Update

Well, after four months and working very hard, I have completed all the videos for the Trip Down Under! They are posted on Motion Box, with the link on the prior post. I have had many positive comments from those who have viewed them and it has brought back many fond memories. For those of you who have not been able to travel that far, I am pleased that you have enjoyed visiting these places through the photos and videos that I have posted.

We are planning a trip to Minnesota and Wisconsin later this summer, so stay tuned. I am also working on a video of "Hot Springs Village, a Look on Natures Side". I have a mentor who is assisting me with some fine tuning, so I hope to get better at this as well. I am also getting more involved in Macro Photography, which is very fascinating.

Motion Box Videos

I have posted four videos on Motion Box. I have categorized them according to the places we visited. There is a movie for Cairns, Sydney, Christchurch, and after today, there will be one for Queenstown, which includes the Milford Sound trip. I have really enjoyed putting these together and have two or three more to go. Next will be Auckland, then Fiji. I may split Fiji into two because the cruise was actually separate and I have quite a lot of video to share. I hope that you are not having a problem opening them. Let me know of any glitches, however, the web address ending in gadgetgal works fine and does not result in an error. If you have trouble viewing in HD, beneath the video, you can choose to view it in Standard Definition. Let me know your thoughts about it. I will keep working on it to complete the Grand Circle Travel Tour from down under!

In the above pictures, fish in Fiji, little school girl in Fiji-did you see on the news where they had a very serious cyclone a week ago? I wonder about the school children. They were such happy children.

The third picture tell a bit of what goes on in Hot Springs at this time of year. Horse Racing at Oaklawn Park.

Link to Motion Box again is ---http://www.motionbox.com/profiles/gadgetgal66

Enjoy!

This link better

http://www.motionbox.com/profiles/gadgetgal66
This link may work better, I had an error from this blog with the other address. R

Video posted on Motionbox.com

Finally, I have a home for my videos. First one uploaded yesterday, Cairns Australia. Check it out at
http://www.motionbox.com/videos/4c99deb51717e3c2co

Copy this address into your browser and view the video. It was uploaded in HD format, so if you have trouble viewing it smoothly, there is a choice under the video to view it in Standard Definition. Choose that and give it a try. There will be more videos coming, and since I have a place to put them, you will be able to continue following the trip to Australia, New Zealand and Fiji!

Comments welcome, would love to hear from you. Renee-traveling gadgetgal!

Well, here I am, home and working on the photos, and videos. I made a Windows Live Movie about our experience in Cairns. It really turned out pretty good. I did upload it to You Tube three days ago, it took about three hours, then I have to wait for it to be published. It was uploaded in HD, so I am still waiting to see it appear. I called it ANZF Movie By R - Cairns AU
Now the problem may be that it is too long - about 20 minutes. Maybe You Tube doesn't allow that long of a movie. I will keep watching for it and in the mean time, I will make a shorter one and see if that works any better. If any of you know the answer to my problem, please let me know.
There is so much to share! Keep in touch. Renee

Fiji Music and Fiji Folks

Some of the most memorable times in Fiji were meeting the school children and the music. I will attempt to upload some photos and music for you. By the way, "Bula" means hello, or cheers, depending on how you use it. We are in the last days of our trip at this point and the Tropical Summer will soon fade away to USA Winter, which we understand, has really been winter!!!
Click on the forward arrow to view short video of children singing. They always had a little performance for the visitors. We were sitting in shade, and they were in the hot sun.

Cruise Fiji Islands

We were on a small ship, 138 passenger, with 38 crew members. We snorkeled and some went diving. The water and the coral were pristine! Have a look! Twice a day we would go out in a small boat and they would drop us off in the water over the reef and we would snorkel for around one hours. At times the swells were pretty big, so one always had to be aware of your position as not to be pushed up against the coral. There was always the possibility of jelly fish, but we were told Fiji Jelly Fish won't hurt you. just swim through them! We did see several jelly fish and many many other kinds of fish.

Fiji Breakfast Pictures

Well, we are home and I noticed my Fiji breakfast pictures didn't show up in the blog, so here they are. The trip home was very long, worse from some than others. Dave and Vivian are still in LA, he is still in the hospital with a cellulitis in his leg. Vivian is near by lending support. Hope they will be home soon. We were just very tired for a few days, slept long nights, but today, Sunday, Feb 21, is better.
I don't think the beer picture above was at breakfast, but we did gather regularly for much sharing and building new friendships! It was a great trip. More photos and links will follow as I go through the "zillion pictures" that I took. Robert can now cross New
Zealand and snorkeling of his bucket list. I can cross off the "zillion photo shoot" adventure!

Breakfast in Fiji

Would you believe our great trip is nearing its end? We are still in Fiji after a very enjoyable cruise on a small ship that was mainly geared toward diving and snorkeling, and other beach activities. The weather was great, coral was outstanding, and of course the last snorkel done was the very best and a real highlight. The Fijian people are so very nice. Will include some photos from the cruise as well as some breakfast in Fiji pictures from before we left Shangri La Resort. What an adventure this has been. Much more to follow when I get all my little mini movies together. Time is the greatest gift Fijians have. As Florian, our activities director on the cruise said, they have everything they need, but have something that most of us don't have, and that is "time" to spend with family, friends, telling stories and leading an uncomplicated life. No internet, no computers, few tv's but really, they have it all. I thought that was a very interesting way of looking at it. I finally slowed down on the second last day!!! I did get there only to be thrust back into the schedule of being prompt and in a certain place at a specific time! Yes, Americans are on the go!!!
Hope all our travel mates have made it home safely as the rest of us are following soon. Family and friends, I promised I would pack some warm weather, so get ready for improvements!!!! Renee

Some others pictures of interest!

Will add a few more pictures. Tomorrow Mary and Carl are leaving for home as well as several others on the trip, however, Bob and I and 15 others will be doing a post trip cruise for four days of other Fiji Islands. The weather looks good, we will do a lot of snorkeling and relaxing with new friends. Don't know what kind of connection I will have on the cruise, but will add and update when I can. Until then, keep warm, and remember, I will bring some warmer temperatures along in my suitcase! Hope it doesn't get lost again!!! R

Fiji Birds

Much work is being done to help birds on endangered species lists, such as the Fijian Paragon Falcon, the White Headed Heron and several others. Check these out.

Fiji Reptiles

Fiji does have reptiles and fish!
Here are a few! These reptiles as well as many birds are in the Kula Eco Park for protections and rehabilitation. The school children come here to learn how to care for their environment and to help protect endangered species.

Fiji Flowers

Fiji is a wonderful place and is very tropical. Here are some flowers that we see around, not sure of all the names, but here they are anyway.

Few more pictures---

The school children sang some songs; we visited a tribal village, which I am told is a very rich village. We have so much to be thankful for. When we had lunch in the Village, we all took our shoes off before we entered the home and had to sit on the floor. No silverware was used, finger bowls were provided after we ate to wash our fingers. A variety of grown items, vegetables and fruits, as well as fish were served, cooked in different ways. The last photo on this page, ladies were sitting on the ground with their food items to sell in the market place.

Fiji

We arrived in Fiji yesterday. The music that we were greeted with was cheerful, friendly and made us all feel very special and welcome. We have been treated very well. Fiji has a very poor population, but they are very good people. We are staying at a wonderful resort right next to the sea. Our patio doors open out for the view and the breeze. Needless to say it is very hot here, very tropical and humid. This is my kind of weather!!!! We went to the market today and also visited a school for which Grand Circle has a Foundation of Support for. It was very interesting. Last evening we experience a dinner and show of tahitian dancers and food. Robert has eaten octopus, kangaroo, lamb, sqid, mussels, crocodile, and who knows what all. I havn't been that brave, I just take pictures. Now he wonders why his stomach feels a little upset! Tastes and smells are very different in most situations we have encountered. It is part of the ambiance! Glad you continue to follow our trip. I hope that I have internet access to update when we go on our cruise in two days so that I can keep it up. Carl and Mary will be flying out as we start our cruise, so we wish them safe travels. They are ready to return. Bob and I will stay and bask in the sun a while longer. Will attach a few pictures, as they really tell the story. I continue to live my dream of taking a zillion pictures! Bob completed his when we left New Zealand, but we are both enjoying Fiji! Stay tuned!

Auckland New Zealand

We left Auckland two days ago, however, I wanted to post a couple of pictures. We went sailing there in the harbour of "The City of Sails" and also took a fairyboat out to an island where we had lunch. It was recommended by some native New Zealanders, so we figured it would be worth it. It totally was a delightful day. Seems I should be getting dizzy as we have ridden on so many different moving vehicles. I think the only thing we missed was a train. Anyway, we are getting to know our traveling group well and there is a lot of kidding and enjoyment in the company we keep.

Dates!

Some of the dates are a little mixed up on this blog, but it doesn't really matter, but for the record, we went to Milford Sound on Sunday, Feb 7, Akaroa a couple days ago and the animals we saw yesterday in Queenstown. So anyway, tomorrow we head for Auckland on the North Island, and then in a couple more days, on to Figi! Airline security is very strict here, but for other reasons, more in relationship to food, plants and wood because they don't want diseases transferred to their fragile eco systems. Anyway, keep watching for more info! Thinking of all of you, not very lonesome yet! RNR

Hector Dolphins

We went to Akaroa, which was on the coast of the South Island of New Zealand and spent a couple of hours on this boat where we saw the Hector Dolphins which are the smallest dolphins in the world. They swam right of the front of our boat and they swam with us for quite a ways. They were fun to watch in the wild like that! What a treat that was! R

Some Animals we have seen up close

o

There is so much beauty here. I am also going to try to post a Video. It didn't work last time because I ran out of internet time, but I will try once more on a new page! Lots of sheep here! All kinds. Robert has eaten lamb a couple of times, but I have something else! The little lama is so cute and they are so soft. Keep checking. R