Day 1 -Incheon, Seoul Korea

We are on a 777-200 plane on the first leg of our trip and had read a review last night on the Korean business class seats, where a guy on a long haul flight to Korea said that you got the old style bus. Seats and the only entertainment was a tv screen at the front of the cabin. Thought “hope not”!
Anyhow, get on board today and yes the seats are the old lazy-boy style but wethink that’s ok, they are softer than the newer lie flat ones, and OMG! There is only a miniscule tv screen at the front!**!!!*!!*!

Was thinking of having a little hyperventilation attack at the thought of 12 hours and no tv (What?? In business class we’re thinking?) but then discovered there were personal screens in the arms of our seats- phew! That reviewer must not have found his!!

Now relaxed and happy, we are fed a 5 course meal for lunch – how do people eat all that?? and watched the new star trek movie and night at the museum 2.
Korean definitely isn’t as up to date with technology like Malaysian airlines were in 2007 when we flew, but Im not complaining.
If you ask you get toothbrush/paste, comb, mouthwash, slippers, eye patches and my favourite- little cans of atomized water to spray on your face (just like in the movie ‘the castle’, where this amazed them on a trip to Bali!!) By the way, has anyone ever noticed how hairy your face looks under the lights in those airplane toilets??? Scary!

Walked down thru economy for a wander and see no personal tvs at all- bummer, but at least half the seats are empty so there’s heaps of room for people to spread out. Probably half the bus. class section is empty too I notice.
It was still daylight outside (12.30pm) but everyone is in the dark going to sleep. I gave Graeme fucidin cream to put up his nose (nurses will understand why!), so he gets me back by putting both his fingers up his nose at once- to at least the 2nd joints lol! Boys………

Landed 20 mins early at 8.50pm NZ time- loooong flight at the time, but kept reminding myself that Dad always soaks up the excitement of travel and never complains about the time spent in planes- so I wont either!

We were transferred to the Hyatt Regency hotel for the night (very nice) - given dinner, breakfast and lunch vouchers for tomorrow! We have gone back 3 hours here, so its 8pm Korean time but we are almost ready for bed!

First half of the plane long haul down! yay, the plane was SO hot in the cabin, you didnt have any air vents and in the end they turned it down to 22C ! No wonder we were feeling hot and headachy!! Tomorrow we are on a new style plane with the lie flat seats and movies we can control individually, games etc.

PS/ I open the internet in our room to post this blog and see that my favourite actor Patrick Swayze has lost his battle with pancreatic cancer- sob.....

We really are off now!

Day 1 Auckland->Seoul Korea

Hi everyone,
well the day is here at last! Well actually it kind of crept up on us in a hurry and now we are off! Having been so busy with the organistion of Sammys 21st, we werent focused on this trip so much, so a nice surprise to hear the alarm at 4.30 AM !! (Thanks Korean for changing the flight to leave 2 hours earlier !?@#!)

We decided to walk down our driveway in the pitch dark to wait for the shuttle as he rang and was running 10 mins late.
We looked so funny-it really was pitch black and the suitcases didnt particularly like the gravel all the way down, and they were so eager to go that they almost pushed you over going down the hill! was funny. I have a photo of Graeme leading the way- will post it later when I can!

We were very lucky to have the whole big transit van shuttle to ourselves at a cost the driver tells us,is half the price of hiring it exclusively- so that was a nice start. Very chatty guy and a quick trip up to the airport.

We werent so spoiled this time to walk past a huge queue at check in like last time- the economy queue was tiny too!!

Now in the koru club and had a great breakfast- Gray had 4 croissants with his eggs!!
He is now chomping at the bit "boarding in 5 mins Wee's, finish up" Yes Dad- Im off then and will post somewhere in Seoul hopefully in about 12-15 hours!!

Cya :-)

We're off (Almost)!

For those who we didnt have email addresses for:
please leave us comments anytime cos they are great to receive when you are so far away!!
Remember the blog works chronologically, so start from the bottom and work up- newest posts on the top.
Our itinerary is listed below.

To post a comment click on the blue "comments" icon under the days post.
Type your comments in the box provided then choose an identity.
If you dont have a google email account you can just click on 'anonymous' and remember to put your name at the end of the comment so we know who it is!

When we answer peoples posts, we will put it under the same days comments as you have posted on, so just click on 'comments' again to see any replies from us.

You can also click on the photos individually to blow them up (unless we end up condensing them if they take too long to upload overseas!).

Anyhow, Looking forward to hearing from everyone over the next 2 months- cya when we get back! Cya Denise & Graeme

The Europe Itinerary

• We fly out on the 15th sept to:
  
  London via Seoul Korea
  few days in London
  To Worcester (where the sauce is made) to see friends
  Back to London for 2 nights
  Do a 16 day Trafalgar coach tour of England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales
  Back to London for a night
  Fly to Genoa Italy to start a MSC Cruise of Spain, Portugal, Gibraltor
  End in Barcelona for a night
  Fly to Rhodes, Greece for 4 nights
  Fly to Madrid for 1 night en route to
  Casablanca Morocco where we do a 9 day Morocco tour with Insight tours
  Fly to Barcelona for 2 nights
  Start a MCS Cruise of the Med- Tuniscia, Malta, Italy, France
  Fly to Madrid for 4 nights
  Fly Madrid/Amsterdam to Seoul Korea overnight
  Fly Seoul- NZ arrive 16th Nov home again
  
  Phew!

The last counter went wonky, so trying again!

Free Counter

Butterflies

A few changes! Have posted some photos of our trip to Butterfly Creek in Auckland today- some great coloured butterfly's!

Countdown to the big Europe trip!

Hi everyone- Graeme thought it was time to start the countdown for our trip overseas! and we see now that it is only 38 days away! Eeeekkk. We are flat out getting our property all tidy and the outside ready for the party the week before we fly out. Wise or not?! (we will find out as the time comes close!)

We are having a "5 in 1" party to celebrate Sammys 21st, Graemes 46th, Danni's 13th birthdays plus a house warming and pre-europe party ALL rolled into one!

We will also send out an email just before we go overseas to remind people how to post on the blog once we hit the other side of the world- those comments last trip
2 1/2 years ago, came to be something we really looked forward to each day.

The itinerary for the trip is a bit manic- so much to see and you want to make the most of it! Even so it had to be pruned back country wise.
We fly out on the 15th sept to:

London via Seoul Korea
few days in London
To Worcester (where the sauce is made) to see friends
Back to London
Do a 16 day Trafalgar coach tour of England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales
Back to London for a night
Fly to Genoa Italy to start a MSC Cruise of Spain, Portugal, Gibraltor
End in Barcelona for a night
Fly to RHodes, Greece for 4 nights
Fly to Madrid for 1 night en route to
Casablanca Morocco where we do a 9 day Morocco tour with insight tours
Fly to Barcelona for 2 nights
Start a MCS Cruise of the Med- Tuniscia, Malta, Italy, France
Fly to Madrid for 4 nights
Fly Madrid/Amsterdam to Seoul Korea overnight
Fly Seoul- NZ arrive 16th Nov home again

Phew!

Around Home

Yay we have finished the pool and the renovations of the master bedroom and are enjoying having such a big room!! Have also had solar tubes put in the hallway and toilet roofs which makes a huge difference to the light coming in.

The pool fence is now in the midst of going up, then the lawn and pool gardens are next- Getting there!

4 months till our trip to Europe- lots to organise and look forward too

our travel map- where we've been & where we're going

1. Agia Pelagia, Greece


2. Crete, Greece


3. Yasawa Island, Fiji


4. Kusadasi, Turkey


5. Hinton, United Kingdom


6. Nice, France


7. Cassino, Italy


8. Chania, Greece


9. Lourdes, France

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• Travel Info at TripAdvisor

Lots to Do at the new property!

We are getting there, in the 2 months since we moved in we have got the pool (mainly) in, the builder booked for Jan to alter the master bedroom, the gorse booked to be sprayed, a new tv, new bbq and new computer- (Graeme is a happy boy after waiting several years for all those!)
The animals have settled in well, Elvis (cat) is loving not having to be locked in every night to keep him away from neighbours avaries ?!@#!!! and Shylah, although 12 years old, half blind and more than half deaf now, is very happy here now she has stopped being disorientated and walking in to the windows!!

The trip to europe is all booked too-now later in the year due to me knee but YAY..... My knee is not what it was by a long shot after my accident in Vanuatu but at least it looks better healed so heres to a healthier and less stressful 2009!!!

Our new home is in a really good spot that is so perfect for entertaining friends and family and once we get the outside tidied up and landscaped it will be great!

We had a great new years with Gary and Claire over as well- a very relaxed and civilised 4 course meal affair- lots of laughs and great company to see in 2009!

We have moved!

Yay! We have moved into our new home and 30 acres this week- what a mission!!!

However, with the suberb skills of the removal company driver, they managed to get up the steep curvy driveway with a 40 foot truck!! And we are in, somewhat chaotically- but we are in.

Beautiful views as far as you can see and a resident chook who turned up on the front lawn!!!

Now getting quotes from builders for house alterations and pool builders are coming in too as it is a bit of a drive to any community pools!!

Have done a couple of walks over the 30 acres and can now downsize the gorse estimate from 20 of those acres to about 15 acres tops?!!! Thats another quote to get in, for the professionals to come in and spray!!!!

A productive week anyway, we are all very content here already, even Danni with her broken leg is managing the hills well.!

Post note

Had to laugh- we went back to Nadi as planned to shop in town. Knowing what the salesmen are like there, we warned the girls:

- To be aware of Fijian men who approach you and ask what your name is while being very friendly it seems. Next thing they whip out a piece of wood and carve your name in it then charge you. So dont tell anyone your name.

- Not to let any 'hawkers' take them to "The only genuine Fijian shop in Nadi"

-Dont accept any drink from any of the men that may approach them.

So what happens?? A Fijian man approaches them when they are on their own, comes out into the middle of the road when they are crossing and introduces himself while shaking their hands- asks them their names (mistake No1! )

Then they let him take them to his 'genuine fijian family run store' (mistake No2! )

Then they are suddenly dressed in grass skirts and sat down in the store (mistake No3! ) and told that they are going to be honoured guests at a traditional ceremony. Next a bowl of kava is produced and given to them (mistake No4! ) and a ceremony to give them good luck for their flight home is performed.

By this time Sam has told them her name, that she is from NZ, and that No she has no boyfriend - so no need to carve her name into a love statue the man wants to carve for her (correct action No1! ).

From the time he has shaken their hands in the middle of the street and asked their names, poor Ambers heart starts pounding and she's thinking "Denise told us not to do that.....and that.....and that !!)

At least they escaped quite ok thank goodness, but alas- no good luck, our flight ends up being delayed for over an hour and the airport air conditioning is broken down!!@##@!!!!!!!! This is to top off the money that is stolen from our hotel room while we are down in the pool!

However got home safe and sound as the shuttle man waited for us - home at 3am!
Still a great break away, without the pressure of an unsold house to come home to.

Now onto the packing!

Last Day on the island

We tidied up today and got packed, ready to leave Octopus resort- perfect weather of course!!! We have had all weathers while here which was actually quite neat, sun, cloud (cooler) blustery wind, rain and back to the sun! Cant complain.

We all went over the hill on a steep track yesterday to the village church service (me clinging on Graemes arm cos of my knee!) in the pouring rain- meant we were all nice and cool when we got there – seriously!. The service included a christening which was great and we had been talked through the ceremony beforehand as it is all in Fijian.
The church choir was out of this world- they have won competitions all over the yasawa islands…. Was so powerful it moved me almost to tears, but I was staunch and swallowed it down of course!


Today we lay around the pool after we checked out of our rooms- the girls have really enjoyed the dorm- the 3 girls all decided to tke part in the flax basket weaving session.
Two hours later they have a pretty impressive basket each, with lots of help from their ever patient Fijian teacher man ( complete with his avaiator sunnies!) He then tells them that he can knock off one of these baskets in 3 mins- from scratch!!!!

At 3pm we caught the big yasawa flyer boat back to the mainland Took 2 ¼ hours, seemed very slow cos we were going back and it was pretty smelly inside the cabin!!

Got back and had true air conditioning in the bus- no windows!! It was great. Now back at the mercure hotel, we have had a wonderful dinner (with no sand under our feet for the 1st time in a week!) and the girls are already in bed (8.15pm!).

Tomorrow we are going into Nadi as the older 2 girls want to shop with their remaining money and have a go at bartering. They also want to go to one of the two Mc Donalds, so we will walk down to that then off to the airport.

We will arrive home at midnight-ish tomorrow night, in Auckland. Bula to a great holiday!

Rest of the Days!

Hi all,
well not sure what the date is, but know that it is Saturday at least- love 'Fiji time' !!

We have not done a lot, but the 2 older girls also had another first- they had their first kava ceremony, where you learn to clap in the right places and drink muddy kava water, sieved through pantyhose!!!! Graeme was elected the spokesman, so had control of how much everyone drank, he let them off with a normal half coconut size bowl rather than the 'tsunami' size bowl hahaha!!!

We moved bures today as pre-arranged, as a couple from Kerikeri we know were already booked in our best end bure from today. Quite interesting to get a new view too.

We have two more days here then back to the mainland for a day so the girls can shop. They are enjoying the dorm- it is pretty big and they have met some really nice people, so good experience for them.

Thats about it for now- send us a cooment or two so we know what is happening in the 'big' world!! Cya

Octopus Resort days 2 & 3

Well we are all well enscounsed in island life, bikinis, suntan lotion and lots of food!!

We cant put photos on here as they have strict rules re using USB sticks, so will need to add these when we get back to Nadi.

We all laxed around yesterday, lay in the sun and clouds- lovely and warm though. We took the girls out for a snorkel-

Amber has had a few firsts- 1st international flight, first snorkel. She did admirably and didnt suck when she should have been blowing (with the snorkel!!)

We are all having lots of fun and today we took them all out for a boat trip round to the local school, where the island kids all board during the week. We got to visit their classrooms, talk to them and we all took some gifts for them as well which they will enjoy. Their standard of living is a bit of a shock for the girls, the beds in the dorms are made out of bits of wood, some dont have mattresses and there are holes (big) in the floor. Good for our lot to see so they appreciate how they live at home.

We then got to snorkel out in the bay and the girls all sat out on the roof of the boat which was cool.

Amber and Sam are booked for massages tomorrow which they are keen on and are working hard on their tans!!

Thats about it for now- its beer-o-clock!
Cya

Day 1- Auckland-> Nadi Fiji

We are here!!!

A long day in queues but no problems really (yes Graeme relax, relax) Left NZ in fog and arrived after a good flight (Ali WIlliams sitting further up in the plane!) and into 29C hot sunny weather.

We acclimatised (took our jackets off) got the shuttle driver to stop on the way to the hotel at the supermarket for drinks- it helps to have 2 pretty girls with us??!! then into our rooms, bikinis and out by the pool- aaahhh fantastic!

Then onto our balcony at the Mercure for pre dinner drinks and off to the restaurant for a great laid back meal in the open air. Couldnt get better. Graeme has managed quite a stack of alcohol, Sam and Amber had midori's and a few fiji bitter beers and we had a lovely night.

The bar here has the ball "Wilson" from the movie Castaway with Tom Hanks which was filmed in Fiji and Danni got to hold him for the photo included in our pics!

Now off to lax out in our two rooms (hmmm) and we are off on the boat tomorrow at 7.30 am for the yasawa islands and Octopus resort.

CYa

Heading to Fiji- Octopus Resort

We are off to Fiji tomorrow- YAYYYYYYYYY!! But to be fair, the weather at home is beautiful and sunny today, so hope it follows us!

This week has been a bit crazy but all in a good cause. We have sold our house, bought a home and 30 acres, found a new solicitor and accountant and are unconditional on both properties, in between working!! SUCH a relief- all compliments to Shaun Cosgrave who moved heaven and earth to do all house sales and finish it up in 2 days!

Life is now looking rosier in a lot of ways, so we will go and relax now. (Cant do much else unfortunately with Denise's knee damage from the accident in Vanuatu) However, we will endure Haha!!!!!

Will attempt to post from the Yasawa islands, all going well as we enjoy keeping a diary of our trips- you forget so much once you are home.

Remember if you want to leave us a comment, just click on the blue word 'comments' under the days post and you can either log on if you belong to blogspot, otherwise just click on anonymous and remember to write your name at the end!!

Cya :-)