Fiji, Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti, & Bora Bora - A Trip of a Lifetime!

It's that time again.  I have another year off to recuperate, rejuvenate, and simply do things I never have the time or energy to try during the fast pace life of working in the city.  This year off was planned years in advance just like the last one.  So, it was briefly into the new year when I booked this trip.  I found a travel company called Goway that offered packages to Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific Islands.  It was very exciting to see the options to add on Fiji, Tahiti and Bora Bora.  The trip I chose was called Classic South Pacific - Fiji, New Zealand, Australia (14 days):  3 nights in Fiji, 3 nights in Sydney, 3 nights in Cairns, 2 nights in Auckland, and 2 nights in Rotorua.
Then I added on 3 days in Tahiti (Exotic Tahiti as listed in the Goway brochure) and 3 days in Bora Bora (Romantic Bora Bora as listed in the Goway brochure).  If you think this sounds like a lot of traveling, you are very right.  This adventure involved 12 flights - 7 international and 5 domestic, 28 vehicles (including cars, buses, army duck or amphibious vehicle, and 4X4), 7 boats, 2 cable cars, and 1 train.  I stayed in 7 hotels, visited 4 countries, and completed 10 excursions.  This blog entry will be a work-in-progress for some time, but I'll share it as I go.

Fiji

It all begins in Toronto on October 14 with a connecting flight in Los Angeles.  After flying 5 hours to LA, it was a long 11 hour flight to Nadi, Fiji.  After landing in Nadi, I had a 2 hour drive to the hotel (Warwick Fiji Resort and Spa) in Korolevu.  I spent the first day exploring the hotel and beach.  The hotel was very nice with multiple pools and various activities, but my favourite thing of all was examining the beach.  It had beautifully bright blue coloured starfishes, different types of coral, sea snakes, different fish, and creatures that appeared alien-like to me.

Sipping a Fijian ice tea

How much was my drink?  

Check out the menu below:

                                     

                                                 

Can you spot the alien-like creature?

A not so pretty star fish

You can't go to Fiji without trying their beer.

This is an adult-only island with a seafood restaurant.

See what happens when you feed bread to the fishes

This is a poisonous sea snake!

Day 2 involved a Robinson Crusoe Island Day Cruise.  The island offered various things to see and do such as snorkelling and/or swimming in the beautifully clear water (I chose to feed the fish), weaving demonstrations, unearthing the earth oven or lovo (for the included buffet lunch), fire walking demonstrations, Fijian cultural dance show with fire and knife dancers, coconut climbing demonstration, and hermit crab racing.  

 Coconut climbing demo.

Unearthing the lovo

Fijian cultural dance show 

 Knife dancer

Fire dancer 

Crab race:  I think mine was asleep because it never moved!

Australia

Sydney

My second stop was Sydney, Australia.  There were two excursions booked for Sydney, a city tour plus the Opera House, and a harbour boat cruise.  Unfortunately, the weather was a drastic change from Fiji with cold winds and pouring rain.  It's kind of difficult to appreciate a city when you're cold and wet.  The highlight of the city tour was not the tour itself, but the Opera House.  This world famous building is a stunning architectural feat.  The tour guides are extremely knowledgeable and passionate in their information to tourists.  Without my tour of the Opera House, this day would have been a disappointment.  

 Bondi Beach

Sydney Harbour Bridge - Milsons Point

 Luna Park - Sydney's amusement park

Sydney skyline

Thankfully, the weather improved the following day for my harbour boat cruise.  This 2-day cruise pass is a hop-on hop-off harbour explorer.  Captain Cook Cruises offers 4 different routes with 11 stops along the way:  Circular Quay, Fort Denison, Taronga Zoo, Watsons Bay, Manly, Shark Island, Garden Island, Luna Park - Jeffrey St. Wharf, Darling Harbour - Pier 26, International Convention Centre, and Barangaroo.  

The Opera House

Fort Denison

Because I only had one day left in Sydney, I had to choose my stops wisely. There was no way that I was traveling over 15,000 km to go home without a special experience with a koala bear or a kangaroo.  That meant that my day revolved around the Taronga Zoo.  

The boat cruise drops you off at the bottom of the zoo where you can take a cable car called the Sky Safari to the top entrance with great views of the city.  

Cable car - Sky Safari

This is the view of Sydney from the top of Taronga Zoo once you exit the cable car.

For an additional fee you can experience a special encounter with some of the zoo's favourites such as  a penguin, koala bear, giraffe, owl, and tortoise.  You know which one I picked, right?  I had this entire zoo thing planned out.  I was on a mission to meet a koala bear!  Basically, you get about 10 minutes inside their enclosure to watch the koalas do their thing.  You can take as many pictures as you want and the staff takes a photo of you with the bear as a keepsake.  BUT, YOU CANNOT TOUCH THE KOALAS.  Regardless, they were so incredibly cute and totally worth the experience.  I loved them. 

 Cairns

After a brief 3 hour flight from Sydney I arrived in Cairns which is much smaller, very warm, and quite lovely.  This is most likely where you would stay if you're planning a visit to the Great Barrier Reef, such as I did.

Fresh seafood?  Fine dining?  Step right up!

After a 1.5 hour drive to Port Douglas and an additional 1.5 hour catamaran ride, I arrived at Agincourt Reef, the Great Barrier Reef via Quicksilver Cruises - Outer Barrier Reef.  The company has a platform at the reef for people to spend the afternoon snorkelling, scuba diving, observing fish feeding from an underwater viewing platform, eating lunch, taking a helicopter ride, and exploring the reef in a semi-sub.  

This is where the swimmers enter/exit the water from the platform.  

The area is marked off with lifeguards on watch.

 This is actually one of the 3 semi-subs attached to the platform.  You enter the sub from the top and sit two-by-two from front to back in quite tight quarters.  The walls are windows to capture the sea life.

This shows two of the three subs in rotation.

 These 8 photos were taken from inside the semi-sub during two different trips.  I saw about 10 sea turtles, various coral, many different fish, and a giant clam.

 Sea turtles!

 Nemo?

The following 3 photos were taken from inside the underwater viewing platform or observatory.   

 Scuba jail?

Overall, it was an experience I'm grateful to have participated in.  Would I ever do it again?  Nah.  It's the kind of thing you only need to do once, if you know what I mean.  

My second excursion in Cairns was The Classic Kuranda Experience.  Now this day could not have been more jammed pack with various activities, sights, and wonders.  It begins with an approximately 1 hour and 40 minute scenic train ride up the mountain through a rainforest including a brief stop to view Barron Falls.  

This train climbs 327.1m to the summit at Myola, traveling through 15 tunnels, 93 turns, and dozens of bridges over high ravines and waterfalls. (An historic journey along the Cairns-Kuranda Railway: http://www.ksr.com.au/History/Pages/KSR.aspx) 

Barron Falls

After arriving in Kuranda, I had some time to shop in the village.  At this point in my travels I was getting tired of the touristy nicknacks and trinkets.  The next stop was the Rainforestation Nature Park for an Australian BBQ lunch, guided tour of the rainforest, a Pamagirri Aboriginal Dance performance, and guided tour of the Koala and Wildlife Park. 

This is one of the interesting food items on the BBQ lunch menu.  They also offered kangaroo skewers.  Did I actually eat the crocodile soup and kangaroo meat???  I did.  I like my food like I like my life - with a bit of adventure.  You couldn't taste the croc in the soup and the kangaroo meat was similar to chewy beef.  

The rainforest was filled with lush plants and beautiful birds.

This is the WWII amphibious Army Duck vehicle that you take for the rainforest tour.  It travels on land and in water. 

Pamagirri Aboriginal Dance

After the dance performance, there are further cultural demonstrations such as spear throwing,  playing the didgeridoo (ancient instrument), and boomerang throwing.  I tried throwing the boomerang, but it was a bust.

Next was my favourite part of the day - the guided tour of the Koala and Wildlife Park.  Guess what they offer for an extra fee?  You can hold a koala bear!  Actually, you can hold a crocodile too, but really?!  

It all happened so fast, but I loved every second of it.  I held its little furry bum and it sat motionless and silent, all the while smelling like sweet eucalyptus.  This was one of my favourite moments of the entire trip.  

Dingoes - quite pretty and majestic

Wombat - cute in its own right

Really?  

Kangaroos - At this park you can feed and pet them!

This is another of my most favourite moments.  They were so soft and cute.  

To end off a fun-filled day, I took the Kuranda Skyrail (cable car) back down the mountain over 7.5 km over the rainforest.  There are 2 optional stops along the way for picturesque photo opportunities, Barron Falls and Barron Gorge National Park.  I preferred the Skyrail over the train because it was faster, cooler (the train has no air conditioning and it was incredibly hot and uncomfortable), and had greater views.  

It's similar to a ski chair lift only much nicer, much longer and higher, and fully enclosed.

Barron Falls lookout

One of the views from the Skyrail

New Zealand

Auckland

My travels from Cairns to Auckland involved a 2 hour connecting flight to Brisbane.  From Brisbane to Auckland it's another 3 hour flight.  These little flights are easy compared to 8-11 hour flights that cross date lines and cause you to lose or gain a day.  Since I only had one full day in Auckland, I chose to do a city tour and visit the Sky Tower.  

This is an aerial photo of the Auckland area taken from Air New Zealand.

Auckland skyline taken from the city tour

Sky Tower

The Auckland Sky Tower is very similar to Toronto's CN Tower.  They offer visitors panoramic city views from 220m above the streets, revolving dining area, glass bottom floor, cafe, and for the real adventurists - SkyJump and SkyWalk.  

The following photos and video depict the stunning views of Auckland from the top of the tower.

Don't look down!

Do you notice anything interesting in the window?

Be patient in watching this video.  I was sitting in the cafe having a beer when I noticed something amazing was about to happen.  You couldn't pay me enough to do this.

 Glass bottom floor

Waitomo

The next day I took a bus tour to Waitomo's Glowworm Caves and then onto Rotorua.  Unfortunately, you are not permitted to take photos in the darkened caves during the sightings of the bright glowworms.  Apparently, they are very sensitive to light and sound.  You quietly sit in a boat in complete darkness while a guide stands at the stern using ropes attached to the walls of the cave to guide him/her towards the exit.  It was very pretty and interesting to see the hundreds of bright lights waving from the ceiling.  The glowworms use this light to attract food.  

Rotorua

After completing the Glowworm Caves, I was taken to my next stop for a 2 night stay in Rotorua.  As stated in my Goway Travel Document, "Rotorua is one of New Zealand's most popular visitor destinations and is known as the "District Full of Surprises".  The city is known for its geothermal activity, and features geysers - notably the Pohutu Geyser at Whakarewarewa - and hot mud pools."  You could actually see the smoke and steam from the geothermal village behind my hotel.  The view from the front of the Holiday Inn presented the beautiful lake and mountainside.  One thing I could never get used to was the constant stench of rotten eggs caused by the sulphur emissions.  If you've travelled to Banff National Park then you've probably experienced it as well.  

The next day was a full one with visits to the Te Puia and the Maori Arts and Crafts Institute, Rainbow Springs Nature Park, the Agrodome Sheep Show, and ending with a Tamaki Maori Village cultural demonstration and dinner.  

1. Te Puia:

This is the view of the thermal village from behind the hotel.  

Try pronouncing those names!

I sat on these rocks and they were warm and comfy for my chilled buttocks.  It was a cold and rainy day.

There are 2 geysers that erupt about every 30 min. 

These exquisite symbolic tikis are found all over the village.  

Boiling mud pools

2.  Rainbow Springs Nature Park:  This park is surrounded by native trees, birds, reptiles, fish ponds, a kiwi reserve, etc., and offers a natural historical perspective on the area.  

Trout

Kiwis (New Zealand's national symbol)- These are replicas.  Since kiwis are nocturnal birds, the park must simulate nighttime in order for visitors to see the birds move about in their enclosure.  You must be quiet and refrain from taking photos while observing them.  I was lucky enough to see one kiwi during my visit.  They are about the size of a chicken, have small wings, but cannot fly.  

3.  Agrodome Sheep Show:  This might not sound like much, but it was a very entertaining farm show that has been performing for over 40 years.  You can really tell because they have it down to a science.  

Each sheep has its own moment of fame.

You wouldn't believe how quickly he sheared that sheep.  It was quite impressive.

4.  Tamaki Maori Village:  This was a great way to end a fun and informative day.  It all begins with a bus ride to the village.  Our bus driver was very entertaining and quite talented.  He greeted everyone on the bus in about 30 different languages, sang songs, made jokes, and prepared us all for the village experience to come.  Each bus has to choose one male as their chief.  This role is very important because the chiefs must participate in the formal welcome or Powhiri.  No one is permitted in the village until the Powhiri is completed.  Basically, it's a test to ensure the visitors have come in peace.  

Entrance to the village

These 2 images came from a Google search, but they are quite representative of the formal welcome or Powhiri.  This is a ceremonial ritual and ancient tradition.

Proud warriors

Once the welcome ceremony is finished, the chiefs are permitted to lead their tribes into the village where information is given on various cultural aspects of the Tamaki Maori people.

   

Here they are explaining the process and significance of their face tattoos.

Hangi (earth oven) - our feast was prepared in the hangi

A demonstration of women's crafts and games for children

These photos were taken during the performance.  It was very interesting and I enjoyed the experience.  

And it didn't end there.  After the performance, feast and during the bus ride back to town, our driver had us all sing the national anthems of our home countries.  There was no getting out of it either.  Overall, it was a wonderful evening and I would totally recommend this excursion to others. 

The next day I had a flight booked back to Auckland which would connect me to my flight to Tahiti for a 2 night stay.  What happened, however, was that my Rotorua flight to Auckland was cancelled due to "technical difficulties with the plane" (that never sounds good).  The best that Air New Zealand could do was to get me on a flight out of Tauranga to Auckland in time to still catch the Air Tahiti Nui flight.  So, get this.  I had to pay $231NZD for a 1 hour taxi ride to Tauranga for a 30 minute flight to Auckland!  And I lost out on the prepaid airport shuttle to the Rotorua airport.  I have to say that it took a lot of my patience to get through that day.  But, it's always better to be safe rather than sorry, and the fact that I had choices as opposed to none was a good thing.  I'm in the process of putting in a claim with my travel insurance company for reimbursements on the out of pocket items I paid for.  I was smart enough to keep all of my receipts, travel documents, etc., but now I need proof from Air New Zealand as to why they cancelled the flight.  I've contacted them and they are supposed to be preparing a letter of explanation for the insurance company.  We'll see how that goes.  That's an entirely different adventure to blog.

French Polynesia

Tahiti

The closest I've ever been to the French Polynesian Islands is Hawaii.  I honestly never thought that I would ever be able to visit such places because of its distance and cost.  It was so exciting to see that Goway made these places a reality for a regular person like me.  If you're planning on traveling to Australia or New Zealand you can add on one or more French Polynesian Island(s) for a reasonably affordable price - check out Goway.com if you're interested.  

My flight from Auckland to Papeete, Tahiti took about 4.5 hours.  Upon arrival at the Manava Suite Resort Tahiti, I was given a flower lei.  In Fiji I was given a shell lei.  In Hawaii I was given nothing.  I had to buy my own flower lei at a corner store.  

The Manava hotel was nice, but I was surprised to see that there was no beach.  There was a small man-made beach in front of the pool and the pool extended right up to the water giving the appearance of a beach.  I spent that first day relaxing in the pool sipping a couple of Tahitian drinks and enjoying one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen.  

The island behind me is Moorea, another popular island in French Polynesia. 

Doesn't it appear as though I'm in the water at the beach?  Nope.  This is the pool.  

It's drink time.

You can see the bar, a bit of the man-made beach, and some of the hotel behind me.

Beautiful, right?

The next day I had a Tahiti island tour.  Tahiti is a small island, but the tour highlighted its most treasured places such as Marae Arahurahu (Polynesian temple), Vaipahi gardens and waterfall, Venus Point, and the Tahaaraa lookout point (One Tree Hill).  

Similar to New Zealand, significant tikis are found throughout French Polynesia as well.

These photos are all taken at the Polynesian temple.

Vaipahi gardens and waterfall

East Coast of the island with its black sandy beaches 

Bora Bora

In order to get from Tahiti to Bora Bora I had a short domestic flight with Air Tahiti (under an hour).  These flights do not have assigned seating so it's on a first come first served basis.  Goway had given a helpful hint to sit on the left side of the plane for best views.  Upon arrival, all passengers must take a boat transfer from the airport to the mainland and then continue on to your hotel, etc.  

 These photos were taken during the boat ride from the airport.

I spent 2 nights at Hotel Maitai Polynesia Bora Bora.  The first night I stayed in a lagoon view room and the second, which was my last night of the trip, I upgraded to an overwater bungalow.  This hotel actually had no swimming pool but was all beach, the opposite of the hotel in Tahiti.  

Most of the hotel (reception, breakfast/dinner restaurant, bar, shop, lagoon view rooms) is on the mountain side of the island and the beach, lunch/dinner restaurant, beach bungalows and overwater bungalows are directly across the street.  

I love this check in process - a flower lei and fruity drink to start your stay.

This is the view from my balcony in the lagoon view room.

The beach side of the hotel was breathtaking.  I've travelled to many places around the world but this was the first with overwater bungalows.  They say, "Destination - Paradise!"  

This is taken from the beachside restaurant.  

There's not much to do at the hotel except enjoy the scenery and partake in the beach.  I did my usual thing of fish feeding, playing in the water, and kayaking.  

The beach was pretty awesome, but the best part of all was probably getting access to my very own overwater bungalow for the final night of my lifetime journey.  And yes it was so worth it!

This is an actual floor window with views of the water and fish underneath the bungalow.  You can take the cover off and feed the fish; that's what I did.

Each bungalow has its very own deck and dock.

I'm on the bungalow's dock here.  

The fun didn't end there.  My last excursion was a Vavau 4x4 Sunset Tour with Champagne.  Although it began a bit rocky with a late pick up, they more than made up for it throughout the evening with their complimentary beer and doughnuts, jokes, songs, informative stories, and playful attitudes.  

These 2 lads (as we say out east) were my awesome tour guides.  They were a blast.

This very steep and bumpy dirt road is the reason why you need the 4x4.  At the top of hill is a WWII bunker and cannon.  It also gives the best view of the island and its sunset.  Unfortunately, there was too much cloud cover for a sunset.  But to be perfectly honest, after sharing a bottle of champagne and a beer I'm not overly confident I would've noticed.  

Wilson the Second?

I never knew a ukulele could double as a weapon.  After playing "sword fight" they actually sang songs and played music.  It was very nice.

I made it back in one piece!

On my final day I had hours to fill before the very long voyage home, so I decided to rent a fully electric car, called a Twizy, and check out the island on my own terms.  I've never driven a hybrid let alone a fully electric car, and they don't even exist here in Canada.  This was quite the adventure in itself.  It seats 2 people, one in front and one directly behind the driver.  It has 2 doors that open upwards similar to a Lamborghini, and the bottom portion of the doors are transparent.  The ceiling of the car is transparent as well.  There's no air conditioning.  The Twizy has 3 gears - drive, neutral, and reverse, and will not exceed 47 km per hour.  How long does it take to drive around the island of Bora Bora?  It might be faster in a real car, but in my super Twizy it took around 30 minutes.  Overall, it was fun and neat to try, but I felt as though I was being melted like a candle because it was unbearably hot inside.  I'm not convinced the Twizy will be seen in Canada any time soon.

Home Sweet Home

I really love to travel, but I always love returning home afterwards.  The trip home to Toronto involved a van, boat, 3 planes, and a car.  First, I had to take a van from the hotel to the boat.  Second, the boat transferred me to the Bora Bora airport.  Then I had a domestic flight back to Tahiti.  From  Tahiti I had an international flight to LA.  Next was the international flight from LA to Toronto, and last but not least, the drive home.  

This blog post has taken me 3 weeks to complete which is coincidentally the duration of the trip.  I have no regrets and feel so blessed to have had such a great opportunity.  With each trip and new destination I change and evolve ever so slightly.  To all the places I've been and to all those to come, thank you for having me.  Go Leafs! Go!