Fiji Tonight!

Its early in the morning here and its cold in New Zealand 13C....

This morning I will take a bus to Auckland 3hrs south of Whangarei which is where I am at the moment. Its been a wonderful short stop over with Tony & Janet and I really look forward to arriving in Fiji tonight. Two weeks minus one day in the western world and I couldn't be more ready to get back to a tropical island a few degrees south of the Equator.

This is one of the stops that I was most waiting for at the outset of my trip.

God's Country

New Zealand ...literally at world's end. It is a capital offence to be here for as short a trip as I am. 4 days is all I've given myself for this sector and the reason being... FIJI. Well hey, a tropical paradise (atolls, warm water, diving & surfing) wins every time.

My surfboard didn't turn up on arrival at Auckland Airport. It has since been found (apparently) I'll only know this for sure on Friday when I go back to the airport and try to pick it up for the next flight: Auckland - Fiji. Fingers crossed.

Ive been back in the west for just over 10 days now and the transition has been easy, in fact, far too easy. I suppose its not the old habits one forgets. Its the new ones created by the immediate environment that are the easiest lost. And that's scary.

I have been lucky. I've purposely faced myself with a number of small personal challenges on my return to the West which have not only given me true insight as to where I stand in terms of personal development but also shown me first hand the challenges I will meet in my immediate future and the choices I must make before being allowed to be influenced and seduced by the West.

This country is beautiful. I got the impression, flying in to land, that it was God's forgotten playground. I since learnt that it is sometimes referred to as God's Country so I guess I wasn't far off. The sea is beautiful, green & turquoise and the land reminiscent of Scotland. A stunning combination. From a plane in the sky above you can make out the drop offs and dips into the deep blue, truly magnificent.

I'm off to Fiji on Friday and I truly look forward to being back on a small tropical island. What do I miss most? Well, maybe a fresh coconut breakfast on the beach.....

A Fleeting visit to Sydney

26C sunny and yet it still feels bloody cold here .... umm Equatorial Living must be the way to go.

I've really looked forward to this visit. Its an opportunity to explore Sydney with my cousin and his family who call this amazing city their home. Its a beautiful city. It's clean and it distinctly lacks the traffic of London or the plastic waste at the road side in developing Asian countries.

I was picked up at the airport and as soon as we managed to fit the surf board in the car, we were off.

1st Stop was The Maltese Cafe where a generous stock of pastizzi and kinnie was picked up. :) Yummy!!!

The star of the show immediately shone:

my baby cousin who will be 3 years old in December. This little boy is just too cute for words. Very articulate for a 3yr old and so funny. He had us in constant fits and he won my heart in seconds.

The weirdest thing was being in a western house for the first time in 10 months. Being a different environment it immediately reminded me of how I used to be and what had changed. The changes noted were physical ones; my hair's lighter for one. Just goes to show how influential the immediate environment is.

Sydney is amazing, I found out that my cousin is an incredible chef. He treated us to one culinary delight after another. In the 9 days I was there we saw the city, we took ferries across the harbour, we climbed Harbour Bridge at dusk to witness the most beautiful sunset whilst the city lights came on,

we swam a total of 5.7 kilometers at the North Sydney Olympic pool, we checked out Bondi's surf (who surfs in a wetsuit? I found my limits, not me) we shopped, we toured the Opera House, we went to the Zoo

and we had gourmet fish and chips on the beach in Balmoral.

Every moment was absolute bliss and I am currently checking with Qantas to see if I can change my return flight to include another stop over. Yes that means I get to read three more bedtime stories to the adorable one haha!

Thanks Mel, Keyth & Dylan it was just lovely to spend time with you!

Dylan's Swimming Lesson