Fiji
February 23 Bula! Welcome to Fiji! 6am flight from Melbourne to Brisbane, then on to Nadi, Fiji. Landed at 3pm, and was definitely not expecting mountains or a musical welcome. It was gorgeous, and immediately I felt the humidity of the tropics. In the 80 minutes it took to get to the Fiji Hideaway Resort, I learned that it takes 9 hours to drive around the biggest island in Fiji (which we were on). Their four biggest industries: water, sugarcane, lumber, and gold. There were roadside hot corn stands all along the drive. Fiji is part of the British Commonwealth, so Queen Elizabeth is on all of their coins. The drive was incredibly lush and green and gorgeous. Homes appeared to be made of tin or concrete, with several rooms. Upon arriving at the hotel, I was greeted so warmly. Met up with Tom and Katie, my Aussie travel buddies from Queensland, and enjoyed an absolutely stunning sunset before dinner. I was wiped and passed out before 9. February 24 Wok