Fiji Day One:

Ok, so I have been bad about updating, but in my defense I have been super busy and it sucks. :( Too much work in this pretty place. Anyways, I have a little break so I will take this time to update you on my travels in Fiji...I will try and make it semi short. :)

My adventure started bright and early taking the train from South Bank to the airport for my 11:45 flight. It was Easter Sunday the day my friends and I flew out and to our surprise the Easter bunny was at the airport! He gave us little chocolate eggs...so that was a good start to a terrific day! We boarded our flight (Air Pacific...which has to be my new favorite airline) and to our surprise we were fed a full meal for a 4 hour flight! It was really good too...my favorite part was the chocolate cake YUM! We were also privileged to watch my new favorite movie....Alvin and the Chipmunks...juuuuust kidding! So the flight was nice and we landed around dinner time. We got pick up from the airport and got dropped off at our hostel for the night, The Nadi (pronounced naandee) Bay Resort. It was really nice there we had a nice dinner and I had my first tropical drink...a mai thai. After that, we got situated in our room, showered, covered ourselves in bug spray and then headed down for movie night at the hostel. The movie that night was Avatar. I LOVED IT! It was so good, I totally got sucked into it and now I understand what all the fuss was about. Good, good movie!

Ok, so the next morning after a light breakfast we got picked up by the FeeJee Experience bus and started our journey. Our first stop was to the Nandi Town Markets, that are usually buzzing, however, it was Easter monday and being a relatively religious country, most shops were closed. We did get to walk around into a few shops though. I bought a sulu or sarong as it is commonly known for all the village visits we would make. It is white with blue flowers on it. We also walked around a grocery store where I bought Fiji brand water (you know the water with the pretty bottle) for $2.20 Fijian Dollars...that is $1USD. AMAZING! I also got some pringles.

So, once we hopped back on the bus we headed off to Natondola beach, which many locals say is the most beautiful beach on Viti Levu (the biggest Fijian island where I was)...it is also included as one of the top 25 beaches in the world! It really was beautiful. The water was sooo blue and you could see sections of reef. I laid out for a while, hung out in the water for a little bit and then our tour guide and driver cooked us up a bbq lunch. I had some chicken, cucumber salad and bean salad. It was really good. There was also a family selling bracelets so I bought one from a 12 year old boy...its leather and has a shark tooth on it.

After that fun filled adventure we drove to a village, where I first experienced the poverty this country lives with. It was really humbling and honestly sad to see the living conditions. The houses looked so broken down, most were just one large room with a mattress in the corner. Roofs were broken and siding was cracked. The church window panels were breaking off the structure. However, as disheveled as the village may have looked, the people were so content and happy with what they had. It really made me think about my life and everyone I know at home. How we have so much, yet we are all still unhappy and are always wanting more. These people have nothing and are some of the nicest, most friendly, joyful people I have ever met.

Enough of being cheeeeeesy hah, so after getting a tour of the village, we entered into a house where we learned about the tradition of Kava ceremonies. Kava is a root that is ground up and mixed with water in order to make a drink that takes the place of alcohol, since alcohol is banned in villages. The Kava has a numbing effect though, and after one cup, your tongue goes numb for a few minutes, its a very interesting experience. Some of the kids that lived in the village followed us around and OH MY GOSH were they cuuuuute! So happy and giggly.

Right after we left the village we took a two hour drive to the sand dunes where we went sand boarding! That was really fun! The dune was so steep, the pictures dont do it justice. It was really scary going head first on a boogie board down a giant sand dune but I was able to slow down by digging my feet in the sand...its all about the technique.


Finally the day was over and we headed to our first hostel, Mango Bay Resort.We hung out a little that night with all the new people we had met on our bus and then went to sleep in our bunks. As you can see, day one was VERY busy but sooo much fun!

Stay tuned for the next entry with day two, three and maybe four? I dunno we will seeeeee.


BULA! (fijian for hello, healthy, bless you, basically everything!),
Melissa

PS DONT FORGET TO LOOK AT MY PICS ON: http://picasaweb.google.com/fishymishi
AND DONT FORGET TO COMMENT!

I am lazy.

Hello readers,

So, technically I am still on Easter break and I just can't bring myself to update my blog yet (or do any work for that matter)...there is just so much to write about Fiji and well...I am lazy. SOOOO don't you worry, I will update about my trip soon but to tide you over until then here are some of my pictures that I took:

http://picasaweb.google.com/fishymishi


Love,
Melissa

A Video!

Here is a video of everything I have seen and done so far in Oz!





To see a larger version of this vid follow this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sePxaENR2aI&feature=player_embedded

Well, be back in 5 days! FIJI TOMORROW!!!

-Melissa

"I'm an Alasaurous my name is Keith..."

So it's been a while. For the past five days I was on a field trip on Fraser Island...the biggest sand island in the world. It was so much fun! During the day we did field work on the dunes, sclorophyll forests and rainforests. The field work was somewhat fun, but there were so many mozzies (mosquitos) that everyone just felt rushed to get their work done so you wouldn't be eaten alive. So therefore, I have soooo many mozzie bites all over :( they have stopped itching for the most part but still...whomp.

Being a sand Island, the only way to get around is in 4WD cars, which is a real crazy experience. It is so bumpy! Imagine riding in a wooden roller coaster everywhere you went. yeah. hah. but its FUN! We had a couple close calls but all is well haha. We also frequently saw Dingos, the native wild dog...ever heard "the dingo ate my baby?" yup I saw those cuties.

Anyways, in the afternoons, all of our tutors took us on mini adventures to different freshwater lakes throughout the island. We went to Lake Mackenzie , which is completely crystal clear...its like bath water. We went to Eli Creek, which was like a mini lazy river, Lake Wabby and Lake Boomajin. Everything was so beautiful, restine and undisturbed...it was a really great experience.
I also saw a ship wreck one day that has been on the beach for decades (it was a Japanese trade ship I believe). One day we also went to a huge sand dune where we went sand dune jumping. If you are asking yourself what is that? Just watch this:



So now I am back in Brisbane and I have only a couple days to relax until FIJI! I leave Sunday and come back on Thursday! I am so so so so so so soooooo excited! never in my life would I have thought I would be going there of all places! Hopefully it will be an amazing experience and i will get lots of cool gifts :) (our money is worth double there!)

This is a pretty short entry but I am tired so I think it's time for a nap.

Happy Passover to all my jews!

Later,
Melis

"Sometimes in the morning, when it's a good surf, I go out there, and I don't feel like it's a bad world." -Kary Mullis

I am taking a break from my never ending homework. ew.

Anyways, this past weekend was a very busy one. On Friday, I had a field trip to Brisbane Forest Park with my terrestrial environment class. We learned about the different rock formation and geology behind the continent of Australia and then went on a nature hike through the rain forest. It was actually really fun and interesting to see all the trees and flowering plants I had been learning about in class. We also got to see a platypus and wombat at the nature reserve located in the park (You can see pictures on my picasa site...the link is at the end of the post). Everyone should start to do school the Australian way...sooo much better than the US. I love field trips.
We got back to campus at about 5:45 and right from there my friend Ashley and I high tailed it to the city via bus to get picked up for our surf trip weekend! We actually made with time to spare :) I was very nervous we would miss the bus obvvvvvvv. Anyways so I really enjoyed the five and a half hour bus ride. LOVED IT...JUST LOVED IT! So we got there at 1am and immediately went to bed. There were only 2 other Americans in our weekend group, so I got to meet people from Canada, Holland, Japan and Germany, which was really cool. I feel like I have met more people from all around the world than I have Australians, still cool though. Annnyways, the next morning we woke up bright and early and started our very first surf lesson. We first went over wave structure and safety, then proceeded to do all the technical stuff on land like how to pop up on the board. It wasn't long before we headed into the water and I caught my first wave :) :) :) I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE SURFING! Of course I did fall...a lot (more in the afternoon when the waves were bigger than in the morning), but I was so much better this time than I was five years ago in Hawaii.

After two hours of non-stop surfing, we came in for lunch and then had a three hour break before our next lesson. I spent those three hours walking along the beach and laying in a hammock...yeah I know...my life is just awesome. Our next surf lesson was very different from the first. The waves were so much bigger at high tide and I only got up on my board about three times. It was really frustrating and I ended up stopping after an hour because I was so tired and sore. I ended up getting pretty beat up too...cuts on my feet, hands and knees from falling onto the sand. No worries though...I like battle wounds. That night we had dinner, chilled around the camp for a little and then Ashley and I headed down to the beach to take pictures of the sunset. To our surprise right at dusk a HUGE group of bats started flying for like ten minutes non-stop...NO JOKE! It was the coolest/creepiest thing I have ever seen in my life! It was also amazing to see the stars...you just don't get that in the city...I missed it.

The next day we had our last surf lesson, where I got my Mojo back (that's the name of the surf company, Mojo Surf). I stood up a bunch of times and I had so much fun. I surfed the entire two hours...I'm like the energizer bunny. After lunch we packed up our things and headed back on the bus and headed up to Byron Bay, a surf town with beautiful beaches and cool shops! I got another string bracelet to go with my one from Cairns. I also had a really good cheeseburger. yum.

So that was my weekend. On Sunday I leave for a 5 day field trip to Fraser Island...the biggest sand island in the world.

Oh and to keep a running tally, I have been to the oldest rainforest/jungle in the world, the largest stretch of reef and now I will be traveling to the largest sand island...Cool? I think so :)

So I get back from that on April 1st and then April 4th I leave for FIJI!!!!! I love my life right now. LOVE LOVE LOVE :)

Leave comments!
Here are the pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/fishymishi

Later dudes,
Melissa

New Picture/Video Website

Hey everyone,

I just made an account on Google Picasa and I have uploaded all my pictures and Videos on there. So, if you do not have a facebook, you can still see everything I have done and everything I will do! So check that out!

Here is the link: http://picasaweb.google.com/104976683939790387232

New post below!

Melissa :)

“People travel to faraway places to watch, in fascination, the kind of people they ignore at home.” – Dagobert D. Runes

I decided on a travel quote for this blogs title, because that is the theme for today.

This weekend I took my first trip outside of Brisbane to North Stradbroke Island for my marine environment class. While I did not enjoy the educational aspect of the trip so much, I loved the scenery and serene environment I was in for 3 days.

My weekend started bright and early on Saturday, driving from Uni to the ferry station on a bus with 60 other kids. Once at the doc, our coach bus proceeded to drive onto the barge that would take us to the island. One problem..our bus was too big to get on the barge. Yes that's right, our bus got stuck. After about fifteen minutes of driving forward, backward, moving the barge itself and all sorts of inventive ideas, the coach bus finally backed off the barge and pulled away along with all our luggage (we had to get off the coach once they realized there was a problem). So, the barge left with kids in tow, but no luggage. But don't worry, our luggage came about 20 minutes later on a different boat.

After reaching Straddy, we walked to the University of Queensland Marine Research Station, located right on Moreton Bay. Once everyone was settled in their rooms and after a safety briefing, we headed out to the shoreline to look at tidal zones. It was really cool to see all the different animals in the tide pools. Later that day, we went seine netting, where you use a large enclosed net to collect sea creatures. We saw cuddle fish, squid, crabs, shrimp, and a bunch of different fish species. The best part of the day though was when a huge rain storm suddenly began and everyone started running back to the station. Running along with us were little soldier crabs...it was like running with the bulls, but crustaceans instead haha! (I have a video that I will try and add later of the soldier crabs).

The next day we split up into groups and started our field work. Our group chose our hypothesis to focus around the number of mulloscs related to algal growth in tide pools in the intertidal zone of the coast line. While it was interesting to do field work, I didn't enjoy this day very much. However, that night was really fun. I played cards with a group of really fun people. Everyone should learn the game mafia. that is all.

Our last day on the island was definitely the best. After group presentations...blah, we hopped on the bus for a gorge walk. The scenery was SO BREATHTAKING! I could not stop taking pictures! The water was so blue and the waves were huge! The beaches looked so pristine and undisturbed...locals are so lucky to have that in their backyard. The day ended at the beach, where some of us climbed up a cliff and watched surfers for about an hour. Great, great day!

Now, for the second part of the post I will be talking about my travel plans for spring break. Where am I going you ask?? FIJI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so excited!! I am going with my two friends Ashley and Kelly. Here are some of the awesome things I will be doing in the 5 days I am there:
1.Going to the Nadi (pronounced Nandi) markets.
2.Snorkeling at Natadola Beach
3.sand boarding the Sigatoka sand dunes!
4.Jungle treck in Namosi Rainforest...where we will have the chance to swim at a huge waterfall!
5.Walking around Fiji's capital, Suva
6. Visiting a local school or orphanage in the remote Wailouta village to meet the chief in a traditional sevu-sevu (kava) ceremony and join the villages bilibili rafting
7.Swimming in mud pools and hot springs
8. An indo-fjian cultural experience!

I AM SO SO SO SO SO SO SOOOOO EXCITED! COUNTDOWN: 19 days!

That is all for now, Here is my favorite picture I took this weekend:

I will try and post some videos later in the week from my trip.

Until then,
Melissa

PS. Leave comments! I love hearing from everyone :) Miss you all!