Under the Golden Arches...

We have an admission to make... After weeks of eating nothing but root vegetables (which make potatoes seem flavoursome), we gave in, and did something we're both deeply ashamed of...

...We went to McDonald's and had a Big Mac! We're now paying for our crime, as we can now only afford to eat instant noodles and dry bread until we leave Fiji. Thankfully we do at least have a nice room to make our instant noodles in - after weeks of dodgy backpacker hostels, we've checked in to a Raffles hotel! Sharon is very happy, and is more than happy to sacrifice food in order to afford a room she doesn't have to share with dead invertebrates.

We've been busy getting to grips with Fijian culture, especially the local buses, which are very colourful and loud. At least we're no longer in Samoa - on their buses, when they run out of seats, it is accepted practise to just sit on someone else's lap! Bearing in mind the size of some of the ladies out here, that could be life-threatening! We're not sure why they don't put women in their rugby team, they're huuuge...

We're now back in Nadi, having spent the last few days in Suva. Craig got to his museum, which was very good, especially the HMS Bounty artefacts and the cannibalism stuff. From Suva we also went out to the nearby rainforest, and spent a day walking through lush forest, playing on rope swings, and crossing rivers over stepping stones (Surprisingly Craig didn't fall off). A very good day.

Out here in the South Pacific most people are very religious. We thought the missionaries all left a hundred years ago, but apparently not... We've had several people try to convert us to Christianity, apparently not noticing the big cross around Sharon's neck!

Sharon has been doing quite well with her souvenir hunting, although Fiji has presented a bit of a challenge - their idea of souvenirs out here have included 2001 calendars and "Merry Christmas" postcards!

On to New Zealand next, where a kind couple we met in Samoa are going to show us around Auckland, and then on to Brisbane.