The journey was pretty hairy due to the amount of turbulence so i was pretty pleased to get onto Fiji soil. It was another really long que this time to get through passport control but luckily the taxi man from Octopus resort was still waiting for us to take us to the hostel for the night. It was a pretty grim place and it was very busy due to the South Pacific games being held but we managed to find a couple of beds for the night. We dumped our stuff then went up to the lounge and watched some Black Adder DVD's which was a fab ending to a very long day.

After a quick b'fast of fruit and cereal we walked to the bank to get some cash out of the hole in the wall but unfortunately Toby's card didn't work - worrying.... he used his other card which luckily worked then walked back through the market which to my surprise was full of Indians. The taxi picked us back up at 10am and took us to the ferry which turned out to be a very small tin looking boat. There were about 10 of us all going over, we climbed on and then had a terrible trip over because the sea was so choppy. I was so pleased to see our resort and to get off the blinkin boat! i got soaked up to the waist getting onto the beach due to the rough sea. The island looked lovely - sandy beach and palm trees, a little bar/restaurant shack, typical thatched cottages called Bure's and some really big tents.

After a quick pep talk we were shown our space to pitch our tent which was a little tricky because the wind was so strong, when we did finally get the tent up we realised there was no room for our backpacks - oh dear, but then we did have a big mattress in there as well.... still a bit of a worry though. We took all the stuff out we needed then dumped our bags in the office for the duration of our stay. The resort had some really big tents already pitched for guests which they were charging to same price to stay in as for us to stay in our small one, unfortunately they were all booked out for the week. Toby went off to find Gary and Sarah who were also staying but it was their last night. Gary and Sarah live in the same village as Toby back in the UK so he was so excited about meeting up with them again. I went for a quick lie down as i was so tired but 30mins later Toby came back with Gary and Sarah who had been out on a pick nick for the day. Hugs all round!!!! I went for a cold shower - didn't have hot ones but soon got used to that. The others had booked up a group massage so i went and had an hour of back rubbing, we were all laying down in Gary and Sarah's tent as they had one of the big ones. The ladies who were doing our massage were so funny, they seem to laugh all the time and seemed such happy people. Had to have another shower because of the coconut oil, didn't want to attract all the ants in the night! We then all went to have some cocktails at the bar and joined another couple called Beth and Hamish who were really nice. We started talking about marriage etc and how Gary and Sarah had been together for 10 years when she piped up how he had asked her to marry him on the pick nick early on in the day!!!! how fantastic is that. He took her on a private beach with a bottle of bubbly and proposed - very romantic.

So it was more cause for cocktails before Toby and I were dragged off for the Kava evening, something they always do for the new arrivals. Kava is the local alcoholic drink derived from a plant which is ground down then sieved through a cloth with some water and tastes like shite. Looks like muddy water and really isn't very pleasant but after a couple of cup full's and some clapping your mouth becomes numb because of the natural anaesthetic so it does get better the more you drink.

Didn't have a late one as we were both so tired so after dinner which was fish, and as everyone knows i'm not a fish eater but i thought i would try. Needless to say Toby had 2 dinners then we crashed in the tent which was now being blown around everywhere.

didn't sleep so well due to the wind and the heat but at least there wasn't insects flying everywhere trying to eat you alive - in fact haven't seen one mosquito yet.

Did see a lot of crabs in the night when getting up for a wee, one tried to crawl under the tent but i dragged him back out again before we accidentally squashed the poor bugger in the night. Went and met everyone for b'fast which i passed onto Toby, not feeling hungry. The weather was still quite choppy and the sun wasn't really showing it;s head just yet so we all sat on the beach for a while before having some lunch and then saying goodbye to Gary and Sarah who were catching the 2pm boat back. Unfortunately the boat didn't come due to blowing up on the way over - probably because the sea was so rough so they had to stay for a few hours extra before having to walk to the next village where the sea was more sheltered to catch another boat.

We sat in a hammock for the rest of the afternoon then went and did some crab racing which was an event they hold every tuesday - good fun but we didn't win. We sat with Beth and Hamish over dinner and then we all joined in with the drinking games they had on the beach accompanied by a bonfire. I of course won the drinking game which involved kneeling down with your hands behind your back and drinking a bottle of beer out of a straw as fast as you can then putting the empty bottle on your head to show you have finished - the others didn't stand a chance! takes me back to the days of having pint drinking competitions with Toby and his mates in Richmond and winning all the money - twice in a row........ ahhh the glory. Toby and I also won a balloon competition which nearly ended up with us killing each other because Toby was just pushing me into people an i was knocking all the opponents balloons out, he couldn't understand why i was shouting at him to stop pushing and to just stand still. Anyway it nearly ended in tears but we did win (cheating) and got given a bottle of bubbly which we all consumed pretty quickly.

Stayed up till midnight drinking the duty free we had bought with Beth and Hamish then crashed into the tent for some sleep which was pretty hard because it was like a sauna in that tiny little thing.

Got up early and had some b'fast before joining the rest of the group going on a 3hr hike up the mountain/cliff thingy.......Found the amount of rubbish in the forest quite disheartening but the island on the whole was bloody beautiful the weather was now very hot so it was quite hard going and i was finding the walk uphill really hard. Near the top we had to climb up rocks and boulders using all fours which was a challenge and there was an older lady in our group who kept up with us all the way - did better than me in fact. The views were amazing and well worth the sweat, when we got to the top there was a fire coming over from the other side so we didn't stay for long before scrambling back down which was just as hard - Toby fell over quite hard again but didn't hurt himself this time......

We didn't have any lunch but just sat around for a couple of hours then went to get some snorkel gear and went for a dip. I did really well and didn't even get scared when confronted with a shoal of squid, saw loads of lovely fish but was a little disappointed with the lack of colour on the sea bed - a lot of coral seemed pretty dead and what was alive was quite natural looking. Did find some patches of pretty and interesting things though which were great to investigate - and the fish were so varied and brightly coloured. We then sat on the beach to read for a few hours, Toby was trying to finish the Harry Potter book before the end of the holiday. I went out for another snorkel with Beth in the afternoon and i saw what i thought was a jellyfish but turned out to be a plastic bag..... not very bright.

I went and watched a coconut demonstration, how to cut one down from the tree and how to drink and eat the thing - very very tasty. After dinner had another early night - still very hot.

After b'fast we went for a walk along the beach and had a poke around in the rock pools - just saw lots of crabs whilst Toby saw an octopus. Spent most of the day reading on the beach and soaking up the rays then went for another snorkel but found our flippers were hurting our toes and causing them to blister so went back in and fell asleep in the sun for a few hours - starting to get a nice tan even with factor 30+ on

Hamish couldn't find his shoes which he had left somewhere on the resort (it's all sand) so i helped for a little bit but they didn't turn up - he thinks a local has now got some nice sandals. After a cold shower and some drinks with them both then sat on a huge mat under the stars and played on the guitars singing and enjoying the whole atmosphere. There was a Kiwi girl who could sing and play really well and was very confident. Beth also played and sang for us, she was fantastic and it turned out Hamish could play the guitar as well!!! gosh everyone is talented round these parts.

Toby woke up in a foul mood - oh joy so had a quick and conversation free b'fast before hitting the beach and book for most of the morning with Hamish and Beth. They had to catch the 2pm boat back so we all had an hour of snorkeling then had some lunch, said our goodbyes and swapped email addresses.

The locals all came down to sing a song and wave goodbye, they also do that for new arrivals which i think adds a nice touch. Had a wonderful sunset in the evening which everyone came down to sit on the beach and watch before finding a seat for dinner which was now becoming hard to do because of the amount of people they had staying on the resort - far too many. It was buffet night tonight which meant standing in line for ages and i wasn't feeling so good so just left them all to it and went to bed. Toby got up at 2.30 to get some fresh air because it was so stuffy in the tent - no breeze could get in. I got up after him and went to sit on the beach thinking he had gone for a walk, the moon was full and it was soooo beautiful just watching the waves and being so alone. 1/2 hr later and still no sign of Jones so i thought i should go back to the tent to see if he was looking for me, he was sound asleep in the tent and when i started getting back in i woke him. He thought i was already in the tent! didn't notice i wasn't lead next to him, he just went for a wee then went back to sleep unawares of my non presence next to him.................. Toby and his bubble world.

After b'fast we sat in shade all morning as i was starting to get prickly heat... not nice. Toby managed to finish the Harry Potter book which he was overjoyed about so we celebrated with a cold pineapple drink and a packet of crisps. I had also finished all my reading material so went in the library in the office to see if they would allow me to swap 3 of my books (including the new harry potter) for one of theres' even though they have a sign saying they don't. The Kiwi couple that own the resort were in the office at the time and she was fine about it saying that was more than fare but he got really quite funny about the whole thing and said he already had the HP book in paper back (don't do it in PB) and made me feel like i was stealing the crown jewels - she let me take one anyway so i quickly left the office to the safety of the beach to read my new book. Hired out a kayak in the afternoon but the wind had picked up again and the water got really choppy so went back in after 20mins the weather didn't improve and got quite chilly so i went and had a shower and sat on beach to play gameboy then all sat around to watch the locals put on a dance and singing show for us, this also included the owners 2 kids who were very funny. Met a lovely couple from OZ over dinner who were very nice then had another early night.

I gave all our washing to the launderette in the morning then realised i had nothing to wear that covered my shoulders for church later that morning so stayed behind and read whilst Toby went off and prayed for the both of us...

I didn't go snorkeling again as the amount of sea lice from the time before put me off a bit ( they bite) so just laid around all day. Looking forward to leaving Monday pm though as i'm starting to find it a little claustrophobic being confined to this small area, not allowed to walk without a guide over the rest of the island, or so they say and i'm struggling to do nothing all day. but sit and read.

It was BBQ night at the resort which turned out to be a really good night - we sat with some funny people and played cards for a while before loading our plated up with wonderful food and diving in. 30mins later though i had the most terrible stomach ache and had to dive to the loo where i then spent the rest of the evening thinking i was going to die, went straight to bed without saying goodnight to anyone.

Had stomach ache all night but there was a breeze getting in the tent which made it more bearable. After an early b'fast we packed up our bags and the tent and checked out by 10am - both looking forward to getting back to some normality and not laying around anymore. Wonderful place to get away specially for honeymooners and for a relaxing break but i don't think you could do more than a week (well i couldn't) beautiful island, bright blue clear waters, palms and sand......

Caught the 2pm boat back which i wasn't looking forward to after the trip over but the water was calm and the journey enjoyable. The taxi dropped 3of us back to the Cathy Hotel, where we stayed the first night in fiji. Mike whom we had made friends with was heading our way and staying in the same hotel so we made arrangements to meet up for pizza later on that evening. We booked ourselves into a double room for a couple of nights so that we could do our diary and have some space - can't swing a cat in our small tent so it was nice to have some room to put things. Met up with Mike in the Pizza place, he was also meeting up with an American couple and their baby who had also been staying at the Octopus resort, so we all got together and had dinner and i really enjoyed myself - they were so much fun and had lots of interesting stories to tell.

Fell into bed and slept like a log - luckily the ceiling fan gave us a bit of breeze.

Had a lovely hot shower then had some b'fast, i stayed in and finished my diary whilst Toby went up to the internet place to check his emails. We then swapped and i went to check mine, mother of course was now starting to worry....

Had left over pizza for lunch then went into town to get some groceries for our next couple of days in the highlands which of course caused Toby to get into another one of his strange moods when entering a food shop.......... as always we ended up having words because of his attitude to shopping - and just how are we going to eat if we don't buy stuff? Anyway just bought some noodles and b'fast bars and some fruit ready for our couple of days hiking up in the mountains.

We then went for a mega cheap chinese meal in some dodgy looking place - got warned for the 3rd time about not walking the streets at night time, this time by a white guy. This time though i went out with my knife just in case......... have been warned 1 to many times for my liking so not taking chances.

Got picked up at 10am in a truck so we clambered into the back with our bags with another couple from the UK and we were then taken up into the Highlands. The journey was pretty rough due to it being a stone track but it was nice to be taken out of the town and into the countryside and villages. It was certainly green and very pretty away from the hustle and bustle, very much like some parts of India. We passed through one village where i got out and took some photo's, very traditional with friendly people - hard to think they were cannibals just 100 years ago.

We then got dropped of at the lodge we were staying at right at the top of the track, we had paid down at the tourist place whilst on the way up. The lodge was fantastic and much better equipped than i thought, had beds and cooking facilities and a proper toilet. Mike and Jane who shared the trip up with us wished they had made arrangements to stay after seeing the place. They were a nice couple and seemed easy to talk to so after dumping all our bags we all set off to do the 3hr waterfall loop trail - really very good and very widernessy, felt like being in a lost jungle somewhere..... when we got back we all had some lunch that we had bought with us - Toby's glad i bought some food now!

We then all sat for a few hours until they had to be picked up at 4pm - ended up having a really good afternoon just chatting and having a laugh, Mike was extremely funny and kept us entertained doing some of his Spanish listening to Toby's Spanish learning Audio thing he has. They are off to South America very soon so he is trying to learn like we are - not very well

After they had gone we just had some dinner of instant mash and beans then had a really early night. Unfortunately the mice then woke up and were running all in the ceiling making a right old racket - they had already got into our food bag and eaten some of our stuff. We had mosquito nets covering our bunks luckily as they were quite a nuisance, so i got onto my bunk only to find it was damp due to the humidity and had mice poo over it. Oh well...... i tucked in my net so it was like being in a cage then just fell asleep fully clothed.

Had the weirdest dreams about when my mum and dad split up when i was 8yrs old - never had dreams about that before?

We both were up early and ready to do our big 4hr mountain walk, unfortunately we then spent the next hour looking for the beginning of the trail and ended up going up and down the main track looking for it - very frustrating. We did find it in the end thanks to the locals but by now the sun was shining down and draining us of any energy we had left. I was already exhausted and we had only just started so by after 30mins of climbing straight up and trying to just breathe because of the humidity and hot sun, i was ready to turn back, especially as all i could see was dots in front of me cause i was so hot. Toby said to carry on for a bit further but even he was feeling rough. To be honest i was finding it so hard a bloody meteor could have dropped in front of me and i would have just stepped over it and not noticed, i was really feeling bad. We got near the top and had a sit down and some fruit and decided the view was just as good from where we were and started walking back - thank god.......

I was nearly running back but once across the river we then had to walk back up hill to get to the lodge - by now the sun was blazing and my legs would not walk any more but with the last bit of life i had left in my little body and somehow made it back, ok it's a bit dramatic but frankly that's how i felt!

Toby went off for a dip in the nearby natural pool whilst i just headed back and had a very cold shower taking in all my clothes for a wash as well. Spent the afternoon chilling out and waiting for the van to pick us up. Said they would come for us at 3 but didn't turn up till 4.30 - that's fiji time.

They dropped us down to the bus stop and we caught the bus into Nadi which took and hour and even had a TV and video playing XXX, the bus was knackered but had a film showing? It was now dark and we were both really tired and quite hungry, we got off in town then walked for a while to find a place called sunseekers. Hotel come hostel which is all we needed, so we got ourselves a double -very basic and definitely not a hotel..... then walked up into town again for a sit down Chinese recommended by someone who said it was cheap - it wasn't. Went back to Sunseekers and i had a quick shower in the communal bathroom, the shower was a pip sticking out of a crumbling wall nicely framed by the sink hanging off the wall. After a very quick shower we went and sat outside to listen to the local guys having a jamming session. They were quite good apart from the bass player who was awful - went back to room and did dairy.

Both were awake at 7am so just got up, booking another night at sunseekers then heading off to the internet cafe to catch up on all the goss, mother had sent out the search partied cause she hadn't heard from us for a week.

We then walked around the town looking for some new trousers for Toby as he had mislaid the bottom half of his trousers in the last Hostel we stayed at..... and he worries about money.

Had some b'fast at 10.30 and was joined by a guy called Bob (local guy) who said to join us for some Kava and have a look in his shop, needless to say we did and ended up buying what we thought were some bargains to send home. He even made us pay for the Kava at the end after saying it was free and just used for a welcome 'getting to know one another' we then said we would buy some weed as he said he could get some and ended up driving all over Nadi finding the guy to get it from. And yes once again we were ripped off left right and center.........

Just to top it off after sending all the stuff home from the Post Office we went for a look in the market only to find all the same stuff we had just purchased for a 3rd of the price, now that will teach us not to trust anyone!

We then bought some fruit and dry biscuits for our bus journey - Toby didn't see the point even though it was really cheap. I then wanted to have a walk around to take in the locals etc but Toby was by now getting really stressed, just doesn't like doing any of that kind of stuff so we went in a little cafe and had some lunch for £2.80 each - my choice as it was cheap and really very good, he still didn't seem happy so we walked back to the hostel.

No Toby you haven't turned into a tight arse and yes i understand your worries but surely the money is something that we can't change, we aren't staying in hotels or nice places and we are not having expensive dinners but just living from day to day and doing the best we can - it's not worth worrying about and even if we (when we) run out of money then we just go home - simple so try to enjoy everyday where we are at the time and stop trying to plan all the time for our next leg or the journey and not taking the time to look around you and enjoy yourself - who gives a shit if you have put on weight cause when we are homeless and destitute back in the UK then i'm sure you will lose it all again

Wrote all our postcards when back at the hostel and just chilled out for the evening - dinner was the wholemeal rolls i had bought earlier.........

Got picked up at 9.30 by the Feejee experience bus which just turned out to be a normal coach as opposed to the normal green one they use.

Our wonderful guide, Theresa introduced herself and the driver, Pops then took us for a quick tour of the rich area of Fiji - the Sheraton etc and basically showed us how the other half lived! We were then given a quick brief the next few days whilst driving onto Natadola beach along the Queens road. The beach was amazing and very unspoiled, i wasn't interested in sunbathing so i volunteered both our services to help out with the food preparation and really enjoyed doing it. Got talking with a local guy who told us jokes about big balls which was hysterical because you could only catch a few words now and then - had us in fits but the rest of the group didn't seem to 'get it'........The bus was swapped for the proper green Experience one whilst we were eating

I just had some salad for lunch whilst the rest pigged out on meat and bread and salad and fruit. I went off for a stroll along the beach to leave them all to it but within seconds of me stepping onto the beach i trod on a rather sharp rock which cut the bottom of my foot, but being the soldier that i am i carried on with my stroll and found myself on the most wonderful golden beach with crystal clear water and palm trees. When i got back they were packing up so i just cleaned the bottom of my foot as best i could but couldn't get the sand out, just stuck a plaster on and hobbled back on board.

We were then supposed to go dune surfing but Theresia explained the land had been put under protection due to finding some bones from the first settlers on the island. So we went straight on to the 'crows nest' where we were all staying for the night, Toby and i were near the back of the bus which meant we got the shittiest accommodation. There were six of us who ended up with the dorm room over the bar whilst the rest of the group shared villas which had showers and jugs of hot water for tea and coffee, TV and towels etc whilst we had no sheets no towels and the shitty toilet and cold shower was situated downstairs round the corner at the back of the restaurant. We weren't happy about paying the same amount of money as the rest of the group and the fact we wouldn't have paid£20 for any dorm room anyway....... i did complain to the manager and to Theresa but didn't get anywhere.

We did end up making friends with the people who shared our dorm with us - Ian and Toni who were flat mates and Emma and Billy from Wales, they were all really nice. The evening was spent drinking and getting to know everyone before having a quick dinner and then entertained by some local dancers

Had to get up for a wee in the night it was pissing down outside so ended up getting wet and slipping up in mud - not happy. After a very quick b'fast we all got back on the bus, this time we sat near the front!

It was still raining and looking grey and miserable, my foot was extremely sore to put any weight on because it had now swollen which meant i couldn't do the trek. I was really looking forward to doing the walk but knew it would be impossible so opted to catch a lift on the long boat and meet them at the end. Rebecca who also wasn't keep due to just not enjoying walking, volunteered to keep me company for the afternoon something i shall be eternally grateful for because as it turned out we ended up having a blood great time!

We were plonked into the long boats and given opened up plastic bin liners to wrap around ourselves because of the rain, then taken on a 40min boat journey up the most wonderful river surrounded by lush green jungle either side. We didn't really appreciate the scenery though as we were huddled close to each other hugging the bags as best we could whilst making jokes all the way up. The boat man was trying to scare us by driving towards rocks and other obstacles a bit like 'shotover jet' in NZ but the difference was we were only going at a snails pace which made it even funnier. By the time we arrived at our destination which was a little stone beach, we were both quite soaked. We set up an ingenious camp with our bin bags then decided to get stoned to pass the time, ended up discussing how we never laugh so much when you smoke it as apposed to eating it, then started laughing hysterically for the next few hours. At one point we thought we were special mushrooms (we sort of looked like them with out bags on.......) anyway we were on our mushroom island and had to greet the others with a special song which we promptly made up ready for our guests. 2hrs later the other started appearing on the other side of the river slipping and sliding down from the top of the very steep cliff. We were put in the long boats and floated across to the other side which was even more hysterical because we said we couldn't walk due to the fact we had no legs (we were mushrooms) so tried to shuffle across to the boat but eventually did walk. As we arrived on the other side to greet the rest of the tribe we started to explain we were fungi and couldn't get out of the boat because we had no legs..................... the rest of them just looked at us and could not understand why we were crying with hysterics whilst looking cold and wet.

To get back down the river we had to all jump in some inflatable rings and just float down - once again very funny due to us talking absolute shite all the time. I kept separating from everyone else and heading towards the rocks and small rapids, why i just don't know? We then all had to get out near a small waterfall which was very difficult because you would get trapped in the circle of water and end up going round and around, Rebecca thought this was what you were supposed to do and just had this inane grin on her face whilst the rest of us were desperately trying to paddle to shore. For some reason (i have yet to find out) we then were told to get back in the rings and carry on floating down the river, which we did. Toby ended up pulling 4 of us in as we had now linked up with Emma and was knackered by the time he got us into shore....

Anyway we were all cold and wet by the time we got back to the coach after a 20min boat ride speeding along in the rain so rushed to get changed into some warm clothes and have a milo using a organisers house as a warm up stop.

Stopped in Suva for the night and after a bit of a barny with the hotel staff we ended up with a double to ourselves, whilst sharing with 2 other single people who had another room but we were all in together, they even had camp beds. We were lead to believe we would have a room to ourselves this time, anyway ........ we did in the end.

After a lovely hot shower we got dressed up and went out for dinner at the Fat Dog - wasn't impressed with the food but the company was good. It happened to be Toni's b'day so we all sang the song which was over heard by one of the American Navel guys at the bar so he bought 20 shots of Tequila and wished us all a happy evening, how generous is that! Emma's b'day was the next day so we sung the song again, she had some more shots provided by the bar then a big group of us headed next door to the Irish bar.

Well spent the rest of the evening having a bloody great time, and got talking to a great guy called Jo, also from the bus, He is from London and had a wicked sense of humour. Anyway i had a great time having shots bought for me every time i went to the bar. Seems the Navy guys always do this when they come into port - well thanks guys!! some of them were so sweet and i got chatted up by a 22 yr old who was wasted............so his friends kept reminding me, yeh thanks. Theresa joined us later in the evening and didn't get off the dance floor, she was a fantastic dancer - where did she get all her energy from?

Left the club at 2 then dropped the light weights home whilst the few of us left went and got more booze from the black market and sat up until 4.30am, Jo, Billy, Emma, Tom, Ben, Theresa and us two ended up playing some very funny drinking games which were all painstakingly spelt out to us by Jo, we were all so wasted we just couldn't get it at all and just ended up laughing all the time, very funny. We said our goodbyes to Billy and Emma who were staying on for a couple of days in Suva and promised to keep in touch.

Two and a half hours later we were up again, in the shower and on the bus for 8am. Just had dry crackers for b'fast then stopped off for some supplies on the way for our lunch etc we weren't hungry just thirsty....

It was then a long couple of hours on the Kings highway which was muddy and slippery and very bumpy. We stopped off at a rural school so we could say hello and introduce ourselves, found out what they were doing etc. All very nice but very difficult with a hangover and lack of concentration... Hopped back on the bus an hour later and went to a rural village for a kava ceremony and some dancing with the locals which was bloody hilarious. They then took us down to the river where we had to sit on some bilibil rafts and get taken to the otherside for some beach games. I really couldn't get into running around after the ball specially as most of the time they were in the river so just sat that one out. We had to race back and i was on the same raft as Rebecca so of course we won!

Had to dry ourselves and get changed again on the side of the road - getting a bit fed up being wet and cold and muddy all the time now.

Caught a small boat across to an island a few hours later to stay the night in a backpackers, we had the choice to stay a few days but because of the weather we declined. We landed in the dark so didn't get any view of the island which was annoying. Had an early night after dinner and spent a couple of hours sitting on the bed with Rebecca in her dormitory having a good old laugh - realised we don't need grass to talk shite.

slept like a log in the dorm thank goodness.

Had our b'fast using the supplies i had bought then sat around for an hour waiting to get back on the boat and leave. Rebecca had changed her flight home so now didn't want to stay on the island for a few days, then Jo whom we had also made friends with decided not to stay. This seemed to annoy Theresa a little but was cool about it in the end. House on fire - Rebecca had decided to go home early as she had had enough of traveling and needed her own bed so she was like a kid with a new toy! so excited.

It was once again raining so we all got very cold and wet on the boat journey back so once again had to get changed into some warm gear on the coach that was waiting for us. We stopped off for a curry for lunch which was bloody lovely then were supposed to go to some hot pools but nobody was interested in getting wet again! The coach dropped us off at the Nadi Bay hotel but we decided to find the Aquarius Hotel which we had fancied for days. The leaflet we had seen told us the wrong prices so we were unpleasantly surprised when we did arrive at the cost. We were so tired though we just took a couple of dorm rooms and relaxed in our room for the rest of the evening. Toby took the last of the hot water which i was most peeved about so had a go at the lady on reception then sat in my room and sulked

This was hard to do due to having a girl called Vicky in our room who thought she had every disease going, Toby didn't make it any easier because he kept coming up with new tropical diseases to get........... within the first hour she had gone from being pregnant because she was eating marmite, to having been bitten by a white tail because she had a brown spot on her leg, Toby had told her the story of Jess who got bitten and started rotting away....... she then thought she had dengue fever after he told her about the black and white mosquitoes that carried it and so it went on. She then started having panic attacks thinking she had picked up something awful and had to be placated by a bloke she seemed to be friends with. She would be quiet for about 5mins then start asking what we thought her brown spot was and what were the symptoms again? Jesus freeking Christ the girl was a complete loon!! I had to stick my ear plugs in and go to sleep cause i really would have just poked her eyes out if she had carried on.

Had some fruit for B'fast then caught a taxi back up to the Sunseekers hotel where we had stayed first of all, the dorm beds were only $8.80 each as opposed to the $22each in the Aquarius. Toby caught up with his diary in the afternoon whilst i just read and relaxed in the peace and quiet. Went out for dinner, just had some pizza then a hot shower and early night

Slept like a log! went shopping in the day time in town and bought Toby's mum a birthday pressie and i bought a T-shirt and went to the market to get some fresh veggies for a salad. Had a quick lunch then i went back and did my diary which took bloody hours. Left Toby to go out to the festival later in the evening whilst I read and just enjoyed the quiet time.

Much later on after Toby had got back we had a couple of students come and join us in the dorm, they went back out for Pizza and came back in around midnight. At 3am i was laying awake and noticed one of the girls on the top bunk was also awake and seemed quite fidgety so i sat up to turn the fan off which does make an awful racket so i thought that was keeping her up. I asked if she was ok with that and she said it wasn't the fan but the rat that had just landed on her pillow waking her up....... it was now running around the room and having a lovely time. She just got up and went upstairs to do some reading and catch up with her dairy which left me lying awake listening to the darn thing, Toby and the other girl seemed oblivious! I eventually turned on the light and ran around the dorm with a shoe in my hand trying to get it out of the door, i was hoping it was going to be a mouse, but nope it was a big fat rat. I suppose it was quite funny at the time but when i went to move Toby's rucksack i was then leapt on by a big fat cockroach which completely woke me up so i just grabbed my book and went upstairs to join the other girl and leave the other 2 to slumber. It was now 4.15am and i sat up till 6am then decided to try and get an hours snooze in but when i went back in the dorm the rat was still making a racket by chewing on the metal grill we had covering the windows so i ended up leaping from one top bunk to another with a shoe in my hand again trying to scare the poor blighter, Toby was still asleep and the other girl was just laughing!

Weather is looking good again which is good news!

very tired due to rat chasing all night but otherwise ok, so after some bran flakes and coffee we went for a walk through town to go and have a look at the HIndu temple. It was a beautiful temple and so bright and colourful just like being back in India. I then went around some second hand shops which gives me a huge amount of satisfaction, much to Toby's dismay i did find a top for a dollar - about 30p and was very pleased with myself. I even treated myself to an ice-cream then both went for a coffee and a piece of cake.

We went back to the hostel and i cut and redid my new top to suit me better - gosh i'm clever. I donned my new head scarf and we went into town to the Pricilla evening at the festival. It is how it sounds basically, Its a gay and drag queen evening and they all get dressed up, then have a beauty contest. We went down early to check out the rides - and stalls which were all food orientated. The rides were like cheap Meccano creations and didn't look very sturdy so i declined the chance to get in one for fear of my life! We did however sample some Indian treats for a couple of dollars not knowing what we were eating but they were all very tasty, i then had a dish of rice and we went to the show which was being held in the stadium. Toby went to purchase some tickets whilst i waited around listening to some Christian group who had a loud speaker and were showing some weird films about the devil and the good guy in a western bar? anyway some American bloke started blabbing very loudly on his microphone about how being gay and lesbian would send you straight to hell and how jesus died on the cross for us and how smoking pot would mean you wouldn't get into the pearly gates bla bla bla. All the while some other people were handing out leaflets to passers by about Christianity - i o course told them to bugger off and not preach that crap to me. It was quite funny though, as they were shouting off all this crap some of the gay men all dressed as lovely ladies just tottered past on there high heels and having a lovely time - good for them!

We entered the outdoor Soccer arena and struggled to find a decent place to sit as the place was packed. But we plonked ourselves down and enjoyed an hour of first watching a Miss 2003 contest held by females then the best part was the Miss Pricilla 2003 where 12 lovely looking men/females pranced around on stage and then said a little speech some of them sounding very feminine. The crowd absolutely loved it and were cheering and screaming when they came on stage - it was such good fun.

We went home after an hour and sat up drinking with a couple of others for a little while chatting about traveling etc

Well got back into the room and was lovingly greeted by rat poo all over my bed and all the others apart from Toby's........mmmmm something not right about that.

I changed the sheet and settled down for the night........

Well what a wonderful nights sleep i had - not

The darned rat decided to keep us up all night by constantly chewing on the metal grill again and making a right racket - bloody thing made a huge hole in the solid bloody metal mesh thing, must have teeth of titanium.

After some b'fast i went into town to buy some soap leaving Toby to wright his diary, when i got back he had a lovely looking child sat on his lap making faces into the camera on the laptop. We finished the rest of the salad off for lunch then Toby went into town to watch the big festival floats drive through town whilst i did my dairy.

Last day of the festival so everyone is in town and having a great time.

Alarm went off at 4.30am and we were in reception for 5am waiting for the bloke to take us to the airport as we were told he leaves at this time most mornings. Not this morning obviously as someone had to get him out of bed......

We were at the airport in plenty of time though and were soon sitting in the lounge for our plane. Not long after we were joined by Richared who had also been staying at the hostel so he entertained us for a while before we boarded the plane at 9ish - it was running a little late. It was running even later after sitting on the tarmac for another 40mins waiting for some lost passengers who did finally turn up.

Two and a half hours later we arrived in Auckland where we had a quick transfer and boarded the plane to Tahiti. The plane was lovely and probably the poshist one we had been on so far. Watched 'Dare Devil' which was apsolute tripe then watched Kangaroo Jack which was quite funny. 4hrs later we landed in Tahiti at 8pm feeling very weary, my previous nights sleep didn't have a rat thanks to changing rooms but i had a bloody awful bed...

FRENCH POLYNESIA JUL 2003 >