Goodbye New Zealand, Hello Fiji holiday!
Blog post #9
Hello bullshark!
I wasn't in a cage, but there were five people from the diveshop who surrounded me, while holding metal rods of some sort, during the dive. That's not typical, to have my own personal bodyguards throughout the dive, but I was the only tourist diver that day. After we finished both of the dives, and were safely back in the boat, I was informed that the sharks were extra hungry that day. The diveshop hadn't been out to the shark feeding dive site as regularly as usual, since a tropical cyclone had just come through the area during the previous week. Thank goodness they told me this after the dives, otherwise I would've been much more nervous! It was scary, I'm not going to lie, but in much more of a thrilling way than anything else.
"Bula!" The local greeting of hello and welcome in Fiji.
Nadi, the capital city, sunset.
Fresh coconut to drink upon our arrival at Oarsman's Bay Lodge in the Yasawa Islands.
Short sunset hike from the lodge.
Another sunset. No hike this time, just from the beach. Still spectacular!
Katherine and me!
View from the top of a hike I took, this time from Octopus Resort. It was much more intense than the other hike and oh so worth it!
We also stayed along the Coral Coast on the mainland, and I took another hike from the Fiji Beachouse. This one ended up being a bit muddy, but there was a nice swimming hole we enjoyed in the middle of the walk.
Don't worry, I did spend plenty of time relaxing on the beaches in Fiji. 😎
18 February - 15 March 2026
I celebrated my birthday in New Zealand. I am not necessarily the type of person who even cares if anyone knows it's my birthday, so I wasn't fussed to do anything special.
My friends Jodi and Beth surprised me with a short trip to spend a few hours at the hot springs in Lake Tekapo.
It was a lovely time with them, and we stopped for delicious real fruit ice cream on the way home. Simple.
Later that evening we experienced an earthquake. We didn't feel it, instead we heard a loud bang outside. We weren't sure if it was an earthquake or if something had exploded in one of the farm buildings. Confirmed earthquake. Happy birthday to me! 😬
At the end of February I flew back to Auckland (still in New Zealand). I spent a few days with a couple I met at church around Christmas.
They live on a small farm about an hour outside of the city. I was more than happy to be outside of the city.
Their land has gardens, chickens, and about twenty cattle, ranging from one to two years old.
They also took me to their bach (what New Zealanders call a beachouse). This was the view of the ocean from their back deck.
We even went for a boat ride, including doing some fishing. I didn't catch anything, but I enjoyed being out on the water in the sunshine.
I did go toward the city one evening to meet up with a fellow Single Purpose League member. If you remember from the start of this trip, back in September, I attended a Christian women's conference in Dallas with this group. This is my new friend who is actually from the States but moved to Auckland for work. We met for a lovely evening dinner and a walk along the harbor.
Goodbye New Zealand...hello Fiji!
I hadn't necessarily planned to visit Fiji until a friend from Wisconsin agreed to meet me there. Twist my arm. 😂 I immediately researched SCUBA diving options there and found a well-known shark dive. Of course I booked it!
My friend Katherine and I spent just over a week together, bumming around Fijian islands and beaches. Here are some of the highlights.
After Katherine headed back to The States, I went on my way to Australia. Onward, to the land down under! 🐨
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