. And he said,
"Ok Great - I'll meet you here when your flight is ready at 1 pm, just go through security and I'll see you on the other side."
Umm what? Don't we need tickets or something? "No, it's fine, I'll find you. Oh, and here's a bottle of Fiji Water - welcome!"
Uhhhhh ok?
For the next 2 hours we sat in the "waiting area" for domestic flights around Fiji (I'm pretty sure there are only like 5 airports around all of Fiji) because the waiting room consisted of enough seats for about 15 people. At 12:30 we went through "security" (which did consist of a metal detector) and then we sat in another waiting room (this one which could seat about 40 people) where we waited for our flight to be "called". The man from the front desk came and found us at 1 pm and we boarded our flight for Yawa Island!
We got on board with about 8 other people and took to the front seats. The pilot (who was sitting about 2 feet away from us) said we had a full flight and someone needed to sit in the front. Unfortunately I didn't understand him in time so someone else got the cockpit co-pilot seat. Bummer!
After everyone settled in we were off!
The flight was a bit rocky at first with the wind but it was SO COOL being in the small plane flying through the Fiji Islands!
Each of us had a headset so we could listen to the pilot as he gave us information on the islands we were flying over. It was awesome!
The flight to Yawa Island took about 25 minutes, after which, we landed on the water in our fancy seaplane! It was such a cool experience!
After landing we were led out of the boat and onto a small motorboat with all our stuff.
The boat took us straight to the beach outside of the resort (semi-crazy to land straight on the beach and also a bit uncomfortable since we were both wearing sneakers on the beach!) where we were greeted by the Octopus Resort's manager, Cesare, and many of the staff with fruity cocktails in hand :).
After getting the run down from Cesare and checking in, we were shown to our room (a small bungalow right behind the pool) and ate a quick lunch with some of our fellow passengers from the seaplane (4 other Americans around our age on holiday in Fiji for a week).
Our next stop? The beach and relaxation. For the entire rest of the day. Let's be honest - we had REALLY been looking forward to our relaxing beach vacation and today was nothing short of amazing for that - it definitely fit the bill!
All day we basically drifted between the beach and the pool, relaxing, reading (me), listening to podcasts (Jon), and playing cards. We had been told during check in that there was a coral reef LITERALLY 10 feet from the beach (depending on the tide) which we were keen to explore. Around 3 pm we went to the dive shop to rent snorkel gear and head out to the reef.
They weren't kidding when they said it was right off the beach. During high tide the reef is 10 feet from the beach. During low tide, much of it is actually exposed to the air (making it fairly impossible to swim since there is soft coral everywhere). At 3 pm the tide had come back in giving us a great opportunity for snorkeling. And it did NOT disappoint.
It was probably the best snorkeling I've ever experienced in my life (Jon said it was close between Fiji and Turks and Caicos). The coral was just unbelievable - so many beautiful colors, SO MUCH coral, and TONS of fish! It's no wonder Conde Nast rated this beach as one of the top 10 beaches in the world a few years ago!
Not only was the visibility great and the sights amazing, but the water and current were such that you barely needed to do any actual swimming - we were very buoyant and able to just kind of glide along the top as the ocean carried us to see tons of beautiful sea life :). The only problem with that was that it made free diving nearly impossible! Every time we tried to dive under the water while holding our breath we were immediately brought back to the surface! It was kind of crazy!
The day was pretty much perfect, with 85 degree, sunny weather and wonderful company - meals at the resort are served "family style", which is great for getting to know fellow guests. At dinner we sat with a sweet couple from Italy around our age and talked about travel and life and adventure :).
After a LOOOONNNGGGGG day of travel, we headed off to bed early to get a good night's sleep - looking forward to more of the same tomorrow!
Jess' highlight of the day: actually arriving at the resort and snorkeling
Jon's highlight of the day: snorkeling
When we first started planning this trip we talked about visiting 13 countries...but I wasn't exactly sure we were actually going to get to that many...and yet here we are! CRAZY!
We woke bright and early this morning to head to the airport for our 8 am flight. The flight was fairly uneventful, and we landed around 10:30 in beautiful, bright, sunny FIJI! After going through immigration/customs (and FINALLY getting another stamp! Thanks, Fiji!) we made our way to the domestic departures "gate" to await...our chartered flight!
For those of you who don't remember, Jon and I planned to go to an awesome resort in the Yasawa Islands...which can only be reached by boat or chartered plane. Since we missed the resort's ONE boat for the day (which departs at 10 am...because ya know, who cares about everyone else that arrives in the country after that), we had to pay for a chartered flight. While not our first choice, as soon as it was paid for we were quite excited about the prospect of taking a SEAPLANE to a remote Fijian island.
I mean, seriously.
So as I said we headed to the "gate" to "check in". We walked up to the Pacific Airways desk and told the man behind the counter our names. And he said,
"Ok Great - I'll meet you here when your flight is ready at 1 pm, just go through security and I'll see you on the other side."
Umm what? Don't we need tickets or something? "No, it's fine, I'll find you. Oh, and here's a bottle of Fiji Water - welcome!"
Uhhhhh ok?
For the next 2 hours we sat in the "waiting area" for domestic flights around Fiji (I'm pretty sure there are only like 5 airports around all of Fiji) because the waiting room consisted of enough seats for about 15 people. At 12:30 we went through "security" (which did consist of a metal detector) and then we sat in another waiting room (this one which could seat about 40 people) where we waited for our flight to be "called". The man from the front desk came and found us at 1 pm and we boarded our flight for Yawa Island!
We got on board with about 8 other people and took to the front seats. The pilot (who was sitting about 2 feet away from us) said we had a full flight and someone needed to sit in the front. Unfortunately I didn't understand him in time so someone else got the cockpit co-pilot seat. Bummer!
NBD. That's just the pilot. Sitting like 3 feet from me.
After everyone settled in we were off!
Each of us had a headset so we could listen to the pilot as he gave us information on the islands we were flying over. It was awesome!
After landing we were led out of the boat and onto a small motorboat with all our stuff.
Jon on the boat with our seaplane in the background!
The boat took us straight to the beach outside of the resort (semi-crazy to land straight on the beach and also a bit uncomfortable since we were both wearing sneakers on the beach!) where we were greeted by the Octopus Resort's manager, Cesare, and many of the staff with fruity cocktails in hand :).
After getting the run down from Cesare and checking in, we were shown to our room (a small bungalow right behind the pool) and ate a quick lunch with some of our fellow passengers from the seaplane (4 other Americans around our age on holiday in Fiji for a week).
Our next stop? The beach and relaxation. For the entire rest of the day. Let's be honest - we had REALLY been looking forward to our relaxing beach vacation and today was nothing short of amazing for that - it definitely fit the bill!
All day we basically drifted between the beach and the pool, relaxing, reading (me), listening to podcasts (Jon), and playing cards. We had been told during check in that there was a coral reef LITERALLY 10 feet from the beach (depending on the tide) which we were keen to explore. Around 3 pm we went to the dive shop to rent snorkel gear and head out to the reef.
They weren't kidding when they said it was right off the beach. During high tide the reef is 10 feet from the beach. During low tide, much of it is actually exposed to the air (making it fairly impossible to swim since there is soft coral everywhere). At 3 pm the tide had come back in giving us a great opportunity for snorkeling. And it did NOT disappoint.
It was probably the best snorkeling I've ever experienced in my life (Jon said it was close between Fiji and Turks and Caicos). The coral was just unbelievable - so many beautiful colors, SO MUCH coral, and TONS of fish! It's no wonder Conde Nast rated this beach as one of the top 10 beaches in the world a few years ago!
Not only was the visibility great and the sights amazing, but the water and current were such that you barely needed to do any actual swimming - we were very buoyant and able to just kind of glide along the top as the ocean carried us to see tons of beautiful sea life :). The only problem with that was that it made free diving nearly impossible! Every time we tried to dive under the water while holding our breath we were immediately brought back to the surface! It was kind of crazy!
The day was pretty much perfect, with 85 degree, sunny weather and wonderful company - meals at the resort are served "family style", which is great for getting to know fellow guests. At dinner we sat with a sweet couple from Italy around our age and talked about travel and life and adventure :).
After a LOOOONNNGGGGG day of travel, we headed off to bed early to get a good night's sleep - looking forward to more of the same tomorrow!
Jess' highlight of the day: actually arriving at the resort and snorkeling
Jon's highlight of the day: snorkeling
Friday, March 18, 2016
Auckland
Today we woke up around 8 and had a pretty lazy morning before our last day exploring New Zealand. We left our hotel around 10 to wander around Auckland and see what we could see :). On our docket for the day? Finding a pharmacy (since I ran out of facewash) and a bracelet (since I still hadn't acquired one in New Zealand).
We stopped for breakfast on Shortland Street - delicious bacon and egg sandwiches - and then made our way to the pharmacy. Along the way we stopped in EVERY souvenir shop and basically found...nothing... so we kept searching. We used our Lonely Planet travel book as our guide, wandering around Queen Street, in and out of several laneways (my FAVORITE!) and through some parks, Albert Park and Myers Park. We also found...
the University of Auckland and its clock tower:
the Auckland Sky Tower:
Aotea Square:
where we found a random iHeartRadio concert with an Irish band:
As we wandered through Myers Park it began to pour...so we decided to take advantage of the recently vacated playground and have some fun there...aka Jon pushed me around on a tired swing until I felt sick. Fun!
Fortunately as we left the park the rain let up and we continued to wander around the city for the next few hours. Around 4 we headed back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. We checked the internet and hung out before heading out for a bite to eat...although we could NOT for the life of us agree on a place to eat...until we ended up with mediocre kebabs. Womp womp. Kinda looking forward to not really having to make food choices for the next few days when we're in Fiji!
After dinner we headed back to our hotel to pack and get all our stuff in line for our travels to Fiji tomorrow. While we're both looking forward to Fiji, we're also crossing our fingers that we'll have some good weather...forecast isn't looking great at the moment!!
Also, YES we are looking forward to Fiji, but New Zealand has just been SO wonderful these past 2 1/2 weeks. We've loved so many different cities and activities we've done here. From our adventures in our camper van to beach days, cool cities, hikes and waterfalls, cave exploring, etc. etc. etc., oh and, ya know, SKY DIVING, New Zealand has just been amazing. We are SO glad that we spent so long exploring the North Island, and we are REALLY looking forward to our next trip back here to explore the South Island! And then who knows? Maybe a homestead in NZ is in the cards for the future? :)
Thanks for the beautiful memories, New Zealand - we promise we'll be back soon!
For now, time for sleep - off to Fiji SUPER early tomorrow!
Jess' highlight of the day: Albert Park bird watching
Jon's highlight of the day: Albert Park
We stopped for breakfast on Shortland Street - delicious bacon and egg sandwiches - and then made our way to the pharmacy. Along the way we stopped in EVERY souvenir shop and basically found...nothing... so we kept searching. We used our Lonely Planet travel book as our guide, wandering around Queen Street, in and out of several laneways (my FAVORITE!) and through some parks, Albert Park and Myers Park. We also found...
the University of Auckland and its clock tower:
the Auckland Sky Tower:
Aotea Square:
where we found a random iHeartRadio concert with an Irish band:
As we wandered through Myers Park it began to pour...so we decided to take advantage of the recently vacated playground and have some fun there...aka Jon pushed me around on a tired swing until I felt sick. Fun!
Fortunately as we left the park the rain let up and we continued to wander around the city for the next few hours. Around 4 we headed back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. We checked the internet and hung out before heading out for a bite to eat...although we could NOT for the life of us agree on a place to eat...until we ended up with mediocre kebabs. Womp womp. Kinda looking forward to not really having to make food choices for the next few days when we're in Fiji!
After dinner we headed back to our hotel to pack and get all our stuff in line for our travels to Fiji tomorrow. While we're both looking forward to Fiji, we're also crossing our fingers that we'll have some good weather...forecast isn't looking great at the moment!!
Also, YES we are looking forward to Fiji, but New Zealand has just been SO wonderful these past 2 1/2 weeks. We've loved so many different cities and activities we've done here. From our adventures in our camper van to beach days, cool cities, hikes and waterfalls, cave exploring, etc. etc. etc., oh and, ya know, SKY DIVING, New Zealand has just been amazing. We are SO glad that we spent so long exploring the North Island, and we are REALLY looking forward to our next trip back here to explore the South Island! And then who knows? Maybe a homestead in NZ is in the cards for the future? :)
Thanks for the beautiful memories, New Zealand - we promise we'll be back soon!
For now, time for sleep - off to Fiji SUPER early tomorrow!
Jess' highlight of the day: Albert Park bird watching
Jon's highlight of the day: Albert Park
Thursday, March 17, 2016
Happy St. Patty's Day!
Today wasn't exactly our favorite day in New Zealand... We woke up fairly late, around 8:30 and, after checking our internet at the cafe next door, we got started on packing up the car and all our stuff. It's amazing how jumbled together all your stuff can get when you've been living in a camper van for over 2 weeks!! It took us quite a while to pack up all our stuff, after which we headed to the dump station and to fill up the van's water. From there we went back to the Town Basin to go to the New Zealand Clock Museum. I'm not quite sure why, but I actually kinda wanted to go...yet on the way there around 11 we realized exactly how little time we had in order to be able to drive all the way back to Auckland and drop the car off at the rental place by 4:30 pm.
After deciding to skip the clock museum, we ate leftover pasta in the van and headed out on the road back to Auckland. We arrived in the city around 3 pm, the perfect time to check into our hotel for the night. After checking in and unloading the car, we made our way back out to drop off the van. At this point it was only like 3:30, plenty of time for us to get gas and be at the rental place by 4:30 (the GPS said we were due there around 3:50).
And then we were caught in traffic. FOR. EV. ER.
We slowly inched our way out of the city (seriously - why so much traffic on a Thursday afternoon!!??!) and stopped for gas. We made our way allllllll the way to the Jucy rental place, arriving at 4:30 pm on the dot. HUZZAH! I STILL can't believe it took us THAT long to get there!!!
We dropped off the car and confirmed our refunds with them for all the troubles we had had last week and then waited for our taxi.
I must say, it was a little bit sad dropping Roxanne (the van) and James (the GPS) off at the Jucy place. While our first day in the van had been QUITE the unique experience, we had really grown kind of accustomed to our life in the van and the freedom it provided. It was great being able to park in tons of free places around the country and being able to decide on a whim where we wanted to go.The van also provided us with everything that we needed in a nice, compact space. It really makes you think about how little you can survive on (and be happy with)! While I will be happy to be sleeping in a real bed, we'll also miss Roxanne and James quite a bit. Looking forward to our return travels when we come back in a few years to do the South Island!
We got our taxi back to the city...and within 3 minutes of us being in the car, the driver had already cursed several times AND made racist and sexist comments. I even called him out on them and he didn't seem to see what had been wrong with any of the things he'd said! It was awful! Needless to say it was NOT my favorite 45 minutes of the day.
After arriving back at the hotel, we took stock of all our stuff before heading out to the city for dinner. We wandered around the Britomart Precinct, Viaduct Harbor and Wynyard Quarter before ending up at Mac's for a delicious dinner of steak (for me) and jerk Jamaican chicken (for Jon) and an amazing chocolate lava cake for dessert. YUM!
After dinner we made our way back to the hotel for an early night's sleep after soooooooo much time on the road. Blah. Unfortunately, our bed is HORRID, so here's hoping we'll get ANY sleep...since it's basically plastic. As are the sheets. Awesome. Ugh.
Looking forward to exploring Auckland tomorrow!
Jess' and Jon's highlight of the day: going out to dinner
After deciding to skip the clock museum, we ate leftover pasta in the van and headed out on the road back to Auckland. We arrived in the city around 3 pm, the perfect time to check into our hotel for the night. After checking in and unloading the car, we made our way back out to drop off the van. At this point it was only like 3:30, plenty of time for us to get gas and be at the rental place by 4:30 (the GPS said we were due there around 3:50).
And then we were caught in traffic. FOR. EV. ER.
We slowly inched our way out of the city (seriously - why so much traffic on a Thursday afternoon!!??!) and stopped for gas. We made our way allllllll the way to the Jucy rental place, arriving at 4:30 pm on the dot. HUZZAH! I STILL can't believe it took us THAT long to get there!!!
We dropped off the car and confirmed our refunds with them for all the troubles we had had last week and then waited for our taxi.
I must say, it was a little bit sad dropping Roxanne (the van) and James (the GPS) off at the Jucy place. While our first day in the van had been QUITE the unique experience, we had really grown kind of accustomed to our life in the van and the freedom it provided. It was great being able to park in tons of free places around the country and being able to decide on a whim where we wanted to go.The van also provided us with everything that we needed in a nice, compact space. It really makes you think about how little you can survive on (and be happy with)! While I will be happy to be sleeping in a real bed, we'll also miss Roxanne and James quite a bit. Looking forward to our return travels when we come back in a few years to do the South Island!
We got our taxi back to the city...and within 3 minutes of us being in the car, the driver had already cursed several times AND made racist and sexist comments. I even called him out on them and he didn't seem to see what had been wrong with any of the things he'd said! It was awful! Needless to say it was NOT my favorite 45 minutes of the day.
After arriving back at the hotel, we took stock of all our stuff before heading out to the city for dinner. We wandered around the Britomart Precinct, Viaduct Harbor and Wynyard Quarter before ending up at Mac's for a delicious dinner of steak (for me) and jerk Jamaican chicken (for Jon) and an amazing chocolate lava cake for dessert. YUM!
After dinner we made our way back to the hotel for an early night's sleep after soooooooo much time on the road. Blah. Unfortunately, our bed is HORRID, so here's hoping we'll get ANY sleep...since it's basically plastic. As are the sheets. Awesome. Ugh.
Looking forward to exploring Auckland tomorrow!
Jess' and Jon's highlight of the day: going out to dinner
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
A Day Apart!
It finally happened. After travelling together for 3 straight months, spending close to ZERO time apart in that WHOLEEEEE time, Jon and I spent AN ENTIRE DAY APART.
And it was WEIRD.
Soooooooooo without further ado....
Jess' Day:
Today I woke up super early for my scuba diving adventures! At 7:20 I was picked up by my lovely driver, Chris, and taken to the Tutukaka Marina where I met up with my dive boat, Calypso. About 25 of us went out for the day, including about 8 crew members, for two dives by the Poor Knight's Islands.
After getting settled on the boat, I made it my mission to pretty much make friends with everyone. And I basically succeeded :). I had a blast getting to know tons of people from all over the world (Denmark, Germany, San Fran, Australia, New Zealand, London, and Dubai) as we headed out on to the islands. As we sped along in the water we spotted...several pods of common dolphins!
They were EVERYWHERE! And they seemed to thoroughly enjoy keeping up speed with the boat, swimming alongside us. There was a pod underneath us, one about 20 meters away, and then a few more off in the distance. It was awesome to watch them swimming and playing - they were so beautiful!
We arrived after about an hour and got a debriefing from the crew on what we could expect of our dives at "one of the top ten dive sites in the world".
One of the things quite different about this dive for me was the fact that it's "cold water diving". As a result, we have to wear heavy dive suits, including full head gear :-p.
The islands are actually situated on the Eastern Australia Current (the EAC - aka what Nemo rides through in Finding Nemo!) The EAC brings warm water from the Australia coastline through the Pacific to New Zealand, where the water is typically a bit colder. The reason the diving is so wonderful there is because of the clashing of these two fronts, which brings much more tropical fish to the area than otherwise would be there.
After our debrief we geared up and hopped into the VERY COLD water! There's no coral in the area. Instead, the fish live in and around massive kelp forests, which are quite unlike anything I've seen diving or snorkeling. The forests are very dense and FILLED with wildlife. I definitely understand why it's rated as one of the top dive sites in the world - so much to see in such a small area!
During the dives we saw tons of snapper and triveli fish, and a few moray eels (NOT my favorite...). It was pretty incredible to see the THOUSANDS of fish swimming in schools around us.
During our first dive we also had the REALLY unique experience of being able to breathe 8.5 meters under water! Under the archway we dove around there was an underwater cavern with an air pocket. As a result, we were able to dive underneath the cavern and into the air pocket, where we were able to take out our regulators (our breathing apparatus) and actually breathe air in the pocket. So cool!
However, the highlight of the two dives was definitely the THREE sting rays we saw - each about a meter across!
The first two we saw had loooooong stingers. The last one we saw had basically no tail - my dive master, Steve, said it had most likely been taken off during a fight!
The diving was seriously incredible. I'm so grateful that I decided after diving the Great Barrier Reef that I needed to take advantage of the opportunity to dive more often. If you ever get the chance to dive at the Poor Knights, don't hesitate - it was seriously awesome!
In addition, in between our two dives we ate lunch and enjoyed some hot drinks while the crew drove the boat in and around several archways in the Poor Knights. We also took a detour into the world's largest seacave, which is over 300 square meters in total. PRETTY BIG!
While I missed Jon (and was very keen to fill him in on allllllllll the details of what happened to me all day), overall it was really a fantastic day and I got to meet tons of interesting people. I really enjoyed my experiences diving and look forward to getting out there again soon :).
After the dives I filled in my log book (where I keep the details of each of my dives), got them stamped by the crew, and then headed back to the information center with Chris to meet up with Jon :).
Jon's Day:
When Jess left, I was heartbroken, sad, crying. I had to pick myself up off the ground and get a coffee in Whangarei. It was probably the best coffee I had on the whole trip.
I picked the perfect day to golf in Whangarei - the weather was mid-70s and sunny, not too hot, not too cold. Even though it was a Wednesday, a weekday at 11 am, I was surprised by how few people were out on the course. The guy at the pro shop was really nice, gave me a full set of clubs, golf balls, and tees, and 18 holes of golf for only $40 USD. He told me I could play alone, which I'd never done before, but I was grateful for it since I hadn't played in a few months and knew I'd be pretty rusty.
After I sliced my first shot onto the road, I settled down and had a good round of golf. Only in New Zealand can you look from the 10th tee and see the ocean, greenery, and mountains in the background.
It was a peaceful round of golf and I really enjoyed playing there. If I had all the money in the world, I'd spend weeks just driving around New Zealand playing all the different golf courses. It was a really good day of golf and I'm glad I got to go because it was definitely an experience.
After golf I basically got back to the van and then it started to rain, so the timing was pretty perfect. I ate tacos for lunch in the van and then, since it was raining so hard, I hung out and watched Modern Family for the afternoon until Jess got back. Overall it was a pretty good day.
At night...
When I (Jess) arrived back at the van, I took a shower, Jon cooked dinner (pasta), and then we hung out for the rest of the night. We had TONS to talk about considering it was the first time we'd been apart in so long that we were each eager to share the details of our days' adventures with the other.
It's funny that this is the "campsite" (aka the parking lot of the information center) that we've spent the most time at - 3 nights here! Who woulda thought we would've spent so much time in little ole Whangarei. But it's been a pretty wonderful town with lots of things to see and do in the area. So glad we made it up north!
Tomorrow we're off to Auckland (and to dropping off the van :(.)
Jess' highlight of the day: too many! dolphins, sting rays, and meeting lots of new people :)
Jon's highlight of the day: golf
And it was WEIRD.
Soooooooooo without further ado....
Jess' Day:
Today I woke up super early for my scuba diving adventures! At 7:20 I was picked up by my lovely driver, Chris, and taken to the Tutukaka Marina where I met up with my dive boat, Calypso. About 25 of us went out for the day, including about 8 crew members, for two dives by the Poor Knight's Islands.
After getting settled on the boat, I made it my mission to pretty much make friends with everyone. And I basically succeeded :). I had a blast getting to know tons of people from all over the world (Denmark, Germany, San Fran, Australia, New Zealand, London, and Dubai) as we headed out on to the islands. As we sped along in the water we spotted...several pods of common dolphins!
They were EVERYWHERE! And they seemed to thoroughly enjoy keeping up speed with the boat, swimming alongside us. There was a pod underneath us, one about 20 meters away, and then a few more off in the distance. It was awesome to watch them swimming and playing - they were so beautiful!
We arrived after about an hour and got a debriefing from the crew on what we could expect of our dives at "one of the top ten dive sites in the world".
One of the things quite different about this dive for me was the fact that it's "cold water diving". As a result, we have to wear heavy dive suits, including full head gear :-p.
With my dive buddy, Christine!
The islands are actually situated on the Eastern Australia Current (the EAC - aka what Nemo rides through in Finding Nemo!) The EAC brings warm water from the Australia coastline through the Pacific to New Zealand, where the water is typically a bit colder. The reason the diving is so wonderful there is because of the clashing of these two fronts, which brings much more tropical fish to the area than otherwise would be there.
After our debrief we geared up and hopped into the VERY COLD water! There's no coral in the area. Instead, the fish live in and around massive kelp forests, which are quite unlike anything I've seen diving or snorkeling. The forests are very dense and FILLED with wildlife. I definitely understand why it's rated as one of the top dive sites in the world - so much to see in such a small area!
During our first dive we also had the REALLY unique experience of being able to breathe 8.5 meters under water! Under the archway we dove around there was an underwater cavern with an air pocket. As a result, we were able to dive underneath the cavern and into the air pocket, where we were able to take out our regulators (our breathing apparatus) and actually breathe air in the pocket. So cool!
However, the highlight of the two dives was definitely the THREE sting rays we saw - each about a meter across!
The first two we saw had loooooong stingers. The last one we saw had basically no tail - my dive master, Steve, said it had most likely been taken off during a fight!
The diving was seriously incredible. I'm so grateful that I decided after diving the Great Barrier Reef that I needed to take advantage of the opportunity to dive more often. If you ever get the chance to dive at the Poor Knights, don't hesitate - it was seriously awesome!
In addition, in between our two dives we ate lunch and enjoyed some hot drinks while the crew drove the boat in and around several archways in the Poor Knights. We also took a detour into the world's largest seacave, which is over 300 square meters in total. PRETTY BIG!
While I missed Jon (and was very keen to fill him in on allllllllll the details of what happened to me all day), overall it was really a fantastic day and I got to meet tons of interesting people. I really enjoyed my experiences diving and look forward to getting out there again soon :).
After the dives I filled in my log book (where I keep the details of each of my dives), got them stamped by the crew, and then headed back to the information center with Chris to meet up with Jon :).
Jon's Day:
When Jess left, I was heartbroken, sad, crying. I had to pick myself up off the ground and get a coffee in Whangarei. It was probably the best coffee I had on the whole trip.
I picked the perfect day to golf in Whangarei - the weather was mid-70s and sunny, not too hot, not too cold. Even though it was a Wednesday, a weekday at 11 am, I was surprised by how few people were out on the course. The guy at the pro shop was really nice, gave me a full set of clubs, golf balls, and tees, and 18 holes of golf for only $40 USD. He told me I could play alone, which I'd never done before, but I was grateful for it since I hadn't played in a few months and knew I'd be pretty rusty.
After I sliced my first shot onto the road, I settled down and had a good round of golf. Only in New Zealand can you look from the 10th tee and see the ocean, greenery, and mountains in the background.
It was a peaceful round of golf and I really enjoyed playing there. If I had all the money in the world, I'd spend weeks just driving around New Zealand playing all the different golf courses. It was a really good day of golf and I'm glad I got to go because it was definitely an experience.
After golf I basically got back to the van and then it started to rain, so the timing was pretty perfect. I ate tacos for lunch in the van and then, since it was raining so hard, I hung out and watched Modern Family for the afternoon until Jess got back. Overall it was a pretty good day.
At night...
When I (Jess) arrived back at the van, I took a shower, Jon cooked dinner (pasta), and then we hung out for the rest of the night. We had TONS to talk about considering it was the first time we'd been apart in so long that we were each eager to share the details of our days' adventures with the other.
It's funny that this is the "campsite" (aka the parking lot of the information center) that we've spent the most time at - 3 nights here! Who woulda thought we would've spent so much time in little ole Whangarei. But it's been a pretty wonderful town with lots of things to see and do in the area. So glad we made it up north!
Tomorrow we're off to Auckland (and to dropping off the van :(.)
Jess' highlight of the day: too many! dolphins, sting rays, and meeting lots of new people :)
Jon's highlight of the day: golf
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