New Adventures...

After being in new zealand for almost a week and traveling around my fair share of cities i just possibly went on the most beautiful hike of my life. Juliana, my friend in NZ went off to Uni and Jenna and Steve went on a glow worm cave tour. I decided to tag along with them for the car ride and see what I could get up to in the quiet town of Waitomo while they did their thing. I wasn't expecting that much and thought that I'd most likely spend most of my town at cafes drinking cappuccinos but I decided to hit up a hike along the way and see how it went. I'm so happy I did! I was the only one on the hole from start until finish and it was so peaceful and beautiful I almost did the whole thing again! The hole started out with typical west coast style terrain, ferns and greens and trees. Then I came around the corner to a giant cave with a river running through it and hike able entrances! I got so excited I had already scampered up half the embankment when I remembered I wasn't such a good climber and there was no one around to help me if I needed it. I slowed, but continued on my way, and got a peek into the cave. It was gorgeous. The rest of the hour long hike was similar... Looping around to various caves, waterfalls, and gorges and the fact that I was on my own, could take my time, and do what I wanted to do was absolutely glorious. After living somewhere where you're consistently surrounded by at least 30 people I forgot how nice it was to take some alone time! What a good way to remember and see some unbelievable sights along the way !

I left Fiji 4 days ago.. And although I have many stories to tell, most of them can be saved for when we're in person. My lat night on base, however, is one I would like to write about, because if I talk about it too much I will definitely cry - again.

My last day on base was amazing. I went to work with the construction team in the morning expanding gardens and rain water catchment systems at Ratu Meli school. Everyone was energetic and ready to work which made the day much easier. After lunch we went back to base so that I could partake in an incredibly special event - a scuba dive! I had never dove before but had wanted to since I was 10 years old living in Cayman... So this was a dream come true. I completed all my Open Water theory but unfortunately because of timing I wasn't able to get my full certification - the silver lining to that was this dive. We went underwater and practiced certain skills such as spitting your regulator out and practicing buoyancy. Then we went for a swim. It was amazing to see the reefs from a fish eye perspective and it really did meet all my expectations and more. We met up with other divers from base and they showed us an Ornate Ghost Pipefish (look it up it's pretty cool an REALLY rare in Fiji)! That was so exciting because for all the people I was with who ha been divin their whole lives this was the first they saw, and for me, on my first dive, I got to see the same thing.

When we came out of the water and went back to base I discovered that the families we lie with we're all making a traditional lovo (underground oven) dinner! I was so happy to be eating with everyone and having a true family night! When it came to eat the families got up in front of everyone and began to sing their traditional goodbye song. They made a speech about our relationship an I cried my eyes out. They made me a came and also a beautiful garland of palm and flowers (which so far I have smuggled into one country!) it was absolutely amazing and so heartfelt and was truly one of the best nights of my life. After dinner, Owen, my somewhat boss and mentor on base stood up and gave a speech about how I had impacted everyone while being there andade way for me to make my Rosea and Thorns speech (pros and cons about your time on base which I will post at a later date). After everyone was stuffed full of fresh meat and vegetables Tai, one of the staff, began a kava circle for me. We sat up drinking kava until there was no more and it was a perfect way to end my last night. It as one I will neer forget !