Champagne Sir? 
Starting the holiday the RIGHT way, with hours to kill due to our super efficient check-in girl, a bottle seemed the right thing to do. As we wait to board the A380, we get accosted by 3 guys wanting to talk tattoos with Dan. They seem extremely camp and then drop the bombshell about having girlfriends, sure boys sure.
Starting the holiday the RIGHT way, with hours to kill due to our super efficient check-in girl, a bottle seemed the right thing to do. As we wait to board the A380, we get accosted by 3 guys wanting to talk tattoos with Dan. They seem extremely camp and then drop the bombshell about having girlfriends, sure boys sure. The A380 is incredible, best plane I've ever been on. Incomprehensibly big and beautifully luxurious.
Cue tourist snaps. Amazing to see the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House in situ. We stumble across a German Beer House and 1 stein quickly becomes 2! In the evening we go off in search for a traditional Australian eating establishment, the Lord Nelson. Turns out it is not too dissimilar to the UK, no surprise there but it is a great little place with awesome steak. After accosting the couple next to us, they very kindly direct us to Cockle Bay and Cargo bar for some music. It's pretty cool but we're only just managing to stay awake having not slept for 3 days now. We arrive back at the hostel and there's a club in the basement?! This has to be explored, a third wind comes from nowhere and now jäger bombs are being downed with the bar staff, great night. CRASH!
After a heavy few days, we stumble back home barely conscious find some sustenance and get an early night. This holidaying lark is hard work.
(Not Bondi)
(Bar named after our good friend Danny Murphy)
So we arrive at Hobbiton, meet our very knowledgeable guide for the day. Unsurprisingly, our tour group of 50 is 90% oriental. So quiet and polite. Looking at the hobbit film set is fantastic and I really enjoy taking plenty of pictures.
A few hours of intense dancing with the band! And a few cheeky waters from the bar and it's time to call last orders on Sydders and the entire trip. It's an emotional moment.
We decide to watch the new Star Wars film, it's ok. Then fall asleep, the engines are so quiet.
Sat 23rd April 2016
All of a sudden we're in Dubai and its morning, bit weird being served breakfast at 4am. Dubai airport is enormous and it takes about 30 minutes just to get to our gate. We're feeling groggy and a bit dazed so it's time for another flight, film and a sleep. This time we watch the Big Short, brilliant if a little business jargon heavy. We're now in Bangkok, waiting to start the third and final leg of our journey. 8 hours to Sydney, next up is Steve Jobs. Excellent film but doesn't paint him in the best light. More broken sleep and we're landing in Sydney and it's now Sunday?!
Sunday 24th April 2016
9am hostel arrival, we really need some sleep but unfortunately the room isn't ready so we head out for breky. End up at the Rocks.
Cue tourist snaps. Amazing to see the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House in situ. We stumble across a German Beer House and 1 stein quickly becomes 2! In the evening we go off in search for a traditional Australian eating establishment, the Lord Nelson. Turns out it is not too dissimilar to the UK, no surprise there but it is a great little place with awesome steak. After accosting the couple next to us, they very kindly direct us to Cockle Bay and Cargo bar for some music. It's pretty cool but we're only just managing to stay awake having not slept for 3 days now. We arrive back at the hostel and there's a club in the basement?! This has to be explored, a third wind comes from nowhere and now jäger bombs are being downed with the bar staff, great night. CRASH!Monday 25th April 2016
An extremely long sleep ensues and I think I'm going to have to admit defeat. I am officially jet-lagged! Ending up sleeping until 2pm. Still feeling terrible we head to Darling Harbour, aptly named, she's stunning. Have a bit of fun with the road signs.
Tues 26th April 2016
Right then campers, finally back on a decent rhythm. The day starts with a cracking full Aussie breky at the hostel with the usual 'London' prices. £10 for a breky in budget accommodation?! WTF! Time for a jaunt to Sydney harbour to get a ferry to the very Manly beach.
I think we need to get a bigger boat....the ferry really gets some speed up and we're docking in 10 minutes. The breeze is somewhat Baltic but we persevere. We are from Manchester afterall!
Manly beach is great, largely untouched by commercialisation and barely a sunbed in sight. There's natural shade from the stunning oak trees that line the promenade. This allows people to move around the beach as people chase the sun rather just bake in 1 place. Back to the hostel for takeaway pizzas and meet some fellow travelers from Israel, Germany and Holland. These people really know how to budget.
Wed 27th April 2016
Ok so this is my second attempt at writing yesterday's events after blogger failing to save my latest round of hilarious musings.
Right, after a decent night's sleep.....finally, we make it up and out for breky at 9.30am. Off to the independent, organic, Colombian coffee shop I hear you shout? Yep that's where we're heading for the cheapest meal we've had. $10.50 for eggs benedict with bacon and sausage on a muffin, you can't go wrong. Soon after we're enjoying a free barista style coffee outside our hostel in the sunshine feeling rather hipster. We meet the hostel rep at 11 to go on a walk from Coogee beach to Bondi taking in all the sights in between.
There's about 70 of us on this trek and the group is incredibly diverse with as many nationalities as there are people. We're towards the back looking cool, yeah we stick out a mile.
During the day there's a few competitions. Here's me winning a free drink in the handstand competition, third left.
(Everyone who entered won a free drink) Bondi is spectacular, wish we could have stayed for longer or been there around New Years as the parties sound insane.
We do sample a cool bar called the Bucket List with chilled out House vibes, very Ibiza. Next up is a race against time to get back for the free wine and cheese at 7. There's a hub of activity in the self-catering kitchens infused with alcohol and various people from our crew that we met that day popping in and out. Then all hell breaks loose in the hostel bar in the basement, free drinks for half an hour at 9. Next thing I know they've run out of wine glasses and I'm given free Champagne and I'm on the dance floor jumping along to the Vengaboys. If this wasn't your dream already, I know it is now. What. A. Night.
Thur 28th April 2016
A few hours bad sleep later and the 5.30am alarm clock is going off. Time to use the communal showers and get the airport shuttle. Red Rooster breky, kind of like a McDonald's in the departure lounge. Quick flight to Melbs, only an hour of which we slept through most of it. It's raining?! WTF! This only happens in Manchester? Doesn't it? Time to catch up on a few hours sleep until the kids get home.
We're brought to a takeaway which is not all it seems, we go through a freezer door and into the back. Where a tropical oasis of zombie cocktails awaits, this is Jungle Boy. The speakeasys of New York have arrived. Off to White Oaks Saloon, described as a little Southern and a little Western, for pork sliders, southern fried chicken with Tabasco Mayo, shrimp tacos and margheritas. It's increds. Finish off the night with more beers at Andy and Laura's local and discuss plans for the weekend, Aussie Rules footy match, driving on the Melbourne F1 track and a trip to a winery. Now we've arrived.
Friday 29th April 2016
The kids have gone to work so Dan and I pop into Oscar Coopers in Prahran for a breky. The waiter takes 1 look at us and knows exactly what to do. Within minutes Espresso Martinis have arrived. The 2 locals next to us recommend the breakfast burrito, it does not disappoint!
The rain outside is getting heavier and I'm in my flip flops, there's only 1 thing for it, 2 more Espresso Martinis!
In the evening, we head into Melbs to meet Andy for some after work drinks. This is where Andy works.
We are taken to a number of secret bars, the coolest of which is 1 where you have to find the right book to pull and the door will open. This is called Fall From Grace.
Cocktails are excellent. Next it's off to Berlin bar for an Angela Merkel then we manage to get in at Chin Chin, a restaurant Laura has been wanting to try for ages. The food is sensational. I love it.
We finish off the night with some karaoke at FN. After watching a slew of people make fools of themselves, it's our turn and we belt out Journey's smash "Don't Stop Believing". Again, another incredible night.
Sat 30th April 2016
Wholesome breky with the gang in Prahran. Sunshine, spicy bacon and eggs, Laura, Andy, Dan, what more could you want.
To the bright yellow mini! Top down, Rnb Friday mix CD blaring out Jay-Zed's 99 problems among many others. I may know all the words! We're so gangster. Driving down the Great Ocean Road takes about an hour but with this crew, we're there in no time. Our first winery is in Chandon where we sample the premium Champagne selection.
My favourite was the second most expensive, Andy loved the cheapest. Make of that what you will?! Next it was off to our second winery, if the first 1 was corporate, this was super rural. They had absolutely acres built into the side of the mountain. Wild kangaroos came to join us in the evening after our eighth wine sample, a beautifully sweet dessert wine. Thoroughly enjoyable day that would not be complete without stopping by a brewery to sample some local lagers and ales to boot. Back at Andy and Laura's they cook us some fantastic steak and serve us some of the awesome wine they bought at the winery. Another great day and we just had enough time to watch the qualifying of the Russian Grand Prix.
Sunday 1st May 2016
Ok well it must time for a hangover, yep there it is! 9am wake up call to go to work with Laura. This time we take her up on the offer, as she's going via the Melbourne F1 track. She actually lets us drive! It's another dream realised.
That is the actual finish line behind the car, it's soooo cool. After a bit more larking around it's back to Prahran for breky. This time it's to a very Shoreditch place, where we sample a new Espresso Martini with Orange peel. Today's plan, make our way to the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) to watch our first Aussie Rules Footy match. On the way we take in sights of the Rod Laver stadium where the Australian Open is played and also the AAMI where Melbourne FC play.
The MCG is enormous, it holds about 90,000 people but is only half full. The crowd has the home and away fans all mixed in together so we better keep our heads down haha. The game is absolute madness, 30 burly men fighting over an oval ball for about 4 hours with a couple of beers thrown in with some sunshine.
Great afternoon before we head home for a chicken casserole and apple crumble made by the dream team Andy and Laura. More wine follows and the Russian Grand Prix and a bit of Man United v Leicester before we manage 3 hours sleep before alas we have to leave Melbs and head to New Zealand and more specifically Aucks.
Mon 3rd May 2016
This is not our finest morning, dog tired, super hungover but we get to ride on another A380. The Rolls Royce of air travel. Our film to fall asleep to this time is Deadpool, very funny to begin with but unfortunately I fall asleep again. When we arrive in Aucks, there's an enormous Jumbo Jet with Iron Maiden, "Book of Souls World Tour" emblazoned on the side. Very cool. We get a shuttle to our hostel but the traffic is horrendous so takes forever. I fall asleep many times. We go for a little walk around the harbour, enjoy some Mexican food then get an early night. Need some serious relaxation after the last 8 days of pure enjoyment haha.
Tues 3rd May 2016
A day that will live in infamy. This is a day that Dan and I will jump out of a plane at 16,500 feet or to put it into perspective 3.5 miles. It is so high that we are given oxygen masks at about 12,000 feet. It's a fairly early start, we get picked up at the Sky Tower, extremely apt considering what we are embarking upon. There's a bit of concern as the pickup instructions aren't the clearest and the bus is late. Quick call to HQ at about £1000 a minute (probably) and everything's confirmed. Just sit tight, they're on their way! All picked up and it's a 40 minute jaunt out to Parakai.
The weather is sensational, perfect for the big jump. We're taken through a few safety procedures, basically put your arms out when tapped and scream as loud as you can! Easy right?! Dan and I are first to go up with a fellow Brit who is an Emirates Air Hostess who was actually on our flight to Auckland the previous day. She was flying back to Melbourne at 5pm, quite a thing to do on a stopover. The plane is minute, the pilot looks about 12 and about 20 more people pile in. So we're in the air and it's feeling pretty high already, the instructor shows us his altitude watch and we're only at 2,000 feet. The scenery is incredible. It gets to 13,000 feet and the door opens and most of the guys jump out. They fall so fast we can't even see them once they jump out of the plane. Right, let's go higher, deep breaths in the oxygen mask, we're going to 16,500! Ok 3 left, Emirates is first out, woh that was fast. Next is Dan, gone. Ok it's just me left. This is my time, I shuffle along to the open door. I sit on the edge, legs are out, I look down for a second before the plane is suddenly a distant memory. We go into a spin, the pressure is insane, 200km/h instantly, terminal velocity, wow! Now I feel the tap on the shoulder, arms out, legs up, now we're sky diving. The instructor thinks it's hilarious to now put us into a spin. It's a complete overload for the senses, 11,000 feet in 75 seconds. Now it's time for the parachute, the sudden drop in speed is like an emergency stop times 10! My legs fly up so high they nearly knock me out. The world looks so peaceful as we gradually ease to the ground, it's stunning. And we're back on the ground, what an absolutely amazing rush.
Now it's time to bask in celebration while we wait for the rest of the group to do theirs. Back to Auckland for a few celebratory drinks. Everything we do after this morning's events pales into comparison. So we went for dinner at a very nice Belgian restaurant and sample the mussels and monkfish before a couple of drinks at the local hostel bar. Everyone there hasn't done a skydive but we have, what a day! So special.
Wed 4th May 2016
Ok, time for exhilaration of a different kind. 7am start to get the bus to Hobbiton and the Waitomo caves. Unfortunately it's a bit foggy so the scenery is somewhat obscured. We take this opportunity to catch up on some sleep. It's a 2.5 hour journey to Middle Earth, our bus driver is cool with a very dry sense of humour and delights us with a few interesting facts over the PA system. Everyone raves about what amazing countryside there is in New Zealand but as an Englishman, if I'd been abducted by aliens and dropped here. You could easily confuse it with the Yorkshire Dales. Very lush, rolling hills, sheeps, cattle and horses all filling the landscape. Very beautiful but not massively different to the UK.
Next we're taken to the Green Dragon, which is the pub featured in the film for complimentary beers and a very extensive buffet with a lovely selection of desserts. We are then whisked back on the coach for a couple of hours for a tour of the Waitomo caves. This is an amazing underground network of stalactites and glow worms that stretches on for 700 metres. Nowhere near the largest, which stands at 17km. The gestapo do not allow pictures so unfortunately I have nothing to post here. I did take some sneaky ones but they didn't come out anyway. 3 hour coach journey back to Auckland, quite a long day so we decide to make the bold decision of cooking in the communal kitchen in the hostel. Most people there are doing 6, 12, 24 month stints so everyone cooks in the kitchen. It's a nice way to trade stories and get advice on where to go.
Thu 5th May 2016
Our last full day in Auckland. Decide to just chill so go a little out of the City in search of a hipster cafe that serves Espresso Martinis. We don't find 1 but we do find a trendy bagel establishment, where the breakfast bagels are to die for and huge.
Spend the rest of the day reading in the hostel and listening to music before we go on the backpackers pub crawl in the eve. Let's go out with a bang! It is very well organised by a couple of cockney geezas with a megaphone. There's about 50 people in our group and they are the pied piper.
It's like being a student again. We get talking to a few guys from our hostel. One of which is called Mason, nicknamed Captain America. Really cool guy, used to be in the airforce, born leader, very friendly, got everyone dancing and bought a round of shots. Legend. We continually get asked for ID and at 33 I don't even carry any so we have to keep having to sweet talk the bouncers. Who I might add are Maoris and absolute behemoths of men. Party tunes ensue and all of sudden it is time to go home as alas we have to check out the next morning. Like Sydders and Melbs, Aucks we thank you, you've been wonderful.
Fri 6th May 2016
Check out time is 9.45am, a bit tired and hungover we just about grab all our stuff together and get out in time. We squeeze in a Macca's breakfast before we catch the bus to the airport. Bit of confusion about where to catch it from but we find it with a slight delay. I'm a bit concerned when the bus lady announces it will take twice as long to get to the airport. With our delay it's going to be extremely tight for check-in. I try to check in online but it won't allow it from mobiles. I start to look at alternative flights in case we miss it. The next 1 is not until tomorrow. Eek! In the end we make it with plenty of time to spare. The bus lady had wildly overestimated journey time. Thanks a bunch!
Land in New Caledonia, now this is VERY different. Tropical. Humid. Tranquil.
60 minute journey by shuttle and we're at our new home. This time it's with Airbnb so we're expecting a divorced lady in her 50s. This happened every time in South America. We are not disappointed. Sure enough she is a quirky singleton in her 50s that doesn't speak a great deal of English. Then she drops the bombshell that we don't have the entire flat to ourselves, she'll be staying in the second bedroom. Not quite what we booked or had in mind but it got a bit awkward trying to explain this so we left it. Stunning flat though. What a view of Noumea.
By now we are famished so we go in search of some local cuisine and a beer or 2. Find a lovely place on the coast called Barca, it's very affluent and full of European looking French speaking people. Dan goes for an amazing seafood platter and I have a go at 1 of his oysters, not too bad. There's also a live band playing some rock tunes and they're very good.
Now this is where it gets interesting. Tomorrow we have a ferry booked to the Isle of Pines with a return on Sunday. Except the ferry company have cancelled the return. Our host doesn't believe they can do this so she says she will come with us to the ferry terminal at 6am to argue the toss in French. So it may happen after all. Ok pack an overnight bag as we could be camping on the Isle of Pines, alarm set for 5am. Tomorrow we go in search of adventure. This is Dan's dream.
Sat 7th May 2016
The start of an incredible day begins at 4.30am. Dan jumps in the shower and leaves the door to the bedroom open. I hear some commotion in the streets, people shouting, vehicles crashing. A van has crashed into a fire engine. Dan comes back in, time to get up Dave. He's still on New Zealand time so he's an hour ahead, I tell him to go back to bed for an hour.
A continental breakfast is served on the balcony by our host which was a nice touch. Ok to the ferry port and the start of our emotional roller coaster. On arrival, the return ferry is on just the times have changed. Great! We're going! Next person, bolshy angry Black French woman. No, it's not on, shit! More arguing in French from our host. Yes it's on but you have to get a plane back. Ok we tried this before and they were sold out. So not much confidence in this. Another guy, a manager, this time they speak English. He assures us we can get a plane back and gives us his number to contact if/when necessary. It is absolutely imperative we get the ferry back on Sunday as we fly to Fiji on Monday. It is a big risk but we are confident enough in the guy something will happen. The ferry to the Isle of Pines is 3 hours and toward the end of the journey the captain finds us and tells us there are no flights from the Isle of Pines, fuck! The solution is we stay on and go and stay at another island called Marie for the night and come back to Noumea of Sunday. Otherwise we will have to stay 2 nights at the Isle of Pines and miss our flight to Fiji. We have no idea where this island is, what is on it or even if there's a place to stay. We are told there is some kind of festival going on so we could always just rest in the day and party all night. So when we arrive at the Isle of Pines, we have 5 minutes to jump off and take a few photos next to the sign then jump back on. The ferry is a further 3 hours to Marie which is a killer.
We land on Marie, after speaking to a young resident on board who is studying in Noumea he gives us vague directions where the festival is. It is to the West. The port is a ghost town, there used to be amenities there but not for decades or so. We set off on foot in the scorching heat needing food and water. A stray mangey looking dog decides to accompany us on this jaunt. He looks pretty desperate for food and he won't leave us alone. We soldier on and a truck with 3 beefy black guys turns up asking us what we're doing. They don't speak English so we try to explain we're looking for a hotel. They offer us a lift but conscious this is how horror films start we politely decline. A few minutes later, another truck stops and this time it's an old couple. They offer to take us to the festival so we jump in. It's a good job as it is a further 7km up the road. We try to give them some money but they were just happy to help a couple of English idiots walking in the midday sun. We arrive in Nece, which is approaching civilisation and we head into the festival. Everyone is staring, English people never come here. So what do we do now. We approach a group of French looking students having some beers on the grass in front of the main stage. Parlez-vous Anglais? Oui, how can we help you. They take us to 1 of the chiefs who has a place for us to stay and also a tour of the island. Great stuff. The people are incredibly friendly and caring. They can't do enough for you. It's magical.
The tour encompasses an Evangelical monument with complimentary coffee served in a bowl. We are then taken to a perfume factory with a tour, all in French but we get a whiff of what they're cooking. The scents sell with some of the designers for £100 a bottle. Next onto a stunning cave where swallows nest. Then onto the Warrior drop, where the legend is a warrior can jump off the cliff and still survive. Gotta love an urban legend.
Dan and I flagging now and beginning to switch to our emergency power supply when a friendly couple also on the tour start passing around oranges and chocolate biscuits. Exactly what was required! We even stop to pick some mandarin which are as the French say delicieux. We are then taken to a beach in La Rocha for a quick swim and to a supermarche to stock up on a few essentials. It's an immensely close knit community where everybody knows everybody and everybody trusts everybody. It's wonderful. The tour lasts about 4 hours and takes us on a full circuit of the island. Once back at the festival, it is dark and now we have to find Louie, he's the guy that's sorted us some accommodation. He begins to walk us in the direction of our digs when we come across probably the coolest bar I've ever seen. At the top of a shallow cliff face is a shack that's cooking up bat stew and a yam, avocado and coconut stew as well as serving beers but more on that later. As you walk down the path, a few tables and chairs fill the area just above the sea and a luminous light illuminates the clearest of seas below. It's amazing! There are stunning fish and huge shells, you can even have a quick dip. But first we have to have a chat with 'King' Louie's bros. Henri and Phillipe are both really enthusiastic and love to talk Manchester United with me. All this with me trying to speak French. All of a sudden Louie's dad says I'll drive you so we jump in the back of a van and off we go. Our room is a single room shack with a thatch roof, concrete floor and a couple of mattresses and blankets. There's even a plug socket to charge our phones. Much better than the tent we probably would have had otherwise.
Ok back to Henri's bar where we meet Jul, super friendly guy who offers to show us round the festival. Dan tries the bat stew, it still has it's head and teeth in it so I have a sample of the meat but instead go for the yam and coconut concoction which is fantastic. We go round the festival watching the various acts and everyone wants to chat to us and give us things. They are so happy that English have come all this way. We end up with 4 enormous avocados and a load of beers. What more could you want. A few more beers later, and after a very long day that started with a car crash at 4.30am we call it a night. Absolutely incredible day, amazing adventure with the friendliest people I've ever met.
Sun 8th May 2016
Awoken around 4am by a cock crowing it's head off but manage to get back to sleep. After a bit of breky that includes some jam (all the way from France?!) we go into the town of Necé and meet the Chief. He's pretty crazy. Then it's off to the port (Tadine) to get the ferry back to mainland New Caledonia (Noumea). It's a 5 hour journey so pretty epic, we're upgraded to VIP because of the cancellation the previous day. So not too bad. I sleep for a good portion of the crossing as it's mostly ocean. Once back at Noumea, as it's Sunday everything is closed so finding buses or taxis back to the apartment is pretty difficult. We manage to find a hotel and make up a sob story about being lost and the receptionist very kindly calls us a cab. Apparently you can't flag them down.
Home now and our quirky host is actually sat outside the apartment block waiting for us. Why? Who knows! There is a buzzer. Quick shower and freshen up and off we go into Noumea for some dinner. Find an amazing stone steak place where you cook the steak yourself. A customer actually comes out to recommend it to us when we were looking at the menu and wavering. So we cheekily tell the waitress to give her a discount. The meal is delicious but before too long it is time for bed, alarm is set for 4.30am, ugh!
Mon 9th May 2016
Time to leave Noumea, not without a fraught shuttle bus ride to the airport. They pick us up late then there's a further 2 pickups en route. Thus arriving at the airport only 1h20m before departure, luckily this place dances to it's own tune so we're OK and make it onto our flight with no issues.
Land in Fiji or Nadi to be specific. Wow, this is very different again. Much more tropical with super lush vegetation and palm trees, it's great, I love it! £5 taxi ride from the airport and I'm sat in a hammock enjoying the local beer. Dan is feeling pretty unwell after sampling bat in Maré.
So he goes to the room to try and sleep it off. I hang out on the beach and catch up on some reading and listen to some tunes, it's bliss.
In the evening Dan is still unwell so I go for a jaunt on my own. I join a kava ceremony, a drink that is supposed to have mild alcoholic effects. It's pretty good, plus there's some local Fijians playing guitar, laughing, joking and a load of tourists from all over the world. Great time trading stories.
Tues 10th May 2016
Yet another early start but basically a lie in in real money, 8am start. Quick shower, pack and we're off down the beach for breakfast and to catch the boat to Beachcomber! So excited. Meet a couple of the kava crew from the night before at breakfast and share a few handshakes, hugs, laughs. Bonds are formed quickly on your travels. Next we are whisked away on a speed boat. The scenery is incredible, again like nothing I've ever seen before. There's so many tiny castaway islands just dotted about.
We've arrived at Beachcomber, isn't it just amazing! We are serenaded with some local music as we get off the boat and our bags are taken straight to our room. Dan decides to get some more rest as he's still feeling a bit peaky so I hang out at the beach, catching some rays and reading my book. In the evening, a buffet dinner is laid on for us and there's some deals on some nice cocktails. A few more drinks later and various travellers have joined us. There's the usual story trading and lots of laughs. We meet a really interesting guy from LA who has done all sorts of scuba diving and has some interesting stories about Rio where he was mugged at knifepoint. He also very kindly shares with us some of his whisky so we return the favour with some vodka. There's a comedy moment where we order 1 Sprite for 3 people at the bar and then top up our glasses with a minuscule amount. We rack up a hefty bar tab and meet some guys from Brighton, who are lovely. As well as an air hostess from Perth, who is batshit crazy, travelling with a friend from Auckland. Very interesting stories about air travel and the things people do on planes.
Wed 11th May 2016
Fairly decent hangover as we have to be up early for breakfast, I arrive late of course but the travelers are all there queuing up as soon as it opens at 7. This is what I'm told as I never saw this. As breakfast is drawing to a close and I'm on my third cup of exceptionally English tea, new people arrive on the island. A couple of friends from Nadi are here. Spirits immediately raised. Snorkelling? Why hell yes! Quick change, flippers acquired, deposit paid and we're on another boat. The water is incredible and fish are this electric blue colour, stunning. Oh my god?! What the hell is that right in front of my face? Am I dreaming? It's a jellyfish! Freaks me out a little so I decide to get the hell outta dodge. Apparently these ones don't sting, I don't find this out until I get back to shore though.
After all this exhilaration my hangover is gone. Great, time to start drinking again? Ok, maybe not. Spend the rest of the day chilling by the beach with our friends from Nadi and swimming in the sea, it's heaven. A true paradise. In the evening, there's fire dancing and a limbo competition.
A few quiet drinks with a few friends from the night before and we get an early night. It's our last night in Fiji so I'm pretty sad but it's been out of this world, I've never seen such amazing scenery.
Thu 12th May 2016
Today could be the tightest transfer yet. Flight is at 3pm, boat from Beachcomber is due at 12pm and takes about an hour but they didn't turn up until after 1pm the previous couple of days meaning we may only have 1 hour before the flight goes. There is running joke that everything runs on 'Fiji Time'. I.e. Very late and always relaxed. So I was fairly relaxed about it all.
In actual fact, the boat was only half an hour late, took 20 minutes to get to the mainland and our flight took off about an hour late, Fiji time. In the end we actually had a couple of hours at the airport. Flight was a hefty 5 hours back to Sydders. Dan and I are not feeling the best when we get back, don't think the food in Fiji was the cleanest?! A few hurried trips to the loo and we watch a film in the room and pass out about 9pm.
Fri 13th May 2016
My final day in Sydders is upon us, what to that we haven't already. Quick look at TripAdvisor's top 10 must do and they're all ticked off. It's a gorgeous day so we walk toward the Opera House via Hyde Park and the Botanical Gardens. Couple drinks overlooking the Harbour in the Opera bar. I most definitely think so!
As we leave, we come across an amazing orchestra being led by 2 pianists. There's 2 accordion players, 9 violinists, 2 double bassists, 3 clarinetists and 2 flutists. Dan is in his element. In the evening we head for a Chinese in the CBD, it's ok. Wouldn't rush back. We then see the corporate crowd busting out of an enormous expanse of umbrellas on a cool terrace so we head in. It isn't the greatest, we try a new place that seems fairly lively but the whole night turns on it's head when we find a door to a secret bar downstairs. This is really cool with a Latin flavour and an amazing band on. Next thing I know, Dan is away just feeling the music. I think he was salsa'ing. The girls were loving it.
Sat 14th May 2016
The day is finally here, the day I leave Dan and the South Pacific. It's not something I've been looking forward to. We take a walk into the city, we need the perfect drink to finish off what we started 3 weeks ago in Manchester. Unfortunately, going into a cafe and asking if they serve alcohol before midday seems an alien concept to the baristas of Sydney. Eventually we find somewhere to accommodate our needs in Darling Harbour, 2 Espresso Martinis please. In a flash it's over and I'm at the train station. Give Dan an emotional hug, it's been an incredible 3 weeks, it's had everything. Something I will always cherish and for that Dan I thank you.
