Sunday, March 05, 2000 2:52 PM
Subject:    RTWW2K: Update #2 from Fiji, #1 from New Zealand

Hope this message finds you well and happy and not too cold!
This message is to wrap up Fiji and let you know where we are now.  We had
some rain. Well, more like RAIN.  85 degree weather.  Kids play in swimsuits
outside in the downpours.  We moved to the north side of Vitu Levu, the main
island in Fiji, to a small resort called Wananavu Beach Resort near the town
of Rakiraki.  The kids were sliding ice-skating-like on the wet tiles
outside.  The rain stopped and then we would have sunshine, clouds, humidity
and breathtaking views.
Staying in a resort, we tended to meet more travellers than locals.  The
lodging was less than staying in the outer islands which are very remote and
don't offer quite as much to do for the kids.  Ky went on a scuba trip to
nearby coral reefs.  On board were six divers.  To give you an idea of the
kind of folks who make it to this part of the world, the divers were:
Ky, UK citizen, on 3 months travel
2 Germans, on 3 1/2 months travel
1 Austrian, on 2 1/2 months travel
1 Italian, living in London, on 3 1/2 months travel.
Lots of long term travellers, indeed!
The snorkelling was fantastic as well and very convenient.

In Fiji Jessica learned to dive into the pool from poolside and rocks.  She
swims to the bottom of a 7 ft pool to retrieve objects.  Nathan will now put
his head in the water, and will swim short distances. Jessica has been
snorkelling three times already, seeing some of the wonderfull soft and hard
corals, and lovely fish.  No wet suits required, the water is warm.

Jessica celebrated her 5th birthday in Fiji and we had a fun party which she
proclaimed was "My BEST birthday ever!"  One of the highlights was a
homemade pinata which no one from the South Pacific had ever even heard of.
There were a couple of other kids who took whacks at it (and it was a tough
one!) and they weren't really even sure what to do when all the goodies fell
out.  We had to explain it quickly before our kids had grabbed everything
up.  Nathan is excitedly waiting for his birthday on March 9th.  Everyday we
get the question how many more days?  When someone asked him when he would
be three, he said "When I'm not two anymore!"
Our last night in Fiji was spent in a hotel near the airport, awaiting an
early departure for the 2.5 hour flight from Fiji to Auckland, New Zealand.
The water slide there was one of the most exciting parts of Fiji to Jessica.
Air New Zealand is a great kid friendly carrier.  Good food, lots of toys
and entertainment for the kids.

We landed in Auckland during the height of the America's Cup 2000 challenger
race.  As you probably know, the US was not able to make it to the finals
with any of our 5 boats.  Dennis Conner is really disliked by most Kiwis
(New Zealanders) for his arrogant attitude, and everyone was very happy that
he lost.  The Cup is one of the biggest sporting events *ever* for New
Zealand (along with Hillary's conquest of Mt Everest and the amazing NZ All
Black rugby team).

NZ whipped Italy's Prada boat 5-0 to win the cup, and now the country can go
back to normal business.  We plan to spend some time in Auckland and
hopefully we can now find a place to stay.  Pretty much all accomodations
were full and it was really difficult to find a rental car.

We spent the first three nights at the home of a very nice family that are
affiliated with SERVAS - can't remember if I mentioned it before, but great
organization (servas.org for further info) in a small town outside of
Warkworth.  They lived very close to a great beach and play area and they
also took us on a wonderful picnic to another beach that was part of a fish
sanctuary.  We were able to put a bit of bread in the water and the
beautiful huge snappers and blue maumaus surrounded us.  Really made us want
fish for dinner, but it's a big no no.
We moved to far northern NZ, and have been staying at a small place called
Cooper's Beach.  Imagine a S. California resort town 20-30 years ago and you
get the picture.  Idyllic beaches, great sand, mellow waves, cool water.
Couple that with relatively high unemployment (19% in this region) and a
strong dollar, and it makes for a very economical and beautiful place to
stay.

We spent time with friends Lori and Dean Adams and their two children who
have come here a couple of times before for extended periods.  They know so
many of the locals and introduced us to many very nice people.  They also
with the help of one of their good friends found us a fantastic place to
stay and we're having a tough time deciding when to try to move to another
area - we just might stay put!  Our home now is in the bottom of a retired
couples home - completely self contained 3 bdrm place which is a very common
practice here.  Great idea for continued income for retirees.
Poor Nathan had a bad experience, he got a boil on his bottom and it HURT.
We had a visit to the doctor which also happened to be our next door
neighbor and he's over it now - hopefully without another ever!

We had a great time yesterday fishing from kyaks just out in front of our
home and you couldn't cast without catching something! The HUGE flocks of
birds were great fish finders and when we got among them we found our dinner
which was just a blast.  I kept thinking my brother Ray would be in heaven
here!
It is refreshing to be in an english speaking country, although there are
lots of different words and phrases used here:
Panelbeater -> auto body repair
Seal widening ahead (seen by the road) -> pavement work ahead
heaps of fun -> lots of fun (no one says lots)
Give Way - yield

We've met several other Americans here, all nice folks.  Kiwis are all
incredibly friendly also.  There's a strong sense of family and family
values, although as you get closer to and into Auckland (where approx 1/3 of
all Kiwis live) you see many of the normal big city problems one might
expect to see in the States.  The schools seem to be quite good and are much
more flexible about kids missing days for extra curricular activities or
traveling with families.  They even offer correspondence courses so families
can take off for any time period and the kids don't miss out on any grades.
It is incredibly cheap for these courses (NZ $45 for an entire year of work
* US $22)  I don't know how they do it but it really seems like a good idea
to nomads such as ourselves!
We expect to be moving in the next couple of days, heading south to Auckland
and perhaps further.  NZ is the kind of place one could spend a lot of time
without spending a lot of money.  Very nice indeed.
Thanks for all your updates.
Love,
Ky and Bonnie