Sydney

I made it! The land of OZ!!!

Our ship docked right in Sydney Harbour between the bridge and the opera house so the view and access to the city was unbelievably awesome! We had two days here- which was unexpected!

We did a lot- some highlights were seeing the Opera house, walking through the botanical gardens, walking the bridge at sunset, and taking the ferry to Manly beach for a day (where we had the best Mexican lunch I think I have ever had!).

This started the Rugby charter- and I have never seen so much liquor consumed in one sail away than I did that night. These people were crazy! I did meet two very special kids- Kayla and Ethan…and their incredibly good parents Steve and Loren. I spent a good deal of time with these guys during the cruise and we had so much fun! They taught me how to speak with a proper Aussie accent, I taught them some dances so they could do it with us during the shows, Ethan taught me all about Rugby, Kayla taught me how to make funny pictures on her DS, we had lunches, they came to all our shows, I gave the whole family a private backstage tour and let them try on all my hats and wigs, and then the last night Ethan gave me some great massages while we watched the Rugby game in the theater. They were so sweet and bought me a beautiful keychain from an African artist… and we have planned to skype in the future so we can keep in touch!

bats!

our ship!

Manly Beach

Kayla and Ethan!

teaching them the audience participation part of our show that night...

Noumea

Okay…Get ready- this is where I put on my adventure hat…or helmet I should say. For you crazy adventurous folks don’t get too excited. It really only involves a motorscooter- which is so similar to a motorcycle- which I am so afraid of….

We started the day by going to the famous bakery for a french breakfast of croissants, quiche, and espresso. We also got to use a little bit of our newly acquired French vocabulary! 

Then we decided to rent the motorscooter for the day because Kurt had been here before and wanted to go explore and revisit some places he knew. So I donned a helmet (it may have been the first time I have done something dangerous enough to need one) and let Kurt drive us around the city and then out to the coastline. We made a bunch of stops to just take in the scenery, get some photos, let the pain of riding on the backseat calm down (yeah- way worse than spin class girls if you know what I’m talking about!).  We eventually got to a secluded beach and has lunch at a café above the water and then threw our towels down to read for a while. It was such a great spot! Then we rode back and eventually, after a few wrong truns, found our way back to the ship!

b'fast!

our ride...

lunch spot...

Isle de Pines

Okay. Found the dream spot. I don’t think a more beautiful isolated beach exists. Maybe it does. BUT this was my little slice of heaven that I had always imagined Fiji would be. The sand here was like powdered sugar. There were no rocks or seaweed even as far out as I could touch the bottom of the ocean- amazing! The water was great and we swam and then sunbathed and basically just let all our troubles fade away. J It was beautiful everywhere you went on this island and after a little exploring we decided any spot was going to be just perfect. We met a sweet little dog who enjoyed all the attention we gave. I tried to bust open a coconut- I mean just in case I am ever stranded on an island like this I wanted to try my hand at survival skills.  Turns out I probably wouldn’t last long- but Robin took the challenge and found some big rocks to bust it open with. Then I tried some fresh raw coconut. You know- I guess I really only like coconut flavoring my rum- or toasted and sugared…

I didn’t ever want to leave.  Favorite Place Ever.

Fiji!!

Hmmm…. Destination of my dreams- not quite what I imagined…..

We docked at Suva. It’s a little port city and it was quite run down. We weren’t too eager to get off the ship because we signed up for a crew tour at 11am and there wasn’t much to do around the ship area. So we had a very early breakfast by the back pool and then played a game of tennis ...

We went to the market to look around. That was amazing- all the fresh fruits and veggies- so colorful! We had some of the best pineapple I have ever tasted! I also bought a handmade gift (after Kurt haggled the price) for a friend…and Kurt bought a tribal mask and a cannibal fork….ew.

We rode out to the resort which was on the other side of the island. The ride was quite scary bc our driver kept racing around cars barely avoiding a head on collision before he would swerve back onto our side of the road. But we made it safely and we were greeted with fresh coconut to drink.  (would have been much better with some rum in it…not my favorite.) It was pouring rain and kind of chilly so we stayed in the restaurant and had a barbeque buffet and drinks. Eventually I joined in all the people playing in the rain and actually played some ball. Then we went swimming in the rain.

That’s about it for Fiji- I had high hopes but it wasn’t quite the dream spot I imagined…