Tropical Paradise: Fiji

We spent our final four days in tropical Fiji on Denarua Island.  Fiji was everything I hoped it would be and more.  After living out of a suit case for a few weeks (not that I am complaining), I was happy to have arrived in Fiji so I could sit my behind on the beach and simply relax.  Up until this point, most of our time spent in Australia and New Zealand was very much "on the go" between our flight transfers and daily tour activities. 

 

Denarau Island is a man-made island just a short cab ride from the airport.  Told by our cab driver, Fiji really only has one season and it is warm year round (like 85 degrees most of the time).  We arrived on a Wednesday and left on a Saturday evening.  The best thing about arriving mid-week is that there were very little people staying at the resort.  Friday evening when most people started making their way to all of the resorts.  We were able to enjoy the first few days by having the beach basically all to ourselves. 

 

 

One of the things that surprised me the most was the dark sand.  Up until this point, the beaches that I have visited have pretty much consisted of white or tan colored sand.  It is a really beautiful color.

 

 

(The beach at sunset.) 

 

As with any beach stay, most people enjoy starting their day by taking a stroll down the beach.  I was no exception.  After my morning stroll, I would find a shady spot under a tree and each day these native birds would come visit me (wanting a piece of my muffin no less). 

 

 

The resort we stayed at was lovely and I would highly recommend it.  It had an awesome pool and convenient shops on-site.  We stayed in basic accommodations which was all we needed.  One of the things that is great about this resort is they are the first resort you see as you enter the main part of the island so it is a great location.  The resort is surrounded by gorgeous landscaping that really added to the tropical feel.

 

 (Chapel located on the resort for wedding ceremonies.)

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

Being that this trip was to celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary, I begged my husband into letting me plan a mini photo shoot during out time in Fiji.  To our luck, I found a local photographer, originally from Texas, and she did a great job!  I was so happy that my husband went along with this as we captured some beautiful memories.

 

  

 

 



A little cheesy I know but I decided to take my bottle of Fiji water and get a photo of it sitting on the beach during our last sunset.  What else does a girl do with the last few hours in Fiji?  

 

We were incredibly fortunate and blessed to have taken this trip of a lifetime.  Trying to plan such a trip would have been nearly impossible without the help of one awesome travel company.  If you ever decide to travel to Fiji, New Zealand or Australia, check them out and ask for Ashley.  They made the whole trip easy, stress-free and within our budget.

 

So, is a tropical paradise on your list of places to visit?  What is your favorite tropical destination visited to date or what island or tropical location would you most like to visit?  

Our time in New Zealand

As we wrapped up the Australian leg of our journey, we headed next to New Zealand.  This country turned out to be a bonus when making our travel arrangements.  The majority of our time spent was in Queenstown. The landscape was beautiful and the weather was cool.  One of the things that was very surprising was the fact that New Zealand has very little crime to speak of (or so the locals stated).  The locals, or Kiwis as they call themselves, were very friendly people.  If you are looking for a relaxing trip surrounded by beauty, this is it.

 

 

 

 

One of the things I particularly enjoy about traveling is experiencing the wildlife and the animals in which are popular in a country.  In the case of New Zealand, our tour guide said that primarily consists of sheep, dairy cattle, and deer.  As you drive along, your see fields fenced off containing hundreds of sheep, lots of cattle, or bunches of deer.  The deer farming was particularly interesting as that is something not seen here in the U.S or at least to my knowledge. 

 

 

 



One of the tour activities we did was to take a bus and then boat out to the Doubtful Sound.  About half way into our trip, the bus stopped and allowed us to take a scenic photo.  The picture below certainly does not do it justice.

 

 

Near the southern tip of New Zealand, the boat stopped and allowed us tourists to watch these seals perched on this huge rock.  Standing on the front of the boat, I was thinking this might be the closest I will ever get to Antartica!

 

 

 

 

As we left the seals, the captain stopped our boat near a cove and turned off the engine.  He asked everyone to get quiet and take in the beauty of the nature around us.  The water was so smooth.  Absolutely beautiful! 

 

 

Wrapping up our time in Queenstown, I saved the best for last.  One of the things my husband and I most enjoyed was riding the skyline gondola up to the top of Queenstown.  The view was breath-taking.  Before heading to the top, we purchased a few passes to ride the luge ride.  What a blast!  We felt like two kids again.  People of all ages (kids and old people alike) were enjoying it.  This is a must if you have plans to stay in Queenstown.

 

(Yes.  The water is really that blue!) 

 

 

 



There was so much more to see and do but unfortunately, our time was limited.  To learn more about our trip and the hotel in which we stayed, click here to watch my vlog. 

Have you ever been to New Zealand?  Is it on your bucket list of places to visit?  If you are a nature lover, you have got to experience it!

A Land Down Under

Many years ago, my husband and I were on one of our initial first dates.  As with any first meeting, you try to get to know one another by asking questions.  One of the questions we asked ourselves was, "If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be?"  To our excitement and surprise, we both said "Australia!"  We eventually married but as a young newlywed couple, we did not have the money to travel to our dream destination quite yet.  That is when we decided that upon us reaching our 10 year wedding anniversary, we would set out to plan our "trip of a lifetime" to celebrate our marriage milestone.  And that is exactly what we did! 

We were incredibily blessed in that we were able to work hard and save wisely to make this dream destination a reality.  Australia is absolutely beautiful!  The weather was perfectly warm, the people were friendly and had the cooliest accents, and we loved seeing all of the native animals and famous landmarks.

Below are a few of our favorite photos and/or places visited.

1) Us visiting the Sydney Opera House and Toranga Zoo. 

 

 

 

 

2) The famous 12 Apostles along The Great Ocean Road.

 

 



 

3) Visited Granite Gorge Nature Park and fed wild wallabies.

 

 

 

 

4) Spent the day dining and relaxing near Manly Beach.

 

 

 

5) Dove The Great Barrier Reef.

 

 

 

The time spent was worth every penny and would highly recommend adding this to your places to visit and/or bucket list of things to do in life.

 

What is your dream destination or favorite place visited?