Orrin, me and Lawrence.. cousins reunited!
Zoom and you'll see the Hollywood sign! haha
I have got pretty damn lazy now its nearing the end of my travels.. find a bed anywhere!
Lunch in Hollywood
How cute.. Uncle Jamie and Auntie Lisa.. and to think I was a bridesmaid at their wedding when i was little and cute :)

The sexy boys...If you could see that this is moving, I wouldn't look such a pratt but you can't... so I do!And Uncle Jamie has already managed to make his own mark in Hollywood!

Just a quickie to say HI i'm in LA! Woo hoo! Had a great laugh the last 2 days just catching up and seeing the sites. I laughed so much today my stomach hurts.. so I'm going to bed to rest up for the Laughing fits I'll have tomorrow!

Congratulations to Immy, it was lovely to speak to you today honey, and hey maybe you should study art in Australia? :)

Some of the local kids - they love having their picture taken and seeing it come up on the screen
Inter Island Rugby Tournament
Weaving with the ladies
Berry tries to chuck me off the island summit!

The island of Waya LaiLai resort
Beach Volleyball

Traditional Kava Session

Fiji.. WOW!

Gorgeous and full of culture. The people are so friendly and cheeky and funny and welcoming and just lovely.

I spent my time on the island of Waya LaiLai except for one night on the mainland and one on the island of Waya.

Waya LaiLai is a fully Fijian owned island so you can immerse yourself in the culture and know that every dollar u spend is going straight to the villages or back into the resort itself.

Everyone knows your name from the first 5 mins of you being there.. and everyone comes to talk to you and shouts hi as you walk past. Its amazing.

The dancing and plays they put on in the evening was brilliant

They got us playing games and dancing the bula. I was even crowned the bula Queen and got free beer!

We tried Kava.. which makes your tongue go numb and mellows u right out if u drink enough of it. It'd their traditional narcotic.. lol.

I learnt to weave bracelets.. I hiked with berry (who asked me never to leave and promised to pick me up from the airport and show me his hometown if i go back! lol) up to the summit of the island.

The kids were amazing and So intrigued by technology.. i lent them my zen (mp4 player) and they just loved it.

Played volleyball and touch rugby on the beach and all the locals and visitors get involved.

Lucky for me, while I was there they had an inter island rugby match which was amazing to watch.. it was THE most violent game I have ever seen and one guy dislocated his shoulder! Eugh... still it was great to be able to see them play.

They took us to their church ina boat on the Sunday and the main village was very accomodating. I can't believe how friendly they all were.

The other travellers I met where fantastic too, especially Dan and Rachel who I spent most of my time with - they got married in May and are travelling for 10 months as an extended honeymoon. How awesome is that?!
We had some hilarious nights playing poker with beer tops and 'the magic straw'

Sad to leave Fiji but so excited about seeing Uncle Jamie, Auntie Lisa, Lawrence and Orrin.. BRING ON USA!

New Zealand

How late is this?!

New Zealand in 3 weeks is a mad rush... but i got to see what I wanted to see.

Rotorua was cool.. where the hot natural springs are.. smells like sulpher tho.. mmm...

Went to a Maori night to see some traditional dances, singing and eat traditional food (cooked underground using the natural heat)

It was fantastic. The haka is so damn cool to watch!

Really loved Auckland but was only there for a couple of nights. Managed to catch up with Ali there and watch the Simpsons movie (both of us were too hungover to do anything else!) 'Spiderpig.. spiderpig... "

NZ did involve a lot of alcohol consumption.. the shots pictured above are from the messiest night in Queenstown, which was free thanks to some epic blagging from yours truly!

That pic is one of a series... there were many different shots all night all in the same quantity! I still don't know how I made it to Christchurch the next day...

So after NZ I was supposed to go to Fiji. But instead I ended up going back to Sydney for a week first.. i just can't keep away! x

Made it to Queenstown for my 3 days of boarding.. and of course, the law of the sod means that I immediately came down with a really bad cold... could hardly move yesterday!

Still.. I don't have time to mess about so have been out boarding everyday regardless.. and it has been absolutely worth it!

First day was not so fun.. I was really sick, and it go frustrating at times trying toget the hang of it all BUT today it has clicked a lot more and I had so much fun.

My mate Scott has been doing it with me cuz we're about the same level and have progressed about the same.. and today our friend Lynee tried it for the first time. It was pretty amusing day and we all spent a lot of time on our arses!

The majority of our bus group are doing skiing.. but we're sticking with the boarding because once you get the hang of it it really is mad fun.. does seem harder to get to that point tho! Would love to try skiing one day..

Not at all off putting...

What could possibly go wrong?The Kiwi Trekkers




Franz Josef glacier hike!
What an experience.. an 8 hour hike up a glacier, and with my record of accidents and general calamity - it was sure to be eventful.
It was.
I provided much of the entertainment for the group managing to fall through the ice into thigh deep freezing cold water which filled my boots full of slush, AND falling spectacularly onto a hard slab of ice having just congratulated myself on climbing down a particularly precarious part of the trek!
Today.. I hurt.
But it was well worth it!

Saw some beautiful scenery and overcame some (quite RATIONAL) fears!
Crawled into and through an underground ice cave.. NOT one for the claustrophobic!

It was pretty difficult at times, and as the glacier is changing all the time we were exploring new territory and had to cut out steps along the way. Climbing parts of it was difficult because my short leg/no arm muscle combination wasn't working for me! Still I made it and it was so satisfying at the end of the day to have completed a full days exploration.

I saw so much and the photos really don't do it justice... but here some are for you to enjoy.

Only 2 weeks left in NZ :(
But only 3 days till the new Harry Potter book :)

Love to you all xxx

The All blacks!!!
Post it man and car seat!

Bumblebees
The Fab Four
Mummy - the eventual winner of the costume comp..

Angels
All blacks again cuz we're great!
Dressed as a rucksack.. worn by an Arabian princess?!
The Greek God, the All black, the sleeping bag and the Arabian princess...

Last night was a themed party night... the theme being 'Anything BUT clothes'

Absolutely legendary costumes..

Just thought you'd like to see a few of them!

Currently in Franz Josef awaiting my 8 hour glacier hike tomorrow! Brrr.....

New Zealand is stunning... like no other country I have seen yet...
Dad must have been here and claimed his own street...
Got to see the seals in Kaikoura right up close.. in fact one guy nearly got

scared by one that barked right next to him.. and fell over in his rush to escape! ha! The middle of middle earthMe, Shane and Lauren in Brighton?!!! The kiwi bus promotes sensible drinking...

.. it also promotes extreme activities!
... even when they aren't exactly 'legal'!

Who is going to tell the crabs they aren't allowed?
And WHAT is the guy on the right doing?!

NEW ZEALAND!!!!!!!

Who thought I'd ever leave Australia?! I know.. I'm surprised myself!

I have been in NZ for less than a week and still there is FAR too much to update you on, but I shall attempt to give you a brief overview of the best bits..

Started in Chrustchurch where I managed to catch up with Shane and Lauren - who Ali and I met in Koh Pha Ngan in the first month of out travels! Excellent to see them again - they are travelling around in a van so we went out for the day to Brighton Pier and caught the new harry Potter movie on its first day out! haha! I'm such a loser... less than a week till the new book and i'm THIS excited (that's really quite a lot...)

After Christchurch we went to Kaikoura to see seals, whales and dolphins. This was my first night on the kiwi bus so of course we all went out and had a 'get to know you drink'

From Kaikoura it was off to Nelson.

Not much to do there but of course we had time to check out the bars...

Westport went much the same way...

haha actually we've done loads.. a lot of walking and some gorgeous scenery.. so many beautiful photos! been to the centre of NZ (middle of middle earth..) and been so lucky weatherwise. It IS cold but we've had pretty much constant sun shining on us!

LOVING NZ.. looking forward to some snowbaording in Queenstown...

Tara and Suna on a cold night in Sydney...

Ironically meet up with a kiwi rugby team.. the night before I fly to NZ!

My last night in Australia.. Appropriately it was Sydney :)

Had a fantastic last weekend there catching up with people I worked with/lived with.

Met some new people in my hostel and so my plans for a quiet last night were scuppered spectacularly! Especially because Suna (friend from Fraser, Whistundays and my skydiving buddy!) turned up as well...

Still don't know HOW I made the plane to NZ...