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

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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

Milford Sound New Zealand

We had a wonderful day in Milford Sound. Great scenery traveling six hours by coach and two hours on the boat for sightseeing! One of the photos are seals on the rocks, the other is Milford sounds. Water right up to the rock cliffs. Awesome! We also are traveling with some very nice folks whom we are getting to know better. There is a lot of joking and kidding and it is really fun! Weather has been great, sunny at our destinations and warm. We hear there are a lot of snow storms in the east and the stock market isn't doing so well, but down here, we are having a great time and it is summer!!! What a beautiful place. I am getting my dream of taking a zillion pictures and Robert has fulfilled his bucket list of being in New Zealand. It is truly a country of extremes and we are enjoying every minute!!! Mary and Carl are doing great. Have not seen Cindy and Ron since Syndey. Tomorrow we head for Auckland, our last stop in New Zealand. We are in Queenstown one more night! The water is right outside our motel. We can hear the waves splashing on the shore. We are going to have a game of cribbage while I try to upload a couple of pictures to this blog site. Hope it works! Thinking of you all! R

More photos!

These are two pictures from Akaroa
Harbour where we went on a harbour cruise to see dolphins. Iwill try to upload a video I shot, but I think it will be too big. Anyway, I will keep you posted! R