Yay, discharged from hospital!

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to say thank you so much for all the phone calls and txts over the past few days. It has been a bit stressful the past 2 weeks and needless to say, I still much prefer being on the giving side of hospital rather than the receiving!

Had a bit of a rough weekend after discharge with the threat of re-admission, but am now turning the corner and feeling more human! Thanks to all for the understanding re visiting when things have improved and a big, big thank you to Sue who dropped in dinner for 2 nights when I was first discharged, was exactly what Graeme needed at the time.

Im now sporting a leg brace (yes, one is in Canterbury colous Du tells me?!) and have the memory of an ameoba after all the G.A's but promise I will remember you, Mum says I'm practising for old age senility !@#$$@!!!

Anyhow, thanks again for all the thoughts- especially the guys at the power station, really appreciated it. :-)

Back home from hospital

Hi all, have been meaning to post, but life got a bit fraught as denise ended up being admitted to hopsital 9 days ago as her leg infection spread and she wasnt too well.

She ended up on i.v antibiotics and had 3 trips to theatre over 5 days to try and get it under control. Was a sick wee bunny, but when they finally got it stopped and the wound properly cleaned out, she is feeling better, just weak and tired.

Discharged home now in a leg brace with me as nursemaid - no more suggestions that she get a bell thanks haha.

Received our first ever meals on wheels today- thanks heaps Sue !

Epilogue from Graeme Brace yourself its ugly

On the last Day we were in Vanuatu, Saturday the 15th we went to Erakor Resort to say good bye to the staff there, as most days we had gone across on the ferry to have a drink.

On the way back while waiting for the ferry Denise slipped on the jetty steps and badly cut open her knee on a bolt used to fix the hand rail. With help from the resort staff we stopped the bleeding and got her on the ferry back to the other side where we got a taxi to the private hospital in Port Vila.

The nurse there, Anne then cleaned the cut which went from one side of her knee to the other just below the knee cap and called the on duty doctor. The doctor Basil Leoboro just happened to be a Surgical Registrar set to cleaning the wound after giving heaps of local anesthetic and then telling us that this is normally done under General anesthetic as they don't have facilities for any big accidents and normally medivac people back to Aussie or NZ.

No Entenox for pain so Denise just gritted her teeth and dug her nails into my hand as he washed it out.He then stitched up the cut, I haven't counted the stitches but there must be 25 to 30 in there.

After he was finished he drove us back to the resort (service!!!!!), where they got us a wheel chair and I took Denise back to our room with all the Aussies asking her if she wanted them to beat me up for what I had done to her!!!!!!!

After a sleepless night for Denise (PAIN) into the wheel chair and off to the airport and onto the plane where Denise was sick (yes you can vomit into a bag!), passed out, then was put on oxygen after the plane had taken off. My many thanks to the crew who were fantastic.

Then into Auckland and another wheel chair and home what an experience it really restores your faith in humanity with all the help we had from beginning to end.

Days 10 & 11 - 14th -15th March

No lizard today but spot the crab in its shell in the photo today!

For all those concerned about the gecko- he was being very good- not running across dinner plates but up a pillar in the lobby. And yes Mark, we are very ambi-dextrous (how do u spell that??)when it comes to holding torches under the sheets- yes we are having a GREAT time together !!

Hey thanks for all the comments while here, we always look to see whos written and enjoy the shite you all give us- even it is is often anonymous, I can usually work out the authors !! CYA soon'

Day 11

Woke at 7.30am and dragged ourselves up to breakast today (not!) Graeme has had about 20 eggs since he got here and thick bacon every day, he will miss this when back to reality.
I unfortunately had an allergic reaction to the juice today - I always stick with the pineapple eah day as I'm very allergic to the orange and mango ones. But somewhere along the line mango got tipped into the pineapple and I had drunk half a glass before I tasted it. Result - I did a good impression of the michelan man all swelling up!

The manager was very good though as he came over and could also taste the mango and had it taken out. Thought we had better tell the staff as if someone else was more allergic than me, they could have a problem on their hands.

Took an anti-histamine and drank copius amounts of water- no ice cream to be had Mum like when I was a kid ! but it was ok and I will be more careful from now on.

Packed our bags and confirmed the transfer for tomorrow, then we will lax out under our tree. Will try to find my bottle of perfume that seems to have disappeared out of the bathroom while we were in town on Wednesday. Ginette, the office manager was going to come in on her (1)day off to do a report, but I said I didnt want to take it further until we are packed up and know it hasnt been misplaced in the room somewhere. Dont think so somehow and a little disappointing that it has been taken but there are a few staff that have access to the rooms so its too hard to trace. Will just fill a report in at the desk.

There was an amazing thunder storm today- caught the lightening and thunder on video - you could feel the thunder through the ground. It was most impressive to give us a different view on the last day- it teemed down for about an hour and a half which is pretty rare!!

Dont know if its because we know we have to go home or if we are just ready, but we are ready to go and see everyone in cold old New Zealand - like Dorothy said- "Theres no place like home"- even if she did mean Kansas not the Waikato!.

We both think that Vanuatu is majorly missed out in the marketing of the "Pacific theme.... Fiji, Rarotonga, Samoa etc." It is such a lovely sunny destination with friendly warm people who are all bi-lingual and the country has easy access for Kiwis. The food and activities are a little expensive but nothing like Tahiti in our experience - you can easily get around yourselves and we would certainly promote Vanuatu as a great place for couples and families alike.

Finishing the holiday with a night at the wild ginger restaurant, trying out Teppenyaki for the first time tonight. We have heard the chef is very entertaining with his salt n pepper shakers and his knife set !!! Hmmm will be interesting and as long as he doesnt miss, we will see you all on the other side of the ocean !!!!!

Day 10

We have had such great sleeps while away and it has been just the tonic we needed after 9 months of daily routine, to wake each day when we wake rather than getting up to an alarm- for Graeme especially as the 5.15am get ups are a bit cruel!

We travelled into town on the bus/van again- we havent had any trouble getting these and they are a fifth the price of the taxi's. Have hardly ever had to wait either as its the type of service that runs informally all the time.
We were on a route that took us up to the parliment buildings then to the Port Vila hospital. There were alot of women holding their beautiful babies, waiting for the child health clinics. Graeme reckons I could get a job there in nursing or midwifery easily and they have diesel powered generators, so we are sussed if we come to live here!

One thing I would want to do first though would be to try and get children into seat restraints as no-one uses carseats here and kids move around freely inside vehicles and babies are just held on their mothers laps. Dont know what their statistics are like however.

Our resort is noticeably full of kids, we have never seen so many babies in arms and toddlers, then a gap up to the teenage age group away with their parents. It works well I think as the babysitting is only about $3 an hour and there is a kids club.

Maybe with couples achieving careers before becoming parents more these days- that this is why so many more seem to be able to travel with very young children and babies, its quite noticeable. We take our hat off to them, as taking babies and teenagers! on holiday overseas can be hard work as we have witnessed here.

One teenager here with the family gave his parents hell everytime we saw them in the restaurant- yet he came from private school, had all the techno equipment, ipod etc. But he held his prents to ransom all the time because he didnt want to be there. Graeme said he wanted to go up and throttle him as here he was in pacific paradise, ruining it for the rest of his family.

Anyhow! back into town, we swapped over our thai dvd for an english version! Not such great copies but as it is only just out at the movies at home, cant complain!

Went back to the resort and read etc, swam and snorkelled. It has been a funny day cloudy and rains but still very hot snd tropical. I managed to continue my bikini outline tan ! even though I have been under a tree each day sunbathing !!

Went to the seafood buffet as it was so nice last week and the prawns were the largest we've ever seen, but alas these were a disappointing normal size- bum.

Went back to our room and watched the national treasure- book of secrets dvd, very handy having the laptop!

day 9 - 13th March

Hey thanks for all the comments- we are most impressed- keep it up. And guys at work- Graeme said you are all heart about the 2 shift!!!!

We woke at 3.30am as Graeme was too hot and was tossing and turning. We lay and talked about things on our minds in our life at the moment- work, house, work, house blah blah- then remembered you Never let your mind worry at this time of the night, so promptly stopped that and fell asleep again!!

We went into town today, and either we have acclimatised majorly or the humidity is more bearable, but we lasted well for 5 hours in the main street which is probably the size of Morrinsvilles. We shopped for presents for home today, the duty free here- have I said about it? Alcohol and smokes are so, so cheap. A bottle of absolute vodka is AUD $16 and a 5 pack of 50gm tobaccos are an amazing $22!

There are also shops filled with label copies, nike,billabong,and games, dvd's etc.

Bought 5 videos for $20 in one place that are all great, but in another bought a supposed english version of national treasure that was not only NOT in english- it was dubbed into thai and it had obviously been filmed with a handicam in a theatre. So guess what- that one is going back for a refund tomorrow and if the asians there want to be unhelpful, Graeme said he will stand outside and tell everyone going in that they rip you off!! Cant imagine how many tourists that were in that shop today are going to be very unhappy when they get home to play their movies! Lucky we have the laptop to check!

To be fair, we bought a nintendo game for Danni which works fine in the same store.
Have to say on a whole the Vanuatu people are the most friendly people we have ever met. Even if you are just passing them in the street they say hello. The standard greeting when saying thank you here is in pidgen "tank you toomas"!

Later on we went back into town and caught the ferry over to Irirki resort for a look around at their rooms and had a meal in the restaurant. It was fantastic and the service rivals anywhere upmarket in NZ (that is usually the case anywhere here).

On the bus ride into town, we were lucky enough by defaut- to be taken on a van ride with a load of village men. In the semi-dark I jokingly think "jeez, hope they dont want to eat us big whiteys"?!! But all was fine and we got to experience their famous pot holed side roads. If you had a brain aneursym, it would pop it!!
Was really funny and we enjoyed seeing the real villages, with their shacks, pristine white churches and fields of men playing their favourite game- soccer in the twilight.

A really good day today. Have included a great pic of the cruise ship sailing out of the harbour at sunset, hopefully these photos on the blog arent too small as we have found you can compress them for the web which makes them alot quicker to upload.

Day 7 - 11 March

A quiet day at the resort today, lay on the lounger out under the tree's by our room. A breeze came up for the first time today and it was wonderful- took away the humidity for the morning.

Went for a walk up behind the golf course, which is a hua of a hill, then paddled around in the lagoon while the tide was out. I picked up a small cream starfish and when you turn it over, all these individual tentacles came out to try and turn itself over- was fascinating.

Finished reading a book today which is a good way to measure if you are relaxing!!
In the afternoon we caught the ferry over to Erakor (ear -a-core) island for our usual cocktail and a beer- very nice sitting looking back over the lagoon. The barman there is getting to know us well !!

Came back and had a nanna nap, have found that when you go outside and get so hot just moving around here, you tend to fall asleep straight away if you lay down afterwards in the air cond. room!

We sat and had our usual drinks with Sherlie and John before dinner, then went to the grill by the pool for a t-bone steak dinner. Was lovely, but as it gets dark here early, it was a bit hard to see what you are eating!!

Said our goodbyes to the Reids- they are off at a punishing 5am tomorrow back home to Morrinsville. We are hoping to be joining them in that area as soon as we sell our property - fingers crossed.

Day 6- Monday 10th March & Day 5- 9th March

Day 6- Thanks for all the comments everyone- love to get them so keep it up!!

We got up and had the usual lovely breakfast in the restaurant- the chef makes you omelets with any fillings you like. They are delicous with ham, cheese, mushrooms and tomato.

Then we and John and Sherlie from Morrinsville caught a bus into town - my goodness the humidity was off the rictor scale after the rain & sun earlier! Our clothes were absolutely soaking wet within 30mins but you just have to keep going. However, you can give us the hot dry air off the sahara desert anyday over the hot, humid and sticky air in alot of the pacific.

We tramped from store to store down the little main street, bought a few things and found that the duty free shops here are heaps cheaper than all the other duty free's we have ever seen, for cigarettes and alcohol.

Graeme bought some wooden statues he really liked about 4 ft high, thought the price was for one, but it was for all three. They are carved statues of safari styled men with plith hats on. Pretty cool but will no doubt be a pain to carry through customs! We have a fumigation certificate with them, so all good (I hope!)
We attracted some attention carrying them all wrapped up, up the road back to the bus.

Went back to the resort and promptly fell into the lagoon to cool down a bit. The current was really strong so we walked along the bank then just drifted down snorkelling to look at all the zillions of cream and red/black starfish.

Had a very enjoyable afternoon with John and Sherlie, sitting on the balcony having a few drinks and talking.

We tried out the wild ginger restaurant at the resort tonight- a more up market a la carte and teppenyaki restaurant- was lovely cuisine and a perfect setting, sitting up the top of the resort, outside under the stars looking out over the lagoon and other islands across the water- Very nice.


Day 5 -

Woke after another good sleep- seem to be sleepig an awful lot ! A quiet day today, we went on a small cruise around the lagoon up to Le Meridien resort and in the other direction to Breaka's resort. The guide took us right down to the end of the huge lagoon and showed us some beautiful homes on the waterway. He said it was where the 'rich people live!

One even had a huge out door day bed with a woven roof - could get used to lying out there, but we notice here that due to it all being in a protected lagoon, there is hardly ever a breeze, so it is very hot and still everywhere.

On the way back the skies opened and we had the most amzing tropical downpour- it was hilarious as everyone ended up standing in the middle as it was an open sided reef boat and the driver had to steer with his head out over the roof to see !!

Came back, dried off, had some ales (rude not too!) when it dried off, over on Erakor island. Have got in the habit of having 'toberlrone' cocktail over there in the afternoons and shared lunch with the Reids, looking out back towards our reasort across the bay, the catching the ferry back across.

Had a most enjoyable couple of hours yarning away about life in NZ! We will miss John and Sherlie when they leave in a few days!

Came back and watched 'T'he Mummy' movie on the laptop. Getting used to being 2 hours behind now, so can manage to stay up till 10.30pm or so like at home.

Day 4 - 8th March

Hi all back home- we need some lovin!!!! Where are all the comments to keep us going while we are away from good old NZ??

We had arranged to go up to the Cascade waterfalls today with John and Sherlie. Other tripadvisor reviews online for this resort had talked about the costs for getting over there. The taxi's and buses are identical, just vans with a
'B'or a 'T' on them as Ive said earlier and we had been told the bus takes you right to the falls as well.

Basically anywhere inside the town limits is 100 vatu pp ($1.40) each way- outside this its 200 vatu. So it only cost the 2 of us around $12 return, whereas the taxi costs approx. $40-45. It is so easy to use these 'buses' as they do exactly the same route with only a few quick stops. It seems that most of the tourist population do the same thing so the bus vans are constantly dropping off at the resorts and pick up the next ones- all very casual and unplanned compared to our bus services, but it works well.

The cascade falls were amazing, they have a strong lime content, so the water is a azure blue/green and there were probably 20 pools you can swim in. The surroundings where you walk up are like a garden of eden, with huge bright
flowers everywhere in the dense bush. One warning we would have liked to have known before was that there are masses of mosquitos up there, query if its just now that they are so bad. Asked the man on the gate, but they dont
sell any repellant- could have made a killing!!

The mozzies are pretty big, about the size of a smaller fly and when you stand still they cover your legs. The one way out is to get in the water and after the walk up to the top of the falls, Graeme and I were only too happy to get in. They
have carved steps into the rock and slung ropes to hang on to as you climb through the waters. At the top you can stand in the top waterfall which felt like a pins and needles shower! Apparantly there was a huge amount of water there at present- at other times it can be just a trickle.

We swam around in various pools, being careful as some of the currents can pin you up against the rocks and going back down was a bit exciting as the current on your legs was rather strong. Went down to the bottom pool and were shown a 12 foot rock where you can leap off into the water. We did this together and was exhilerating - once I got my legs to stop physically shaking !! Must have been the adrenaline?!

We went down to wait for our pick up, only problem was that the bus driver who had arranged to come back for us later, didnt appear. Luckily a tour van operator was at the falls and was happy to take us all back to the resort for the bus fares, so it was no big deal.

We all came back ravenous, so sat outside and had a beer and hot chips for lunch!! Then watched a wedding down on the beach. The bride arrives on a canoe with a chair strapped on, then once on the beach the native guys all rush her and do some kind of challenge that scares the pants off some! They then have the ceremony and follow up with a marque meal for the wedding party, looking out over the lagoon. Very hot and humid time of year to marry but no-one has passed out yet!

Went back to our lovely air cond. room for a nana nap! then decided to just have crackers and dip for dinner. Think there is karaoke on tonight so might go have a look, but not to sing- enough aussies here who are more than confident to do it instead!!! Not many kiwi's here at present, we note.

Day 3 - 7th March 08

We woke after a good sleep at 5.30am (and to be fair, we had gone to bed at 8.30pm!!) We decided we had better get up and go for a fast walk to burn off some of the food, then jumped in the lagoon and swam with the starfish, which are everywhere on the sea floor. The tide was actually quite strong so we had a good workout getting back in!

After breakfast we lounged around in one of the pools while they are semi-cool as they tend to heat up after about 11am to warm-hot bath heat! Its strange as we have been in climates similar to this but the pools are always cold elsewhere?? However it did teem with rain for about 10 mins, was lovely and cool.

Graeme decided to show me his skills from boy scout days, with sailing a catamaran so out onto the lagoon and we went round and round (oops sorry- yes he knew exactly what he was doing-tacking!)

Later went across the lagoon on the ferry again for a cold beer and a cocktail at Erakor resort. It is the kind of place you could get in the habit of going to as it is very casual with all the walls opening up to the outside, affording a nice breeze. They have a famous resident pig there called AJ- he is humongous!
We watched him wander down to the beach and lay in the water when he got too hot - hope he's toilet trained??

Enjoyed the drink and a chat with John and Sherlie from Morrinsville, a couple we had met on our first day here- very nice people to sit and have a yarn to. Then pulled ourselves away to go back to our resort and tidy up for dinner.

It was a malanesian night and seafood buffet. It had the largest prawns I have ever seen and they tasted like crayfish. Fresh chilled oysters in the shell, fish cooked and raw, in coconut juice, what a feast. They had dancers on afterwards with traditional dancing- gorgeous bodies on both the boys and the girls- clearly not alot of takeways here as no body fat to be seen!!

The resort is probably only half full at the moment due to the time of year, wouldnt like to be here when its full as although it is a big resort, the all inclusvie package it offers, and lots of australians seem to take- sets the scene for some heavy drinking ! Some guys who were trying to recover from the night before,
starting again at 10am after breakfast.

Its funny, Graeme thought two guys we saw together were gay as they were wearing the same sparkly gold bracelet. Fair assumption except that made half the resort gay
as it is actually what they wear to show they are on the all inclusive at the bar and restaurant !! Oh well...

A big Hi to Danni and Sam when they read this at home XOX

Day Two - 6 March 08

Slept like a log last night thanks to a couple of heinekens ! Woke early- early as we are used to being 2 hours ahead.
You dont realise how hot it is here until you open your door as the air cond. is pretty mighty. It is so hot and humid here, we can feel the fat melting away already we reckon !! I opened the door at 7am to take a photo outside and the difference
in temperature made the lens fog up.

We swapped rooms today as we are next to 3 rooms being renovated with jack hammers etc, so we have been moved to a lagoon view room right on the water, rather than a garden bungalow - So Nice!

We got a taxi into town- what a laugh, it was a diahatsu tico - the size of a sewing machine but goodness knows how it would get a warrant - the windscreen had massive cracks all through it, the back doors had plywood filling what used to be a door panel, and best of all.... the horn was cellotaped on to the steering wheel with about half a roll of tape!!!
Paul, the very black Vanuatuan driver - had bright ginger, thick arm hairs!! Closed our eyes (no seatbelts) and drove on the wrong side of the road to town.

We re-visited Port Vila and looked through the shops with perspiration literally streaming, but you feel ok- just very wet!
Electronics & DVDs etc are particularly cheap, with a DVD not even out at home selling for $12 in the stores (No country for Old Men) which was just up for honours at the Oscars! All highly illegal if sold like this at home I would think, but openly packaged and sold here as legitmate items.

Bought Graeme a pair of Oakley sun glasses ($30) well, they look original!! and a tin tin t-shirt (from the old cartoon series), then wandered down to 'Bon Marche' the supermarket (still alot of french influence here) to buy bottled water
- $1.40 for a large bottle, $7 for a smaller one at the resort).

Caught the 'bus' home, they are vans in various states of disrepair - that have a 'B' on the number plate. You can hail them down, which Graeme did accidently when he was pointing something out to my across the road! They take you home for
around $1.50. The greasy looking driver tried to rip me off and charge half as much again, but suddenly remembered the resort was cheaper when I pulled him up on it!

We got back to the resort and decided to go across the lagoon to erakor resort, which has a free ferry running non-stop back and forth for its customers and our side also. What a great little resort - very small with alll bures on the absolute waterfront. It is very like Octopus resort in Fiji where we go. One of the staff took us into a bure - lovely with french doors that open on to the sea. No pool there but the water is right there to swim in. Had a wonderful icy cold
cocktail while Graeme poured down 2 tusker beers- ice cold and just what he needed.

Back across the lagoon and into our new waterfront room- much better! and quieter. We sat in the lagoon water and had another beer - geez life is punishing sometimes!
We have a mexican night tonight which will be nice, dont feel wiped out today so want to try the restaurant.
The american breakfast in the same restaurant, is great in the mornings with a full spread for those who want a bit of everything!

We are relaxing now in this paradise setting -want to make the best of it as time always flies by once you start
to really enjoy yourself as we all know !

Day one- Flight Day

We got off to Auckland airport no problems after dropping Danni at her new school - she decided that she was going to try and stow away in one of our suitcases instead !! Alas she was kissed and then duly dropped off and we were off.

No wait to speak of in check in. Air Vanuatu flight- older plane under Air NZ which was a 3 & 3 seating plan. Funny the plane was 1/3 empty but they squashed Graeme, me and a big Fijian guy all in one row. He was really interesting though, working for the church of latter day saints in a professional property manager role. Turned out we knew some if the same people!

He moved to a spare row later, so we could all space out. Very little leg room but fine for a 3 hour trip. No tv's, but luckliy we had the laptop with us so could watch a dvd (until it went flat!!) Funny I turned around for something and there is the guy in the row behind intently watching our movie through the crack in the seats!!

Left NZ, cold, windy with jackets on - landed in Port Vila, hot no wind and 34C !!!! Jackets came off !!
Had to laugh in the airport, the conveyor belt for claiming baggage was a table ?!!

Got our transfer to Le Lagon no problems- its a 75 acre resort. Well laid out and very like Tahiti resorts with manicured lawns etc.

Got the gist of the place- by now wearing a sheen of perspiration as we havent acclimatised yet, but also nice as it sends you the subliminal message that you are in the pacific islands and are on holiday - we tried out the pools this afternoon but the water was as hot as a medium bath!!.

Ahhh... will start to wind down now after so much going on at home. Now if someone wants to buy the house as a surprise while we are away- go for it!

We decided not to go to the restaurant for dinner tonight as a combination of the heat, alcohol and travel are catching up !! Are opting for a room service pizza instead. It is almost as expensive here as Tahiti, not sure why? but much dearer in general than Fiji we have heard.

Got a seafood pizza in from room service for dinner as the time difference (NZ is 2 hours ahead) makes us want to go to bed. The seafood was delicous - $35 for lsrge pizza and a bowl of chips- just as well they tasted so yum!!