If you can't Bula, have you even been to Fiji?!

Naturally, as it so easily happens when travelling I am way behind schedule in posting this as I'm now in New Zealand and Fiji feels like a distant but incredible memory!

It was one of my favourite places of the entire adventure so far for completely different reasons to my other faves Vietnam and Bali where there was so much to do and see. It wasn't like that in Fiji; I was island hopping with little to do except a few activities but the experience was incredible. The local people were hands down some of the friendliest I've ever come across in all my years of travelling; they were so welcoming and had brilliant stories to tell.

Not only were the locals amazing but I was so fortunate to meet the people I did right from the offset when I arrived on my first island, picking more up where the group expanded on the way round! They're the sort of people you'd want to stay in touch with and meet up with months down the line and I think that says something about how class they all were as you meet so many people when travelling who are great but they don't all have the same impact on you.

I'd better crack on with what I actually got up to otherwise you'll be sat here reading reams of me just chatting about the people I met!

Flashback to the 4th December where I landed in Nadi at about 4.40am bleary eyed and not feeling so bushy tailed! The airport was quite small and basic with building work being done on it. Waiting for luggage didn't take too long and I switched up my Singapore dollars for Fiji dollars when I was in the baggage reclaim area before going through security and immigration. Straight away, I got a feel for the place as the man behind the counter gave me a big "Bula" when I got to him and asked if I'd been to Fiji before. When I replied that I hadn't, he told me he hoped I had a great time. Gut instinct told me I was going to really like it here!

When I walked through the arrivals gate, I asked the lady at the information desk where I would find the taxi driver for Smugglers Cove as per the instructions the hostel sent me. She sent me in the right direction but unfortunately the taxi driver hadn't arrived yet. The other taxi drivers were so friendly and helpful though as they saw I was looking for someone and said the guy I needed wasn't there yet so I was best to take a seat and wait. One came over and said he would call my driver and then about 15 mins later, another taxi driver came over and asked who I was waiting for and he picked up his phone to call my taxi driver straight away; they were so hospitable it was unreal.

The driver finally arrived and we set off in the direction of the van along with another guy who had just landed. On the way to the hostel, we stopped at some traffic lights just after the airport and a man ran alongside the van to speak to the driver - it was the first guy that had stopped to see where I was going and he had come to check I'd been picked up ok, giving me a big wave before running back to his taxi as the lights were changing. We then stopped at a bakery to pick up a mass of bread loaves for the hostel which was about 5 mins away. The journey didn't take long at all and we had arrived by half 5.

Check-in wasn't until about 2pm so I had 8 and a half hours to kill until I was allowed into my dorm! By this point, I just wanted my bed and I was starting to feel like shite where I was tired and felt like I was gargling razor blades where my throat was so sore.

I went and laid out on one of the benches but couldn't get comfortable so instead decided to have a productive morning. I ordered myself a cuppa (was gutted it wasn't English Breakfast!), messaged the family WhatsApp group to let them know I'd arrived safely, did my laundry, FaceTimed Amanda as she was in New Zealand honeymooning with Captain Chaos and booked myself in for a wax at the spa next door.

Thankfully, I'd learnt my lesson before when having a wax so made sure I didn't wear a playsuit again and went in shorts and a tshirt - if you need a laugh you can refer back to my Penang up close and personal experience!

The beauty therapist was really lovely and I had a giggle to myself when she got me to lay out on the treatment table naked from the waist down; this lady didn't even bother with a towel to cover my modesty, she was straight in there haha! Thankfully it was only painful in a few parts and I was then all set for two weeks of laying on the beach without any worries.

I wandered back to Smugglers where the sun had come out full pelt only now, I couldn't go for a swim because it was too soon after the wax! Instead I went and sat in the restaurant and ordered myself a chicken wrap, overlooking the view outside. Once I'd eaten, I had a wander along the beach and returned to reception to see if by any stroke of luck my bed might be ready; I was onto a winner and got checked in and treated myself to an epic 4 hour nap!

After coming round slowly from zombieland where I initially felt worse for sleeping, once I'd woken up and treated myself to another strepsil for my sore throat I felt a bit perkier. I got chatting to the two girls who were in the same 4-bed section as me in the 34-bed dorm about their time island hopping and then went for a shower.

The rest of the afternoon/evening was spent relaxing by the bar where I had a hankering for a sprite and ice-cream and then later chose the Sunday evening hog roast with a beer before watching the fire show.

It was an early start the following morning so I made sure I was packed and ready for the islands and crawled into bed.

The bus came to collect everyone at 7am to drive to Denarau port to get the boat. There were a couple of stops on the way and I got chatting to a British lady sat next to me who was living in New Zealand; she was really lovely and it was interesting hearing all about her time there since she had left the UK.

I queued at the check-in desk and collected my vouchers for the island hopping and then waited around for the boat to arrive although my throat was still sore and I felt sick and horrible so went to the shop and bought myself a sprite. My first stop was South Sea Island which was only 30 mins from the port and was really popular as a daytime excursion where it was so close to the mainland.

When we got off the main boat into a small boat to take us ashore, the staff from South Sea were stood on the sand singing and clapping along to the guitar to welcome us.

The daytime guests were directed to the benches and tables near the dining area and any overnight guests were ushered into the bar area to wait for everyone to arrive so we could be welcomed. This was where I met Jonny from Somerset, Alan from Essex, Mona from Austria and Annika from Germany. We all sat chatting about where we were from, where we had been and where we were going once we had been in Fiji and we were all following the same route around the islands bar Jonny who was booking as he went.

They were all really lovely and after whacking on the sun cream when we'd been welcomed and showed to the dorm, we spent the rest of the morning chilling out by the beach, sat in one of the huts or chilling on the beanbags and hammocks.

At 11.30am, the lunch buffet was served and it was great! We had salad, potato salad, beef, sausages, fish, chicken and tiny bread rolls which were so moreish. By the time we had finished, I was absolutely stuffed so Jonny and I decided to work off the food comas by going to find a beanbag each for a snooze. That didn't quite work out as I ended up falling into such a deep sleep and woke up about 4 hours later with Jonny joking and telling everyone that I'd been snoring my head off (definitely hadn't...)

More day guests had arrived and the island was starting to look heaving where it was so tiny; you could literally walk across the entire place in about 2 mins.

Late in the afternoon, I jumped into the pool and was later joined by Jonny and Alan where we just chatted about random stuff and more about travelling. Mona and Annika found us and jumped in and then Alan saw Louise and Rona so shouted out hello to them and asked them to join us so they came over and introduced themselves! Alan had also met Tom earlier on the beach and he had got seriously sunburnt so jumped in the shade of the pool. We were all chatting and getting to know each other when we heard Rona squeal when she saw Isa a German girl who had been travelling around Fiji with Tom since they met at Smugglers Cove; turns out they were living with each other in Australia but had both been travelling for a while.

Once the sun had started to go down, I made my way inside to get showered and ready for dinner; I was already hungry again despite the big lunch!

We met some of the others (Hannah and Luke from Norwich, Jonas from Germany and Juliette who was also from Germany) and all got chatting around the table. For dinner, we were served a three course meal; a watery looking carrot soup with the same incredibly moreish bread rolls we had eaten at lunch (think I polished off about 5!), grilled mackerel fillet with mashed potatoes and veg and a small portion of fruit on the side for dessert.

The main guy on the island who welcomed all the daytime guests was there in the evening to coordinate lots of games for us and we had a laugh where it got competitive. We did the numbers game where he shouted a number and you had to group up according to the number, another game where we were in pairs and he had three words for three different positions that you had to get into as quickly as possible as a two, one where we all lined up and had to jump in front of or behind the line depending on which word he called and another quick-fire game which involved him 'shooting' one person at a time with the two people beside the person who got shot having to compete to shoot the other the quickest so they didn't get out!

By the time we'd finished we'd all worked up a sweat but had a giggle and got to know each other better and the night was finished in the standard Fiji way; learning the Bula dance and doing it to the music a couple of times before heading up to bed!

We soon learnt that there was no such thing as a lie-in when you're island hopping as the drum roll to call us to breakfast was at about 7am to ensure everything was clear for when the first guests arrived at 9am on the first boat.

I had a bowl of cornflakes, scrambled eggs that had chopped onions and tomatoes in it on toast, oj and a coffee which definitely kept me going until lunch at 11.30!

Before all the day guests arrived, I got myself a nice spot in the sunshine on a sun lounger with Louise and Rona and then moved under the umbrella later when people turned up so I still had a good spot with some shade where it was going to be a hot day. It was an absolute scorcher and didn't take long to catch some colour although I got out of the sun when it became too much.

Lunch was served at 11.30 and we had learnt our lesson the day before where we were the last to queue and waited a while so we were all straight in there with no hesitation for the same BBQ buffet we'd had the day before.

After we'd finished, I resorted to my favourite spot with Mona and Annika; on the beanbags! After a nice doze, I listened to some music and wrote some blog notes and chilled out, chatting to the girls. The rest of the afternoon was spent lounging between the hammock, beanbags, pool and beach and I couldn't have been more relaxed! The staff had also put out coffee, tea and shortbread biscuits on the balcony table next to our room which was just what the doctor ordered to keep us going until dinner and I'd missed it the previous day where I'd been asleep.

The evening had a slightly different vibe as Alan had disappeared during the afternoon and didn't join us for dinner where we had pea soup with lots more bread rolls (they'd become an addiction!), chicken curry with a popadom, rice and a chapati and vanilla ice cream with raspberry sauce.

Our MC came over to see if we'd enjoyed our meal and then organised another game where we all lined up along the table on both sides in teams and had to down our drinks and then flip our cups one after the other. It was hilarious as flipping the cups took forever on both sides but luckily my team won! Everyone was still concerned about Alan as we had seen him with his Jim Beam and coke and knew he hadn't eaten since breakfast so we didn't want to play any more games. Jonny went to the beach to check up on him and then we all went over to sit on the sun loungers and stargaze.

The sky was really clear so we got a great view and I was sat chatting with Louise who even had a stargazing app on her phone where we could work out where all the notable stars and patterns were.

I caught Alan on his own briefly later at the end of the evening when I was on my way to the room. He told me what had happened and some of it I could relate to myself so I just stood and chatted it through with him where he needed someone to talk to, gave him a hug and told him not to worry as he thought he had spoilt everyone's holiday, suggesting maybe he didn't have any more to drink as almost 2 litres of whisky wasn't going to improve the situation or make him feel any better, especially the following day!

I was in bed chatting to Louise and Rona when Alan bowled in with Jonny helping him get to bed and we couldn't help but giggle as he had sea legs and was all over the place. He asked Rona to pop into his bed for a spoon and when he was turned down, Jonny jokingly offered himself thinking Alan wouldn't take him seriously but he did; was absolutely priceless seeing Jonny get on that bed!

The evening could only get funnier as Alan had tried to cover himself with the top sheet and got so tangled up in it he had to ask Jonny to help him so he could get out of bed to use the loo. When he got back, he'd somehow lost the top sheet and cocooned himself in the fitted sheet on the mattress. Sat on the bunk opposite, I was howling with laughter!

Sadly, sleep that night was largely out of the question as Alan's snoring sounded like a jumbo jet about it take off. At about midnight, he got out of bed for what I presumed would be a visit to the bathroom but he wandered to the back of the cabin and where I was awake, I sent him in the right direction, only for him to walk through the double doors outside. I panicked as he was still, in the words of Michael McIntyre, "utterly carparked" and I had visions of him going into the sea and drowning.

Luckily I saw someone else get up and follow him out (still have no idea who it was to this day) but I silently thanked them as it meant I didn't have to be the responsible one and could try and get some sleep! I woke up at about 3am to use the loo and he still wasn't in bed which was worrying so I went out of the double doors to see if he was about and found him asleep on a sleeping bag on the balcony haha!

The following morning, we got up at 7am when the drum went off and sat waiting for the scrambled eggs to arrive as they took longer to get there than they had the previous day! Sadly there was no tomato and onion in it again but it was still good on toast for a substantial breakkie with oj.

We didn't have long to get ready as the boat was collecting us to take us to our next island. We packed our bags in the room, left them in reception, paid the outstanding bills with the camp guy that worked on the resort who we all had a soft spot for (he was so lovely!) and relaxed on the beach.

Isa had left her iPhone on charge accidentally when she'd left with Tom the previous day to go to Wayalailai so I told the reception staff I would give it to her when I arrived and they packaged it up for me.

When the smaller fishing boat arrived to transfer us to the larger Awesome Adventures boat, the staff all lined up on the beach with a guitar singing and waving us off which was lovely but it felt a bit sad to be leaving as they'd been so welcoming! I was however really excited to see the Wayalailai resort as it was an eco-friendly one and I was intrigued to see how it would differ.

Wayalailai Eco-Resort

The boat journey to Wayalailai only took about an hour and a half and I sat on the middle deck with Mona and Annika whilst the boys sat further back as there wasn't too much seating left.

As we pulled up to the island, I saw Tom in one of the little fishing boats with another guy who looked a bit like Bruno Mars. The other guy jumped on the boat to talk to some of the crew whilst we got onto the fishing boat and I threw Tom my neck pillow to hold whilst I negotiated the space on the boat; it was tiny and we were all so squished. The water came right near to the top of the boat and we all thought it was going to come flooding in!

The first thing that struck me upon arrival at Wayalailai was how green it was. The staff were all there to greet us with a huge BULA on the beach as we got out of the boat.

Tom and his friend were still in the boat and I'd heard them mention a phone so I shouted across to him that I had Isa's phone in case they were looking for it! We wandered along the beach and through the village to get to the resort; I liked it already where it was so authentic and people actually lived there and they all said hello as we walked past.

Once everyone had arrived, we all sat around the tables on the large balcony to be welcomed by an older gentleman from the resort who had the biggest hands and feet I've ever seen!! We then queued to hand over our accommodation vouchers and get our room numbers and it was whilst I was waiting that I met Lotte from Belgium and Corinne from Switzerland who were also both travelling on their own.

I was sharing a little bure dorm with Corinne next door to Mona and Annika. The view was pretty incredible and Corinne and I sat on our balcony chairs chatting and taking in the scenery.

Jonny had been telling me about Haka Lodge as a place to stay in Auckland and I'd heard it was getting fully booked so Mona lent me her phone so I could use it to book the hostel and put my mind at rest that I wouldn't be homeless for the arrival night in NZ.

I got changed into my bikini, threw on a load of sunscreen and my sarong and then made my way down to the seated area on the balcony with Corinne and the girls for lunch. We had toasted chicken salad sandwiches and fried rice and I was stuffed.

At the table I got chatting to Emma and Sam about their travels and they told me they were also from Kent; such a small world!

The rest of the afternoon was spent on the hammock in the shade, swimming in the sea and chatting with the girls until it cooled down a bit so I could lay on the sand.

We'd been told that we were having a traditional Lovo dinner which I was really looking forward to as I'd heard amazing things about it; it's like a NZ hanggi where the food is cooked underground.

I'd had the option of doing the 5pm trek up to the summit to overlook the view of the island but I didn't sign up for it; my Nike trainers had ripped my ankles to shreds in Vietnam and Bali and I couldn't deal with disgusting blisters and not being able to walk properly when being on sand for two weeks!

When the sun started to go down, I left the beach and made my way up the hill to the room to get showered and ready. It was still early and light so I sat on the balcony to let my hair dry and chatted to Corinne once she'd finished in the shower.

The trek was in full swing by that point but an Aussie lady stopped to chat as she had started to go up but said it was really tough and like rock climbing where it was so steep so she'd given up and come back down. About 20 minutes later, Emma also came back down because she had struggled but when Sam had handed her the GoPro to take back, he'd forgotten about the key so she was locked out of the room. We told her to just sit with us chatting rather than wait outside the room!

We went down to the main balcony where they were getting ready for the Kava ceremony. One of the older ladies from the village saw us and smiled so we said hello. She invited us over to sit with her and that's how I met her grandson Marka who stole a little piece of my heart; the cutie! He was sat next to me so I said hello and asked how old he was. He went all shy and said really quietly that he was five, told me his name was Marka and then asked what my name was. When I told him it was Megan and that we both had a name starting with M he just looked at me and grinned.

A couple of seconds later, he'd turned himself around on the mat we were sat on and asked if I'd play some clapping and rhyming games with him which I of course agreed to, teaching him one I vaguely remembered from being at school! We also played rock, paper, scissors and every time we did it, he got the giggles when we revealed the action we'd chosen.

I've always loved children having worked with them on and off helping out at nursery school with Mum and Lynda since I was 16/17 but it's the childish innocence I adore. They get so wrapped up in the moment and are swept up in so much happiness for the simplest of things, especially kids like Marka who don't have a lot and haven't been corrupted by western technology so are still very child-like. It seriously melted my heart and I was laughing just as much as he was seeing how happy it made him. If only the kids back home could be like that too; it was so eyeopening.

After that, we were all gathered and sat on mats in front of the village people who were conducting the Kava ceremony. We were told unless we tried some, we wouldn't get any dinner! It was hard to describe the taste. It was brown murky water that tasted earthy and plant-like and it made your mouth and tongue tingle afterwards. Emma and I got some photos with the locals too which were great!

The lovo dinner was served up and we were told there wasn't any cutlery so we just used our hands. There was potato, chicken, the most tender lamb and what looked like vine leaves mixed with mince; it was so good! Marka kept coming up to me and asking me to play with him but I told him I was eating so would have to play again later.

Sadly the bunch that had done the hike missed the Kava ceremony and the staff waited as long as they could and delayed dinner but had to start in the end where the food was ready and waiting. Once everyone was finished and the tables were clear, the staff turned the music on and of course, that naturally meant being made to do the Bula dance! Annika dragged me up with her and I took Emma with me as I knew she hadn't learnt it yet and we had lots of fun! After that, they left the music on and Marka was dancing around with the Aussie guys and girls and Isa, along with some of the other kids, one of which was Jimmy who was super dinky and completely adorable!!

Once the music had been turned off and the night started to unwind, I trundled up the hill and went to bed ready for snorkelling the following morning.

We set our alarms nice and early and were up after a good nights sleep and ready for breakfast which was pancakes and fresh pineapple to set us up for the day!

I chucked on a load of sunscreen so I didn't burn in the water and we all made our way down to the snorkelling and diving station on the beach to collect our goggles, snorkels, fins and life jackets.

There were too many of us on the boat so Alan, Mona, Annika and two other girls from the resort were in the same boat as us and it was such a bumpy ride! The snorkelling guide was literally stood holding onto a rope attached to the front of the boat and leaning back, jumping up and down with force as we went over the big waves to keep us steady!

Once we got to our snorkelling location, we all jumped off the side of the boat and followed him; it was insane how clear the water was and it only took a minute or two to spot a reef shark. They were about a metre/metre and a half long and at first my pulse raced and I couldn't get my breathing to calm down where they swam so close to me but once I'd established they were harmless, I was absolutely fine and loved swimming around the coral to see everything.

I spoke to Emma and we were saying how amazing it was but she was still feeling really rough from the boat ride where she gets seasick.

The guide saw me taking photos and videos of the reef sharks so he grabbed my GoPro and took it closer for me which was great!!

Hannah and Luke had to get the boat to their next island at about 10.30 so after we'd all taken the shots we needed, we jumped back onto the boats (luckily I had the guy driving the boat and Alan to give me a helping hand up!) and made our way back to the resort. The ride didn't get any better for poor Emma who was struggling but she started to feel a bit better once she'd thrown up.

When we got back, we said goodbye to Hannah and Luke who were off to Octopus Resort and spent the rest of the morning on the beach until it was time for lunch.

They served up chicken, pork, chunks of bread, potato salad which had egg in it and aubergine mixed with onions which was all really quite nice but an odd combination! I was sat chatting to Emma and Sam and a guy called Ben who had just arrived. Emma still wasn't feeling great and went to her room so I chatted to the boys for a bit longer and then went to lay on the hammock by the beach.

Where I'd got so comfy and was in a slight food coma, I dozed off into a peaceful sleep where I was rocking gently on the hammock. That was short-lived though as after about half an hour, I felt something hit the hammock and brush underneath me so I bolted upright wondering what was going on and it was the puppy from the village!

He was so excitable and adorable and loved to nibble everything, including my sandals which I had to prise from him after a little tug of war which only resulted in him jumping around and up at the hammock more. Ben and his girlfriend came over to see the puppy and chat and Ben got nibbled to death where the puppy was overexcited. I asked him where he was from and he told me he lived in Bromley so I told him about where I'd lived there when I was a tot and we chatted generally about our travels.

By about 3pm, I'd started to get peckish and remembered that was when they served afternoon tea so I made my way up to the balcony and found Jonny sat at a table. They only served coffee and tea, disappointingly no nibbles like South Sea and I had a hankering for something sweet to go with my coffee, especially after the torture of watching Jonny demolish a crunchie! I wandered over to the bar and ordered myself one, thinking it would be a dollar or two and handing over a 5 dollar note. I certainly got a big shock when I didn't receive change; most expensive crunchie ever!

Rona had told me about how good the pineapple Fanta was whilst I was at South Sea Island so I decided to push the boat out and buy a bottle of that too and I certainly wasn't disappointed; it was really sweet but so nice and refreshing.

I spent the rest of the afternoon on the beach chilling, swam out further along the resort and walked along the stretch of the beach that Corinne had told me about until I found the hole in the rock that was near the village where the kids were playing volleyball. Apart from the kids playing, there was no-one around and it was tranquil! I wished I'd taken my phone or camera to take some photos but on reflection, just seeing it all and taking it in with no distractions was amazing.

I was absolutely ravenous by the evening so wasted no time in showering and getting ready for the call to dinner! They served up chicken and rice and spaghetti with mince which were both really nice; not that they lasted long where I was so hungry and practically launched my face into the plate.

The guy who had taken us out snorkelling in the morning organised some games for us out on the lawn near the steps to the bar and we all lined up to do the Bula dance and the Macarena before playing musical statues in pairs where he tried his hardest to put us off (Lotte and I were chuffed to get to the final! We also had a game in pairs going around in a circle where we had to pass a baton around like a relay but whoever had it when the music stopped was out.

It was a right giggle and I thoroughly enjoyed it being with everyone having fun. Once the games were over, the guy put on some music so we could have a dance if we wanted to and he just stayed on the dancefloor himself, grooving about. Annika was also straight up there dancing and tried getting all of us girls up to join her.

Marka was sat on the steps behind me with some of the other girls so I turned around and asked him why he wasn't dancing. He said I wasn't dancing either and then decided we should both go up, which we did! The kid had moves and was absolutely loving it and he made everyone laugh the way he was strutting around!

Once that was all over, everyone started making their way to the bures, ready to get up in the morning for breakfast (bread with butter and pineapple jam) before the boat trip mid-morning to Korovou Eco-Tour Resort.

Korovou

The 9th was never going to be a great day as it was Dad's anniversary and it certainly didn't start well. When we got on the boat after leaving Wayalailai (I was feeling a bit gutted as I'd loved it there!) we went straight to the counter to tell the ladies we wanted to move locations after hearing bad things about the resorts we were heading to after Korovou.

I was due to go to Nabua Lodge which I'd been told had received complaints of bed bugs, the food was apparently awful and a girl had cut into the meat on her plate and a bug fell out of the middle. That was more than enough to put me off after all the money I'd spent on the Fiji package and I was fuming when they wouldn't do anything about it and just sat talking Fijian to each other and laughing, despite the fact that there were about 10 of us with the same issue.

The others were due to go to Safe Landing and they showed the ladies the bed bug photos on Trip Advisor from a couple of days previous and the ladies somehow denied there being any problem; absolute insanity.

There was no way in hell I was letting a bad two days spoil my time in Fiji and I certainly wasn't going to spend the next two days worrying about what was to come so Mona, Annika, Alan and I reluctantly paid for two nights at Blue Lagoon although we were all pretty raging about it.

We'd spent the entire hour or so on the boat ride complaining and trying to sort stuff out and they still hadn't finished by the time we arrived at Korovou so the small fishing boat had to wait for us to get on whilst we paid and got the paperwork given to us which delayed it slightly.

Thankfully, we received a very hearty BULA and singing on arrival so that was a great distraction! Emma, Sam, Jonny and Lotte were at the resort next door (White Sandy Beach) and it was just Mona, Annika, Alan, Corinne and I who were checking into Korovou.

We were shown to our dorm and found Tom and Bruno Mars aka Kevin there too, along with the Aussies! Poor Tom was rather worse for wear though and had a sickness bug.

Once we'd dropped our bags off and chosen our beds, we made our way back to the balcony for lunch; I was starving (what a surprise!!) We had huge chicken wraps but for some reason mine didn't even touch the sides and I was still hungry. A sign up sheet went around the table for the activities whilst we were there and where my voucher entitled me to either go on a village tour or do a cookery class, after enquiringly about what they both entailed, I signed up for the village tour which I was really looking forward to.

Another boat arrived whilst we were sat there but where ours had been full and we all collectively shouted BULA back at the staff singing and dancing, this was a guy on his own but he did a pretty sterling job!

I spent a couple of hours on the hammock next to Mona's and we chatted, chilled and I wrote some blog too whilst listening to music. For reference, you can see the blog I wrote that day on my website http://meganlpritchard8.wixsite.com/thewrongsideof25/single-post/2016/12/11/This-Ones-For-You-3 On reflection, I'd say it's probably the most open and honest thing I've ever written and it says a lot about who I am as a person for those who don't know me too well.

I went back up to the balcony area with Mona for afternoon tea and we sat overlooking the sea with Annika. Tom came and joined us for his first outing in almost 24 hours and the staff gave him a plate of papaya as he'd had literally no food. He looked so much better but was still a bit greenish and looked like he had lost weight.

We got chatting and caught up over the last few days and the girls and I told him about our stresses that morning altering our itinerary. I also got to meet a couple of girls from Yorkshire; Emma and Jasmin who seemed really lovely and the type of people I would get on well with.

A girl who had been sat on the table decided to interrupt my conversation with Tom as she had stayed at Nabua Lodge and told me it was absolutely fine. Now I'll hold my hands up and say I like to think I'm a pretty decent human and never usually judge people before getting to know them and I'm certainly not one to lose my temper as I've been told I have the patience of a saint. I've even got friends from school who haven't seen me lose my shit where I'm so calm and collected and they've seen me at my best and worst during the last 16 years.

Cue the untimely demise of my tolerance; this girl was a dickhead. She looked about 19/20, was from Southampton not far from my cousins and had one of those whiny voices which didn't do a lot in her favour to help the situation! After listening to her go on without interrupting, I acknowledged that I didn't know before I met her that Nabua Lodge was ok as I'd only heard bad things and it was too late to change it now where I'd paid to move.

I moved away to a different part of the balcony chatting to some others and the girls and this is when I started to lose my rag as I could hear her at the table slagging me, the girls and Alan off and saying she couldn't believe we'd paid to move and how ridiculous it was blah, blah, blah...why couldn't she let it go if I had come to terms with it myself; it was none of her bloody business!

JT the guy in charge of the village trip told Mona, Annika and I that we needed our shoulders and knees covered so I went and got a tshirt and put my sarong on. Annika didn't have a sarong but the three of us got the giggles where she'd fashioned one out of her scarf.

We made our way back to the balcony to wait to leave and the same girl came back over to ask about the trip and what it included as she was thinking about going. I'd since been told she was about 23 which I found really hard to believe as I instantly compare every 23 year old to our Ruby-Roo who is of course a chip off the old block and mature beyond her years.

She then brought Dan over to meet us and on first observations, he had a ridiculously dark tan, blue eyes so bright they looked fake, a big pearly white grin and dark sort of quiffed back hair which was reminiscent of the slick ricks back home although he had a cap on! She told us that he had also been at Nabua Lodge and "tell them it wasn't that bad" to which he did and then asked why we were moving.

I was ready to hit the roof and fling her off the balcony; she had definitely picked the wrong day to piss me off but I kept my cool and bit my tongue as I didn't want to give people a bad impression, certainly not one that was not reflective of who I am as a person. It goes without saying though I wasn't going to pine for her the following day when she left and thankfully she changed her mind about coming with us otherwise we might have had a little accidental "man overboard!"

The village trip was great and I'm so pleased we went as it took my mind off Dad and made me calm down after the girl had wound me up like a coil; it was only Mona, Annika, Alan, Dan and I along with JT. The boat trip took about half an hour and was quite bumpy but that didn't matter too much as it was lovely and sunny! As soon as he sat down on the boat, Dan looked at mine and Mona's toenails and asked if we had been to get them done in Fiji and I told him that mine were from Bali (still couldn't believe how well they'd lasted!)

There were kids all playing in a boat and on the grass and sand when we arrived and everyone who saw us said hello! We wandered around the village and saw the houses, church and school and JT told us about the history of some of it. Alan asked if any famous people had come from the island and JT told us that a couple of Fijian rugby players had gone to school there which was pretty awesome as it was so tiny. JT asked if anyone had seen Fiji play and I told him that I'd travelled to Dubai in Dec 2015 just to see the Rugby 7's out there and Fiji had played England in the final. I also had to break it to him that we had won but told him that Fiji had played really well which was by no means an embellishment of the truth!

We continued around the rest of the village and saw lots of chickens running around and more children playing. JT told us that tourists coming over looking for an authentic experience can get one as some families on the islands are happy to host people and welcome them to the community so they can truly see how the people live, rather than staying at the resorts.

Our final stop was into the large hall where the ladies of the village had laid out all their wares for us to have a look at. There was so much stuff ranging from key rings, jewellery, scarves, mats and other souvenirs. I didn't really need anything but wanted to buy something to help them out so got an anklet as the one I really liked from Vietnam had fallen off.

We organised a group photo and then waited outside for Mona and Annika to finish buying their items and Alan was chatting to one of the kids and got him to high five!

It went fairly quickly but I was so glad I'd chosen that rather than the cooking as it was such a great insight into how they live. Was also sad hearing how badly they'd been affected by a cyclone but heartwarming to know how many people came together from the neighbouring islands to help them rebuild everything.

The boat ride back was another half an hour but it went really quickly where I got chatting to Dan and he was asking me about my travels and I asked him where he had been. The sea was a bit rougher and we had a lady and a little boy from the village with us so we had to shuffle around and Dan swapped with the little boy to balance the boat out. The little boy got splashed less by the waves which he looked happier about!

When we got back to Korovou, I went straight onto the beach to the hammocks and got as much sunshine as possible whilst writing the last part of my blog and listening to some music. Where I'd got a bit emotional it was nice to just have some time to relax and reflect on my own.

I left it to the last minute possible to have a shower as the early evening is my favourite time of the day on a beach and then I hit the showers which were full of sand!

The staff had made one huge table along the balcony so we could all face the sea and watch the sunset which was an absolute stunner whilst we had dinner.

I sat next to Emma and Corinne and got chatting to Emma about her travels where her and Jaz had been working in Brisbane. She was lovely and it turned out her and Jaz were also doing Kiwi Experience in New Zealand but they started a few days before me so we weren't sure if we could catch up with each other!

Dinner was a steak with mash, veggies and gravy which was really nice and I demolished it in no time at all! The real winner though was the dessert; pancakes with pineapple and a sauce - dreamy! All of this was washed down with my new found favourite; pineapple Fanta!

When we had finished, the staff did a performance for us which was great fun to watch and then they asked us to get up and play games.

Annika was straight in there as she loved it and dragged me up with her! We played the numbers game and danced until they shouted out a number for us to get into a group that size. I ended up getting to the final with Mona and Annika which was hilarious as we had to battle it out to get to Mona from an equal distance across the room once the music stopped. The only sad thing at Korovou was that they didn't give away liquid prizes if you won like they had at South Sea Island, especially since it was the first time the three of us had made it to the final!

We stayed chatting amongst the group and watched one of the guys from the resort do card tricks and then Mona, Annika, Corinne and I called it a night where we were tired!

Where it was an eco-resort, the fans in the bedroom were turned off at midnight and didn't go back on until 7am so it was boiling hot and I spent the entire night sleeping on top of the covers!

At about 4am, the torrential rain came down and woke me up where it was so loud. It also meant my sarong and bikini that had been put out to dry on the balcony were soaked.

I was awake before breakfast time, as were Mona and Annika who'd also been woken up by the rain so we got changed quietly where everyone was still asleep and wandered over to the balcony to take a seat and wait for breakfast to be ready and served.

I had eggs, bacon, bread, pineapple, watermelon and washed it all down with an oj and coffee to wake me up!

There was nothing much to do for the day as I hadn't booked onto any activities so I did what I do best; got myself a hammock and spent the morning lounging on it where the rain had stopped and listening to music until we got called for lunch. It was so relaxing! Mona and I had become rather attached to our usual spot but we were a bit further down towards the resort that day where Dan and the Southampton girl were sharing the hammock further along just before she left. We got served beef curry and rice which was yummy and for once I was actually rather stuffed!

I went back to my hammock for a lie down and decided to be productive so swam from Korovou over to White Sandy Beach and said hello to Emma, Sam, Jonny and Lotte. It felt nice to be doing some exercise aside from the walks and treks (although not too strenuous) having not set foot in a gym since my final session with Olly my PT in June! They were loving it there and the staff had been up in the trees getting mangos and coconuts for them, they had flowers behind their ears and were all going out water skiing later that day. They told me they were having a bonfire in the evening and said to come over with the rest of the crew. I hadn't realised they'd been over to see us the night before for a bonfire as we were in bed; had I known I would have stayed up to sit with them!

I waved goodbye and swam back to our resort and found Mona again on her hammock. Once I'd jumped back on mine, I turned to talk to Mona only to be distracted by the dogs that were laying in the sand and running along in the water.

About half an hour later, I turned around to see Mona hysterically laughing; one of the dogs had taken her coconut cookies out of her bag and was absolutely loving life finishing them off. We got the serious giggles and she couldn't be cross at it as it was too cute!

Mona and I were starting to get a bit thirsty and peckish so we made our way over to the main balcony in time for afternoon tea. Sadly they didn't have any biscuits or cookies to go with it but offered us a 5 dollar pack of coconut cookies; we politely declined!

I had a couple of cups of coffee and we sat with Annika and JT and asked him all about Fiji and his work experiences which had taken him to places overseas like the US to live and do his qualifications. He was really interesting to speak to and so full of knowledge.

After chatting to JT and the others on the balcony where the weather was a bit drizzly and overcast, I sat and caught up with my journal where I was starting to get behind with Alan and Dan asking about it and looking at my notes to see how neat my handwriting was (it definitely wasn't!) Once the weather had cleared up, the rest of the afternoon was spent on the hammocks until it was time to go and get showered and ready for dinner.

Alan and Dan were both in the room after I'd showered and being the obsessive sport types they are, especially Dan, the conversation turned to all things sport! Alan asked me for my opinion and I told him sadly I wasn't a football fan having been brought up on rugby. He asked me who I supported and I told him that I didn't follow it religiously but if anyone it would have to be Quins as I've been to about 6 Harlequins games where my best mate works for them, although I have been subjected by Dad to a few Football matches watching Chelsea on the telly in my time!

The conversation evolved with football players (probably along the lines of mentioning that I find it painful watching them as they're such pussies compared to rugby players haha!) and I showed them both a photo of me with a footballer I saw in a local nightclub!

The first thing Dan noticed was that he was shorter than me and then spotted I was wearing heels so asked me how tall I was and came to stand next to me to compare heights; I told him I'm about 5ft 8 and he's about 6ft ish.

We made our way over to the balcony and I sat next to Alan with Dan opposite me and the girls were with us too. For once, I was actually stuffed and couldn't finish my chocolate cake dessert, which I'd heard so much about from Emma and Jaz, after the tomato soup, loads of bread and the traditional beef dish we'd had that JT had told us was made less spicy to cater for us tourists.

Dan was nattering away and the two of us caught each other's eye a few times when people around the table said things which could be misconstrued and blown completely out of context; I naturally got the giggles like I always do whenever innuendos are being thrown around! He started talking to me about his travels and how he had his visa sorted to work in Canada for a year after having Christmas at home.

I asked him where he lived and when he told me Slough, I told him I'd worked with a client based there on the industrial estate and it transpired he had been a financial analyst for one of their main competitors; small world. It was only when he started chatting about home and people that he looked up and apologised where I was completely clueless about what he was talking about. He said he had no idea why he was talking to me as if he'd known me for years thinking I'd know what he was on about! I laughed where it didn't bother me and I felt unusually relaxed in his company seeing as I'd only just met him.

It also wasn't the first time I'd been told something like that as the psychic I've been to a couple of times at home said people often feel comfortable talking to me and end up telling me their deepest, darkest secrets because I have one of those 'open faces' so they trust me...whatever that means!

Alan and a couple of the others joked that it was getting a bit deep and should they maybe leave us to our 'date night' as we were chatting as if none of them were around us which only made me laugh more!

When dinner had been cleared away, we had another performance from the staff and then we played a relay game. They split us into two teams and we had to place an onion in between our thighs and run from the line to the post opposite and back again until everyone had been and then we could sit down to signal that we'd finished. It was hilarious and my onion shot out onto the floor and rolled away which made my giggles only get louder than they already were! Both teams had won once so it was down to a lightning round and me, Mona and Annika were more determined than ever haha!

We sprinted across and sat down before the other team for a triumphant success which meant the they had to perform the Bula dance to us. Watching Dan and Alan do that was absolutely priceless!

I'd mentioned to the girls and the lads that I'd seen the other gang earlier when I swam across and they'd said to go over after dinner for the bonfire. Thankfully they were all game to go so we wandered along the beach to their resort although it felt like we were interrupting their dinner where they were all still sat at the table and it had been a bit awkward where we'd all suddenly left our resort en-mass, leaving only a few people behind watching card tricks.

We walked in and said hello and then everyone slowly made their way outside to sit around the bonfire. I was on a bench with Mona on my left and Dan on my right and the resort staff got us started on a song involving animals. Mona had decided we were 'pussy cats'...cue the giggles next to me from Dan. There were various animals around the campfire ranging from ours to bears, lions, seals and donkeys and every time someone had to make the sound of their animal we all ended up laughing!

Dan had been talking to me so distractedly missed his bear roar as part of his group so got told they had to do it again! He'd been telling me he worked for Dyson in Australia so I was asking him lots of questions about it and one of the girls asked if Dyson was his surname which made me crack up so I kept calling him Daniel Dyson or Danny Dyson throughout the evening which he hated as he can't stand being called Danny. He was a good sport and took it well thankfully.

Despite me thinking he was a bit of a flirt, I just thought that was his nature, especially after seeing him with the Southampton girl over the two days I'd been there so everyone just presumed they had a thing going on. I had a great evening though and we had a laugh joking around.

The rest of the evening whizzed by in a blur of solving riddles, singing songs like Wonderwall and obligatory Christmas songs where the festive season was creeping up on us. Following that, the guy from our resort showed the other lot the card tricks we'd seen the night before which still fascinated me.

Dan and I were the last ones to leave so we said goodbye to Jonny, Emma, Sam and Lotte and then we walked across the beach still nattering away until we reached the dorm.

For some reason, the power had gone off earlier than usual and the dorm room was absolutely sweltering when I got dressed and ready for bed. Even laying down on top of the sheets felt unbearable so I sat up for a bit on my phone writing some blog notes so I didn't have to make any contact with the sheets where it was so muggy!

Eventually it cooled down a little bit and I laid down to go to sleep but I obviously wasn't the only one who was wide awake as I could see Dan and his phone's bright glare on the other side of the room!

Once I'd cooled down, I actually managed to have a fairly good night of sleep apart from some snoring which woke me up!

Breakfast was served up early the next morning and I had a savoury scone, sausages in some kind of gravy/sauce with onions, fresh bread and some fruit with an oj and a cup of coffee.

I then went back to the room to pack and make sure I had everything. Alan was asking the group about our dating disasters and when he asked me, I relayed the day where I'd been on a date with a policeman and how funny/fairly disastrous it had been with conversations that had taken place and where I was so disgustingly hungover from a spontaneous night out with Els and was in no fit state. The others told some of their tales and we had a good giggle!

Dan had no island booked for that night so asked me where we were all going. When I told him we were off to Blue Lagoon, he asked if we would mind him tagging along. Me being me, I was like hmmm, not so sure about that but he knew I was pulling his leg and I told him it was fine! I was pleased he wanted to come with us as I'd enjoyed his company the evening before.

Where the boat wasn't collecting us until later in the morning, I checked out and left my luggage at reception. The rest of the time was spent relaxing on the hammock taking in the view, listening to some music and chatting with Mona on the hammock next to me.

Time whizzed past, as it always does, and we walked out on the pathway through the sea to get to the smaller fishing boat with our stuff (the resort staff had already taken our big bags for us).

Mona had a bit of a thing about the sea cucumbers as she thought they were really cute and squealed her head off when she touched one with her foot, worrying that she might have stepped on it and hurt it. I was in hysterics and we were so lucky as she had grabbed me suddenly and was clinging on for dear life so we very nearly toppled over into the water!

When we got onto the boat, we caught up with Emma and Sam, Jonny, Lotte, Corinne, Hannah and Luke. Emma, Sam and Corinne hadn't changed their booking so were heading to Nabua Lodge which was sadly the other side of the island so I wouldn't be able to swim along again and say hello. Jonny hadn't booked any accommodation and couldn't get in to Blue Lagoon where Dan had booked the last bed so he booked two nights at Oarsmans which was next to us.

Blue Lagoon

We arrived to such a great welcome from the resort staff and there appeared to be loads of them clapping, singing and playing the guitar. Even from the shore, the place looked incredible and the girls and I were getting excited!

We took a seat at the diving shop area to be welcomed and checked-in. The dorm was out of this world in comparison to the others we had been in! There were 8 single beds, a bedside cabinet with a locker for each of us, a bath and shower towel each and even fresh flowers sat on the bed which were gorgeous; I was in my element!

I wandered over to the reception hut as I needed to pick up a key for my locker and the staff were so friendly and chatty!

Once I'd finished, I browsed the stuff they had on sale and Dan walked over and asked me what the coconut oil was for. I told him it was probably the stuff the masseuses use there so people can buy it if they like it. He looked at me with a glint in his eye and a big grin and said "I can try it out on you if you like" haha! I questioned whether he was actually any good at it and he said he wasn't sure, we'd have to try and find out which made me really chuckle.

That was the moment it dawned on me that he was actually interested and flirting with me; Rebecca always jokes around about how clueless I am where she's seen people try and chat me up in bars over the last few years and I've been blissfully unaware.

Historically where I've always been the more reserved shy one of the group socially on a night out, guys have always chatted up my friends and I've been all about the dancing and having a good time. Therefore, if it happens now I just don't notice and am completely oblivious to it where I just presume it's still the same as it was then!

Lunch was equally an absolute treat where it was a la carte and we could choose which left me completely torn as I didn't know what to have, similarly to Luke, Hannah, Mona, Annika, Alan and Dan as we were spoilt for choice. Cathy who I met at the 7's in Dubai is Fijian and she'd recommended I try a Kokoda which is cubes of fresh fish cooked in a coconut milk sauce and served with rice so I was pleased to see it on the menu and chose that; it was incredible!

Dan had the open steak sandwich and one of the girls had the spring rolls so we all did a bit of a swap to try them all! Theirs were both nice but I was so pleased I'd chosen mine, it was probably the tastiest meal I'd had so far. More glances passed between Dan and I where so many innuendos came out again in conversation and at one point I couldn't contain myself and was absolutely howling with laughter and had tears streaming out of my eyes; it really tickled me!

We then all collapsed in a heap on the bean bags looking out at the view and checking our phones for the first time in ages after getting some wifi.

Alan was super quiet and had gone to the room so Dan went to check he was ok when he looked up the sports scores and they had a little man-to-man chat.

The afternoon tea served a little while after lunch was the best yet and Annika and I got seriously excited when we saw the chocolate brownies so took two each! Even more exciting, they had ACTUAL English Breakfast tea; I was absolutely stoked and couldn't contain my pure elation; life was good!!

I sorted out the blog I'd written for Dad by tweaking it, adding a photo and formatting it once it had been published online and then I went to get into my bikini to swim out to the pontoon.

The sea was cold at first but so refreshing. Annika was snorkelling and Luke was having a swim but couldn't get his head under the water as he had a bad ear infection from diving. Mona and I told him we were swimming over to the pontoon so he came over with us and we left Hannah and Dan sat on the bean bags chilling.

When Annika had finished snorkelling she joined us and Jonny swam out to join us too. We sat chatting for a while and then I told Annika that I couldn't come out to the pontoon and not jump off so she joined me and we ran and launched ourselves into the sea. It was so clear and we could see the tiny fish swimming around us as we were climbing back onto the pontoon.

The sun was out and we were so chilled sprawled out on the pontoon chatting. Hannah had got changed and we could see her swimming across to join us. When she reached us, she had a serious look on her face and the first thing she said was my name so I turned around and asked if she was ok. She asked me to stand up and then walked over and gave me the biggest hug and started to cry saying she had just read my blog and was so sorry about my dad. Bless her, she was so lovely and I told her I was really sorry for making her upset as I hadn't meant to!

A while later, Alan had come on to the shore and was signalling to us that it was nearly dinner time so we all got back into the water and swam back to the resort. At 6.15, the Fijian choir did a performance so Hannah, Luke and I stood next to Alan and Dan dripping wet in our towels in the middle of the restaurant so we didn't miss it. The music was fantastic and if it had caught me on a bad day it would have been very successful in making me cry where it was so melodic, emotive and powerful.

When it finished, I dashed back to the dorm to grab my stuff and jump into the shower. Annika had decided we should all put the frangipani flowers from our beds in our hair for dinner where the resort was so lovely so I decided to make an effort for once and threw on my flowery dress for the occasion and had my hair down where it was wet still which only made it go really wavy.

I got to the bar and met the girls who had ordered their cocktails and bought myself a local rum with coke and then wandered over to the table and positioned myself next to Mona where she had put her glass down before disappearing.

Alan and Dan both greeted me when I arrived and Alan looked up and said "wow Megan, you look nice" to which Dan agreed and smiled. I laughed and told him he sounded surprised and he said he just wasn't used to seeing me dressed up. I couldn't agree more as I hadn't tried hard out there to impress and joked that he probably wouldn't recognise me then if I put make-up on which had the boys acting really shocked with their mouths open and Dan asking "not even foundation?" to which I laughed even more and told them I didn't have a scrap on. Alan told me I was a natural beauty which of course made me really blush but was a lovely compliment.

David, Marina, Hannah, Luke, Mona and Annika then joined us and thankfully the conversation moved along; I'm no good at being the centre of attention like that, I get too embarrassed haha!

The food was incredible! We had a three course a la carte with different choices (I'd already decided earlier in the day when I'd seen the menu; no surprise there!) I started with the beef rice paper rolls, we had mint sorbet served afterwards which tasted like a mojito slush puppy and I had the Cajun chicken for my main followed by a chocolate pudding with ice cream and balls of melon. It was all incredible and I was completely stuffed and struggled to eat the dessert! The evening was great and the conversation flowed easily between the 9 of us; poor Jonny was missing though as he was at Oarsmans.

As had become a bit of a habit, every time someone said something that could be misconstrued or was an innuendo, Dan and I just looked at each other and laughed although a few times I had to stop myself from looking at him as I knew it would only result in me cracking up with tears streaming down my face again!

Talk had turned to age where David and Marina had said they were older than everyone in the group and Hannah responded with "you're only as old as you feel". Dan then piped up and said wasn't it more like "you're only as old as the woman you're feeling" and suddenly turned to me in front of everyone and said "you're 26 aren't you?!" I laughed but was seriously blushing where everyone else looked at me and laughed along; he was so cheeky!

The others started to slowly filter off to go to their rooms and make phone calls home or have an early night which just left Mona, Annika, Dan and I sat at the table chatting.

Mona and Annika had heard us address Alan like they do in the animal sketch online "Alan, Alan, Alan..." but they'd never seen it which Dan and I were surprised about so he used the data on his phone to go on YouTube so we could watch it. The girls got the giggles and found it hysterical and then Mona asked if we'd seen the incredibly annoying orange which I had but Dan hadn't.

We laughed at the incredibly annoying orange video and then got up to head back to the dorm. Jonny was sat by the bar on the bean bags with two French girls from his resort making the most of the free wifi so we chatted to them for a bit and then Dan suggested we took the scenic route back with a stroll along the beach which was rather romantic.

We made our way back and Dan quickly pinched my bum just as I was walking through the door to the dorm which made me laugh loudly but I had to stop myself where everyone was in bed asleep; he really was too cheeky for his own good!

The room was quite chilly with the air con on so I was scrabbling around to see if I could find any switches that would make it a bit warmer and he tried to help but was in a playful mood so we weren't very successful and I had to leave it as it was. I grabbed my toothbrush and threw my pjs on and met Dan in the bathroom and he started laughing when he asked what was on my pjs and I showed him it was Little Miss Chatterbox. When we'd finished in the bathroom, he kissed me goodnight and I crawled into my bed which was so comfy compared to the beds I'd become accustomed to!

I wrote a few more notes on my phone for my blog and could see Dan was also on his from the phone glare and then I went to sleep.

By about 4am, I was absolutely frozen from the air con and could see everyone else peacefully sleeping where I'd got up to use the bathroom. At one point I was shivering so swaddled myself in the sheet. I dozed in and out until about half 6 and decided that rather than laying there feeling cold, I would make the most of the day so I quietly got up, dressed and made my way over to the diving hut as there was a 7am yoga class.

There was no-one around so I wandered down to the restaurant to ask the staff if it was still going ahead and they said it was so I made my way back to the activity hut and the yoga instructor was there waiting. She was really sweet and from Canada and we got chatting whilst we waited to see if anyone else would turn up.

No-one else came so the two of us made our way to the massage hut and I had a tranquil hour of yoga; stretching, breathing and feeling utterly relaxed!

When we finished, we sat together chatting about her time spent working in Fiji whilst having breakfast which was the most incredible spread of fruit, muffins, croissants, pancakes, an egg station and hot breakfast too. I had the banana pancakes and the fresh fruit with an English Breakfast tea which was utterly delightful!

Slowly the group started to filter out with Mona and Annika first, Luke, and then Dan. Poor Hannah had missed it because she had to be on the boat to the caves at 8 and Alan had missed both the trip and breakfast as he was still in bed!

Mona, Annika and I had our boat trip to the water caves at 9am so we made our way back to the room to get ready and waited on the beach for it to arrive.

At 9.30, we were still waiting and were starting to think it would never turn up. There were a couple of dogs running around on the beach and they kept coming up to us to say hello which was cute! Dan was taking a stroll along the beach and stopped for a chat, wondering why we hadn't left yet.

Joe's Water Taxi finally turned up and we hopped on with an English girl and French guy and made our way to the caves which was about 30 mins away. It was fairly bumpy and choppy which wasn't nice but I don't think it was as bad as it had been the morning of the snorkelling at Wayalailai.

There was a large group gathered outside the cave and once the guy in charge had talked about the way it works, we followed him up the stairs and then down into the cave, jumping into the water where we had to swim a couple of metres to bring us out into the main area.

We swam over to a large rock area as there was a huge group of aussies messing around on a float in the centre and low and behold, Jonny, Tom, Emma, Jaz, Kevin, Dylan and the other aussies were there along with a few familiar faces from Wayalailai!

We chatted to them to see how they were getting on and Tom and I were laughing because he claimed we were stalking him as we turned up everywhere he went. He also told us they were surviving Safe Landing and it wasn't too bad.

We got a few photos and then once the coast was clear, we got taken into the second cave where we had to swim under water to get through the opening and out the other side. It didn't take too long and the guide was there to make sure you were ok; he pulled me through so I knew which way I was going!

It was pitch black and you couldn't see a thing once you swam through so I grabbed onto the huge float that the girls were clutching on to. Once everyone was ready, the guide shone his torch and took us through the cave. It was freezing and a bit eery where it was so dark and you couldn't see anything. Dylan joked that there was a snake in the water and the girl he was travelling with was shrieking which echoed around the cave and made us all laugh.

We left shortly after we'd been told a bit more about the caves and then we swam back through the opening underwater to get to the main part of the cave.

A few of the large Aussie group had decided to climb all the way up and jump off the cave edge into the water which was crazy to watch as they were so high up.

Kevin then decided to go one up on them and left the cave to walk around to the very top ledge of the opening. Mona, Annika and I were on our way out of the cave when we saw him get to the top so we stayed to watch.

He must have been at least 20ft high and watching him made us all feel squeamish! He put it off a while when people had counted him in and he couldn't face it and he suddenly just plummeted into the water, although the landing didn't look comfortable where he hadn't gone in straight.

We made our way out and met Emma and Jaz outside so told them about Kevin and he turned up shortly after so we all checked that his back was ok where he'd landed and he was shaking with adrenaline!

As soon as the English girl and French guy had returned, we made our way over to Joe's boat so we could get back to Blue Lagoon. The sea was a bit calmer and the sun was absolutely scorching which made a change where it had been really overcast when we left on the way over to the caves.

We made our way to the restaurant once we'd collected our beach towels from the dorm and I wandered over to see Dan and Alan who were laying out on the beach soaking up the rays. I was so tempted to sneak up on them and make them jump but I think they might have sensed me coming so it wouldn't have been a success.

Dan asked if I was going to stay on the beach with them but I told him I would be down later as I was going to get a drink and sit with Mona. She'd found herself a nice spot on the large cushioned area near the pool so I grabbed a bottle of water and made my way over to her.

We relaxed for a bit in the sun but then our stomachs made the classic rumble and we were ready for food so made our way to the restaurant. Dan was still on the beach and Alan had gone for a nap so Mona walked down to get Dan and tell him we were eating. None of us could decide what to have as there was too much choice again but I finally settled on the honey glazed chicken after being sorely tempted by the salt and pepper squid although I threatened Dan with stealing some of his!

We all sat chatting once we had finished and the girls ordered a plate of fresh fruit to share which Dan and I laughed about as it was really hefty in price for only a few pieces of fruit each. Dan had asked for the Korovou sunset photos so I added him on Facebook so I could send them to him and he didn't recognise me when he opened his notifications, telling me someone had added him but he didn't know a Megs. I couldn't work out if he was joking or not but told him it was me and sent all the pics that he wanted!

I knew he was sometimes distracted by his phone and I'd guessed it wasn't his Mum messaging him at various points during the day where there was someone in the background! But, for once in my life I let it go over my head as I was enjoying his company and he really made me laugh, although I'd be lying if I said I'd completely let my guard down...takes much longer for me to do that, but I'd promised myself before I left home that I had to learn to start to letting people in.

When the girls had finished their fruit, we went over to the cushioned area by the swimming pool. It was lovely and sunny and I swam a few lengths before sitting on the ledge and chatting to the girls. Mona had even found a noodle to sit on and float around! Dan then joined us later and we all chatted about random stuff until the girls got out to sunbathe.

He asked me if I was going to stay because he didn't want to be in there on his own and I said I was but I needed to wee first; he said that was far too much info but I told him that he'd asked! He then did exactly the same about half an hour later so I laughed and told him it was too much info, just like he had.

We talked about him growing up and where he was born which was ironic as it was about 5 mins away from Rach who also grew up in Rotherham. I told him I liked the north and spoke about the places I'd visited nearby, especially Betty's which is the dream! He told me he thought I should live up north as I appeared to love it but I told him I was a southern girl at heart.

He asked me about where I was born probably thinking I was going to say Kent so I got chatting to him about our time in Bahrain and the Middle East as he was intrigued about what had taken us out there; Dad's job. He asked what he did for a living and I told him he'd been a broker which made him only ask more questions as he's done previous hedge fund work.

I knew what was coming and I didn't want to put a downer on things when he asked what Dad did now for a living. I've got to give him credit here as he was so lovely about it and did something that no other guy I've met has done in the last 3 years since his death; he asked me what he was like.

This made me really smile as I love talking about my Dad and stories from the past; it's the only way I can keep his memory alive and so I just chatted away about different things and fun we'd had. Dan laughed along at some of the stories, especially the one where I'd left Dad in the club when Rach and I went out to visit him in Dubai as we'd had too much to drink and needed to go to bed!

We talked about Dad's obsession with sport which is spookily similar to Dan as I said it didn't matter what time of day it was or what he was doing, some form of sport was constantly on the telly in the background and he laughed and told me he thought they would have really got on.

I couldn't have agreed more, they definitely would have although I joked that he would definitely have had the piss taken out of him for being a 'northern monkey' and a Liverpool supporter! Haha

When the two of us had started to turn into prunes, we hopped out and laid on the cushion. Our luck was in; it was afternoon tea time! Jonny had come over to say hello and we'd sent Dan to go and get us some muffins. Jonny fancied a decent brew, as did I, so I walked over to the drinks station and got us an English Breakfast each.

We demolished the muffins apart from one and Dan asked if I fancied a dip in the sea. I'd just got super cosy and comfy laying down so I told him we could go later. Dan laid down facing me and we were getting pestered by the flies so he put his cap across both of our faces where we were foreahead to forehead to try and stop them buzzing around us and then we curled up together and had a nap. I woke up briefly with a dead arm where I'd been lying on it and playing with Dan's hair before falling asleep so I put it down next to me and he curled his fingers around mine and I dozed off again.

When I woke up, Dan was gone and hysterical laughter was escaping from Mona's mouth. When I asked her if she was ok, she said Dan and I hadn't realized the spare muffin was in between us so where we'd curled up to nap, we both had muffin and icing on our legs!

When Dan had finished making his phonecall to Awesome Adventures, he came to lay back down and we laughed about the muffin as Mona showed us the picture.

The rest of the afternoon was equally relaxing and we stayed by the pool until there was no sun. I went back to the dorm with the girls to get showered and ready for dinner and Dan went over to the pontoon with Jonny and Alan who we hadn't seen all afternoon.

When I was heading into the bathroom, I saw Hannah on the grass by the hammocks next to hers and Luke's room so I wandered over to see how she got on with the diving as I knew she had been absolutely terrified at lunchtime when we saw her. Thankfully it went really well and once she'd got used to it, she absolutely loved it!

The showers were really powerful and best of all, they were hot too, unlike some of the other resorts so I took my time and was in no rush to get out.

Once I'd dried off, I threw my underwear and skirt on and started to chuck some aftersun on where I'd obviously caught the sun on the boat and had a couple of pink patches. Aside from that, I was chuffed as I was starting to go a really nice bronzed colour; result!

I was just rubbing it all into my arms when Dan stood at the door dripping wet from the sea and asked if I could chuck his towel over as I didn't look too busy; joker! I was thinking more that I was stood there in my bra and skirt and hadn't managed to get a top on before they got back but he'd seen me in my bikini which was no different I guess. Alan then poked his head around the door and did exactly the same so I lobbed his towel across the room and carried on getting ready.

I was starting to feel all hot and bothered and my cheeks were burning up where the heat from the pink on the side of my neck had travelled up! My hair was still wet so I tried it in a side plait but didn't like that so took it out and just left it down and wavy so it could dry and then made my way to the restaurant with the others.

We were gutted to have missed the coconut bowling as it was on the night before we arrived but when we asked if we could do it before or after the crab racing that evening, they told us we couldn't.

I sat next to Dan and the girls at dinner and we had some entertainment on in the form of a guitarist and singer which was really nice. Dan asked me if I was ok but I'd started to feel really grim where I was still really hot and also a bit nauseous and had lost my appetite. Must have been the heat and the sun from the boat trip to the caves as I didn't have sunscreen on then or any shade whereas apart from when I'd been in the pool once I'd got back from the caves, I'd kept myself out of the sun.

The weather had taken a turn for the worst and it was raining and windy. We had to get the staff to put the sides of the awning up around the table in the end as we were all starting to get wet!

I tried to not let me feeling grim spoil the evening and chucked my hair in a bun to try and cool down. I gave Dan my little bite-sized crostini with sundried tomato, ate my beef rice paper rolls and half of my ratatouille in filo pastry (Dan had the other half) and managed to eat all of the strudel for dessert. We were also served a passionfruit sorbet in a shot glass in between the starter and the main to cleanse the palate which was great.

The evening was lovely, just as the previous one had been and we had a laugh together with more giggles erupting from Dan and I with the innuendos and making things sound more smutty than intended.

We all waited on the decking steps for the crab racing to start and I was now level with Dan where I was on a step and he was on the sand. Mona had bought a crab to race and named him Joey which was too funny as when the lady asked what number she was, she just kept saying Joey! Where I'd turned around, Dan had given me a quick kiss on the shoulder and I turned round and smiled at him and he asked if I was ok. Nothing had been said by the others but I reckon Luke had seen him do it and knew something was going on, not that I was worried who saw; they all knew we got on well!

The race was hysterical and started after we'd been read the riot act; aka the list of rules to play. Alan was really downhearted as he (and others) swore that he had made the top 3 but the referee for the night refused to hear it so Alan didn't get a prize.

Where the weather was still bad, there was no romantic stroll across the beach for Dan and I so we made our way back to the dorm with the others when everything had wrapped up for the evening.

I hopped into my pjs and went to the bathroom to clean my teeth. Dan and I were messing about again and I'd splashed him with water when I finished. He came over and gave me a kiss goodnight and then told me to come and find him if I got really cold again. I still felt rubbish and didn't have to worry about the air con as I was boiling when I crawled into bed. It didn't take me long to fall asleep and I was out like a light!

I woke up early but thankfully not 4am again to use the loo and then I wormed my way back into bed and pulled the blanket over the top of me where it was a bit cooler. I couldn't come round after falling back into a deep sleep so I wasn't up with everyone for yoga.

When I finally dragged my bum out of bed, it was gone 8 and the only ones left in the room were Dan, Alan and I. I walked over to Dan's bed and sat down which naturally made his eyes peek open and he stretched out and rested his arms on my legs. I told him I was going over to eat as it was getting later and everyone was already there, plus I had to see if my massage was happening.

I stopped in reception to see if the beauty therapist was better as my massage had been cancelled the day previously where she hadn't been in but thankfully she was back and I had a back massage booked for 10am.

Breakfast was a similar spread to the morning before and I had an English Breakfast tea with coconut pancakes covered in chocolate sauce and fresh pineapple and watermelon, sat down with the others who were already halfway through or on seconds. The girls had been to yoga so I asked them how they got on and they'd had a busier session but loads of annoying flies had been there which wasn't ideal.

Once I'd had a leisurely breakfast with everyone (including Dan and Alan who had made it out of the dorm), we all sat chatting for a bit and then I went over to the massage hut for my back massage appointment.

The lady was really chatty and friendly and I was in my element where it was so relaxing. Typically of me, I'd started to doze off so she quietly tapped me to let me know she had finished and helped me do up my bra where I was all sleepy laying face down on the table!

I wandered back to the dorm in a trance like state to be greeted by everyone when I walked through the door with the gang saying "oh here she is!" They asked how it was and I wandered over to lay on my bed telling them how wonderful it was and that I could happily fall asleep.

Dan asked what it was she had done and if he could have a demonstration so I sat next to him whilst he was packing and demonstrated.

He was in a playful mood and full of the innuendos and euphemisms that morning and whilst it was just the two of us packing, he came over and wrapped his arms around me and said he didn't know what had come over him and he was sorry for the inappropriate jokes. I told him not to worry as I found them all funny so couldn't be offended and hugged him back before gathering all my stuff and dragging it to reception.

It felt strange to be packing up again as I'd loved Blue Lagoon for the location of the resort and its layout, the staff, food and the people I was with and I certainly wasn't ready to leave.

Hannah arranged a little photo opportunity where we all got together once everyone was gathered on the beanbags by the bar so we all made our way onto the beach with the guy who was taking the photos for us.

I sat on the beanbags a bit longer but couldn't get comfortable so went and laid out on the hammock nearby to make the most of the time left. Some of the gang had ordered chicken wraps to take on the boat with them as we had at least a couple of hours until we got to Mantaray but I didn't feel hungry.

Dan came over and asked if there was room for him too so I moved across so he could hop in and let out a squeal where I tipped up and started to slide off! We regained composure and balance and sat chatting with Dan telling me all about his plans and how he had already been on the property ladder where he'd bought a house with his ex but it hadn't worked out so he'd sold it.

One of the staff came and delivered Dan his chicken wrap and then we continued with our conversation. He jokily asked me if I was ever going to leave home myself and I told him that I'd been at the stage where I was probably ready to move out when I was 23 and then Dad died so everything regressed; I was in no fit state to leave when that happened. I had been talking about moving out last year but then Ellie's dad's death triggered a turn of events which resulted in me seriously evaluating my life and the rut I'd got myself in, quitting my job and deciding to go travelling so there wasn't the means for having my own place or the need!

We chatted more about travelling plans and then before we knew it, the staff were getting us all loaded on the boat and we were off!

Back on the boat, we sat with Emma, Sam and Lotte and Corinne and Jonny were there too so we could all catch up. The boys got talking all things sport and Emma was napping so I went up to the middle deck to get some fresh air where it was a bit bumpy and Dan asked if he could come with me so we said hello to Hannah, Luke, Mona and Annika who felt better on the boat sat outside.

Shortly after, they were announcing our arrival at Mantaray so I hugged Emma, Sam, Hannah, Luke, Jonny and Dan goodbye and jumped onto the little fishing boat with Alan, Mona and Annika; feeling really sad that we'd had to leave everyone.

Most people would probably say it was only a few days so it wouldn't be that sad leaving but when you're travelling, time has a different intensity and for some reason, you form closer bonds. I knew I'd miss the gang and would be seeing Emma, Sam and Jonny in NZ but for some reason it felt like I was saying a proper goodbye to Dan as I didn't know if I'd hear from him or see him again after that. Reflecting on the past few days if that became the case, it would be a shame not to talk again but it was ok and I'd just take it for what it was. I'd thoroughly enjoyed myself, he'd made me feel great and I'd laughed lots which of course is what I love to do most.

Mantaray Resort

When the boat arrived at the resort, we were given a big Bula welcome and taken into the lounge area where we filled out some paperwork and were handed a fruit juice to enjoy. Tom, Kevin and a couple of girls who looked familiar were sat on beanbags overlooking the sea and Tom joked again that we were following him but it was nice to see some familiar faces. We then walked up to reception and waited in the queue to check-in. The ladies there weren't as friendly and welcoming as the previous resorts but we finally got given our bed numbers so we could make our way to the dorm.

It was a pretty island with greenery and trees everywhere but everything was so spaced out with the dorm situated in between the bathrooms and the restaurant which was up the hill but they were all walking distance rather than being next door.

The girls and I found a divide with 4 free beds near the doors so we asked if we could stay there instead where we had been split up and I'd been given a top bunk which the lady luckily said was ok.

Once we'd dropped our bags off, we went to the restaurant to see if we could get any food where we hadn't eaten lunch and they sent us in the direction of the bar area where they had the wood fire oven for pizzas at 4.30pm. We had half an hour to wait and when we got to the activities hut, they told us it was too windy so they weren't going to make the pizzas.

Whilst we were there, we booked onto the snorkelling trip for the following morning and the sunset tube cruise the following evening as we got those included for free with our vouchers. The guys knew we were looking for food so they sent us over to the bar where we had to settle for a hotdog instead and I had a pineapple Fanta with mine too.

The weather had taken a turn and was a bit overcast but we managed to spend the afternoon on the hammocks. I'd bought the wifi so I could start to book up some hostels in NZ and sort some admin bits out and was surprised to have a Facebook message come through from Dan, asking how Mantaray was whilst he was on Beachcomber.

That's when travelling can be a strange one at times. You get thrown together with strangers, like Dan, who you feel like you've known for ages and can weirdly work out what they're going to say before they've opened their mouths. Naturally, romances are a huge part of the fun having one person to focus your attention on but at the back of my mind I knew that I probably wasn't the only person on the receiving end of the compliments, which of course is allowed as we didn't have any ties, but it just made me wonder. Was everything he said to me when we were together or afterwards genuine or was he just another one to add to my unfortunate long list of dickheads who said all the right things insincerely where they were only after one thing?!

When it got a colder, windier and had started to drizzle a bit, the girls and I went inside to lay on the sofas instead where it was warmer. We relaxed there and I chatted to Tom who showed me his photos of their sunset tube cruise which looked awesome and then we got called up to dinner.

It was a la carte with a few options for the main, soup to start and a sponge pudding for dessert. I didn't really fancy any of the options on offer as I wasn't that hungry after the hotdog late in the afternoon so I just chose the sizzling hot plate of vegetables and rice.

The view from the balcony at the toilets was supposedly incredible so when we'd finished dinner, the girls and I went to check it out and it was a stunning purple colour.

We made our way down to the bar and sofa area where everyone had taken a seat so we could watch the evening entertainment performed by the staff. There was singing, dancing and a bit of warrior haka style dancing by the men with weapons; it was fantastic and probably the best of all the islands!

After that, they asked everyone up to Bula dance which we loved by now and then they lined us all up across the lounge with the head of the line being Tom and another guy at the end being the tail. Any action Tom did had to be followed by each person continually down the line and we all laughed when Tom's first move was a headstand.

He got asked to do a different one and a staff member dragged him outside so we were all going along the decking and around the tree repeating various actions depending on whether we were following Tom or changing direction to follow the guy who was the tail; including shimmying, rolling our arms up and down, leaning back as if we were doing the limbo, the conga and even crawling around on all fours.

We'd had a real laugh and it was a shame when it was over. After staying and chatting a bit, when it got quieter, the girls and I navigated our way through the wilderness to get our stuff from the dorm and then found our way across to the bathroom to get ready for bed.

We'd set our alarms early and got up and dressed ready for breakfast. Sadly for us, we'd got the time completely wrong so had to hang around waiting in the restaurant for about an hour until it was served; plonkers! We helped ourselves to oj and coffee whilst we waited and once the hot water machine had boiled to the right temperature. I went for the pancakes with maple syrup, croissants and a heap of fresh fruit which was enough to keep me going for our snorkelling trip!

At 9am, we went over to the diving hut to collect our goggles, snorkels and flip flops and then 6 of us set out in the little boat to the first location. It was short-lived as there were lots of sealice/termites in the water, similarly to when I was snorkelling in Amed only this was far worst and really painful. Mona then saw a jellyfish so after getting bitten to shreds by the sealice we decided to call it a day and try the second location.

The weather wasn't brilliant where it was overcast and the water was really choppy so visibility under water wasn't great and the waves kept going over the snorkel and letting the water in! We'd been told the second stop was a reef shark and turtle spot and I was so determined to see them but we had no luck.

There were lots more sealice/termites in the water and although it wasn't as bad as the first stop, it was still painful. Mona and Annika had clearly had enough by that point so they told the guy they wanted to get out so he called the boat over to collect them. It was only sheer determination to get a view of a turtle or reef shark that kept me in the water and as we were swimming through pools of stuff that the choppy waters had brought towards the surface from the coral that looked remarkably like spit, the stings from the lice weren't getting any better.

After a while, we crawled back onto the boat using the dodgy ladder which moved as soon as you stepped onto it and made our way back to the resort which was our final snorkelling location. It was here that I asked the guy steering the boat whether he had seen my black t-shirt and he said he hadn't which meant it had flown off the boat whilst we were snorkelling; I was gutted as when you're backpacking, a black t-shirt goes with everything!

The final stop made it all worthwhile as it was so clear and the coral and fish were incredible but my favourites were the blue starfish! The only problem we had here was that the current was so powerful it pulled you right across and where the water was shallow but the coral was quite high, there was the worry that we were going to graze ourselves swimming on top of it where it was so close.

I didn't really need to worry about swimming to the shore as the current took me in, although it was tricky walking the last bit across the rocks and stones where it was so strong and I wobbled about a few times! I dropped my fins off at the hut but kept my snorkel and goggles in case I went back into the sea later.

Back at the bar area, the staff were doing the jewellery making activity which I was really looking forward to after seeing Louise and Rona's bits they made out of coconut. Sadly, they told me there were no coconuts available to make the rings or bracelets so we just made bracelets with shells which was still fun and I found it really relaxing.

We finished just in time for lunch so I dashed to the room and grabbed my sarong so I could sit in the restaurant and the girls and I sat with Alan, Tom and a few others. I ordered the chicken burrito with chips which sounded amazing and it certainly didn't disappoint. Tom had ordered the same and his just made my mouth water when it arrived whilst I was still waiting for mine!

We managed to get the afternoon on the hammocks relaxing by the beach after lunch where I snoozed, listened to some music and wrote some blog notes.

Sadly the weather turned and we knew the rain was on its way so we gave up with lounging in the non-existent sun and went to shower.

We definitely picked the right time as the rain started to come down in sheets so we just laid out on the sofa chairs in the lounge area for the rest of the afternoon as there wasn't a lot else to do.

Dinner was really nice but apart from the dessert, I don't think it lived up to the hype and expectation where I'd been told Mantaray did amazing food! I was given fish soup to start and then chose the steak with mash and veg followed by a chocolate mousse which was of course all washed down with a pineapple Fanta! Despite chocolate desserts not being at the top of my list, chocolate mousse is one of my all-time favourites and this one was incredible. Annika and I wanted more so we asked our friendly barman if he knew whether there were any more and he got us another one to share, laughing at how happy we were when he handed it over.

After dinner, one of the members of staff walked around the tables to inform everyone that they'd received news of a cyclone on its way and that the Awesome Adventures boats would be suspending their services on the Saturday and Sunday. The girls and I looked at each other fairly flabbergasted; just my bloody luck with a natural disaster eh as this would be the 4th!

We spoke to the lady and said we were due at Beachcomber the following day but maybe we had better head straight to the mainland instead. She told us the boats were apparently definitely going to run on Friday so we would be able to leave Beachcomber but recommended we see the ladies at reception in the morning to call Awesome Adventures for an update.

We weren't in the mood for playing games so we all just laid on the sofas and there was just a small group that participated. After that, we made our way back to the dorm where there was nothing much we could do and the weather was horrible!

During the night, the rain had been even more torrential so I didn't want to traipse across the resort and get soaked when I woke up but was so desperate for the loo where I'd kept putting it off so had to make a run for it!

After getting ready and throwing on my rain coat, I made my way over to breakfast with the girls (was the correct time though haha) and had pancakes with maple syrup, fruit and croissants again with oj and coffee.

We packed up our bags to check out and then I made my way over to reception to put a call through to Awesome Adventures. They assured me that we would be able to catch a boat back to the mainland from Beachcomber the following day in time for our flights on Saturday although the seaspray sailing day would be cancelled and we could claim a refund. I raised my concerns as Dan had told me Beachcomber island was about the size of a running track and I said that it wasn't the safest of places to be if a cyclone hit and they told me that if the weather got really bad, we would be evacuated.

The girls and I went back to the dorm and collected our bags to take them to the lounge area and wait around until the boat arrived in the afternoon.

The staff were doing the jewellery making again inside so I sat and made myself another shell bracelet to pass the time but the cord he'd given me wasn't long enough so it didn't work as well and they stopped us before we were finished to clear the stuff away. I just used a bottle to fasten it to so I could continue without the board and nails to make it sturdy!

We got called to lunch and I had the same chicken burrito as the day before where I'd enjoyed it so much. As we were leaving, our favourite barman saw us (the one who got the extra chocolate mousse) and I told him we were leaving so he gave me a huge hug and said goodbye and then did the same to the girls.

The rest of the afternoon was spent in the lounge area and the girls and I said that where we'd paid for the night's accommodation, we might as well stay at Beachcomber as they would get us out if they needed to and the rain seemed to have calmed down a bit. Famous last words!

Shortly after it started lashing down even more than it had before with the most torrential rain I've ever seen. The staff had to pull all the shutters down around the doors and windows as it was really windy too. That was when we changed our minds and said we would go straight back to the mainland, especially after speaking to another member of staff who recommended we miss Beachcomber as we would be safer.

They called us for the boat and we all left the lounge area and it had eased off a bit. The little boat didn't go anywhere though or start loading us on so we were just waiting around for an update.

The boat was delayed by over an hour getting to us and unlike the clear patch of weather when it should have been there, the heavens had opened when we were called up.

I'd seen the staff handing out bin liners from the activity hut but they'd run out by the time I got there so my rucksack was starting to get wet. Our big bags were already on the small boat where they'd been loaded up and they were soaking wet! As I climbed onto the boat, one of the guys ran over with a bin liner and thankfully I was able to stick my small rucksack in it so everything didn't get too wet. There was no cover overhead so upon arrival to the main boat, we looked like someone had chucked a bucket of water all over us and poor Alan didn't even have a rain coat so was drenched from head to toe.

It was heaving! Clearly everyone had the same idea as us with all the warnings so was making their way back to the mainland for safety and to avoid missing flights. You couldn't move and everyone was packed in like sardines but we managed to get a couple of seats and some floor space next to the ladies at the information desk who surprisingly said hello when they remembered us from the complaints previously!

We explained that we had flights to catch so would miss Beachcomber out and they gave us paperwork to fill out so we could claim back for the activities we'd missed but we wouldn't get anything back for the accommodation and meal plan.

They kindly rang Smugglers Cove for us as we had no dorms booked but they were asking for 50 dollars that night which was extortionate! I'd only paid about 15 when I stayed there upon arrival. The signal was awful but when we finally got some, we rang Tropic of Capricorn and they had space for the three of us whereas Alan had already booked Smugglers in advance.

It was so choppy and so many people were seasick and throwing up but surprisingly, the girls and I were fairly upbeat, even though Annika didn't feel great.

Nadi Bay

We didn't make it to the port until about 7.30pm and when we went to collect our free sulus from the Awesome Adventures desk, they'd run out. We were gutted; I'd wanted to use it as a beach towel!

I was relieved when our luggage finally got brought over and we found the coach to take us to the hostel. I sat next to Alan and we just chatted about the trip and life in general and I told him I'd never met anyone so blasé! When I sat down, the strap snapped on my jump suit which was all that I needed; what a day!

The lady at reception for Tropic of Capricorn was really lovely when we arrived and explained that there were two beds in one dorm and one in another that cost two dollars more. I told the girls I wasn't fussed to go on my own as I would be meeting them for dinner and breakfast anyway. I walked through the bar to get to my room and decided that today was definitely a cause for hitting happy hour!

I met the girls after dropping my stuff off and ordered a creamy chicken pasta for dinner where I was ravenous. Mona and I then wandered back to the bar to decide what to treat ourselves to and after much deliberation, we both decided on a Blue Lagoon. There was a guy sat with a Kava bowl who invited us over to join him and try the kava. We thanked him but explained that we were just there to get drinks before dinner but that we'd tried it at Wayalailai so I showed him the photo and he looked really pleased, telling us not to worry and hoping we had a great evening.

Where it was already late, once dinner had arrived and we'd finished our drinks, we were shattered and didn't stay up too late. We got chatting to a few people on the table next to us for a while as they were due to start their island hopping the following day but were worried it wouldn't happen and then we went to bed.

I slept surprisingly well and got up and showered as we were all moving to Smugglers which had been booked in advance for our last night.

There was a guy called Ollie in my room who was from up north and we got chatting and he told me he'd just finished Kiwi Experience and absolutely loved it. I told him I had some reservations after Alan, Jonny and Dan had slammed it saying it was nowhere near as good as Stray and was basically full of young boozy brits and it was known as things like the "fuck bus" and "chlamydia express." He told me that there was a mixed age group and where he was a similar age to me, he'd been with people the same age; what an absolute relief to hear!

He let me use the bathroom first where we had an ensuite so I showered and got ready and then finished packing before going to meet the girls for breakfast.

I got far too excited when I saw eggs benedict and English Breakfast tea on the menu and was pretty devastated when they said they'd run out of eggs benny where I'd told the girls the night before that was what I wanted in the morning! I ordered the eggs and bacon on toast instead with a pot of tea and we ended up waiting ages for our orders to arrive, not that it mattered.

We decided not to rush over to Smugglers as we weren't able to check-in yet and it was still chucking it down with rain so we sat where we were just chilling. A man on a horse rode past the window and stopped to wave at us. Mona wanted to go horseriding so she went out and spoke to him and disappeared for an hour. When she came back she'd thoroughly enjoyed herself and we then decided to make our way across to Smugglers.

In true fashion of the day before, upon checking in to Smugglers I was told that they'd lost my Hostelworld booking and the 34-bed dorm I'd booked was full. Luckily, this then thankfully worked in my favour as they stuck me in the girls only 16-bed dorm; result!

Alan had told me about a cheaper laundry place so I walked a road away and stopped to ask a masseuse working on a client in an outside hut where I could find it. I later found out that person had been Alan! They couldn't take my laundry as their machine had apparently broken (judging by what was going on around me I reckoned it was probably more the case that they'd just been given too much and couldn't help!)

I walked back to the hostel and took my stuff to the laundrette there, paying reception in return for the coins that needed to be used. The girls were on their laptop emailing Awesome Adventures so I snuck up on them and they both shrieked, jumping out of their seats! Haha; it's the little things in life!

I treated myself to a nice BLT for lunch which took me back to the days of uni where my addiction to them was insane and I was eating them practically every day, although this one wasn't as good.

The rest of the day was spent snoozing, relaxing in the dorm, on the internet catching up with friends, re-packing my bag with the freshly washed clothes and chilling with the gang.

For the last supper, Annika, Mona, Tom, Alan and I all met at the restaurant and had a meal. It was a great way to end the two weeks as they were the people I'd been with my first night on South Sea Island at the very beginning, although that felt like ages ago!

I treated myself to a Sneak on the Beach which is like a Sex on the Beach but made with pineapple juice instead and it went down far too easily! I ordered the chicken taco and then we all shared a slice of chocolate cake and a slice of cheesecake which was yummy!

Kevin had been in bed for about 2 days with an ear infection that was so bad he couldn't hear us or speak but he ventured out of the dorm for the first time and had some chips with us before going back to bed. The rest of us chatted for a few hours with the boys getting more drinks in and then we all eventually returned to our dorms for bed, after agreeing that Tom, Mona, Annika and I would meet for breakfast, although Alan was staying somewhere else so planned to meet us later in the day.

Where had that time gone?! It was finally the day to leave Fiji and head over to New Zealand and start my adventure there. I got up, dressed and met the others for breakfast where there was a frustratingly long line to wait for the toast machine. It was still chucking it down so we couldn't do an awful lot apart from wait around inside for the day.

After I'd made sure everything was packed in my dorm, I decided to call Izzy for a catch up. She was with Ellie and the other Izzy chilling so they filled me in on what they'd been up to and asked me about Fiji. I told them how much I'd loved it and Izzy was telling me how tanned I'd got since we last FaceTimed which I was feeling pretty pleased about! After an hour, I told them I'd better go and check out as I was an hour late so I waved them all goodbye, grabbed my stuff and walked it to reception.

I handed them my door key but asked if I could keep the towel to shower before I left in the afternoon which they said was fine. After chucking my bag in the luggage storage, I found the gang sat around a table so joined them.

Tom and I sat watching Love Actually on my iPad until we had to wave him goodbye where he was getting the bus to spend his last few days in Suva.

Surprise surprise, we got hungry again so Annika, Mona, Alan and I ordered some lunch. I got the lamb wrap which was really tasty and then we all sat catching up on bits and bobs with me uploading and formatting my blog and writing in my journal. Kevin came out and joined us for a bit to eat some lunch and write his journal and then he went back to bed where he still wasn't feeling brilliant.

Time whizzed by and at 3pm, Mona was the first one to leave. We carried on doing journals for the afternoon and Alan had gone back to his hostel for a bit to return later and catch up before we left. Annika and I planned on getting the same taxi at about 6.30pm to go to the airport as our flight times were close together. I left Annika with all my stuff and hit the shower to feel fresher for my flight.

When I got out, I had three missed calls from a Fiji number. The hostel wouldn't let me use their phone to return the call so Alan leant me his but I couldn't get through, despite trying a few times. I use the app TuGo with O2 which uses the minutes and messages from my contract meaning I can call for free when connected to wifi. The first few times it didn't work but I finally got connected and they told me there was a 2 hour delay on my flight so I could get to the airport later (these calls later came through as a £35 bill even though I'd used the app so I wasn't happy!) I also had an email which came through from them to tell me about the delay. I told Annika there was no point me going with her as there wasn't any wifi at the airport and Dan had said it was pretty shit with nothing there so I stayed with Alan instead.

When I walked over to reception to look at the screen with the flight times, I asked them why mine didn't say it was delayed after I'd received the phonecalls and an email. They rang someone who said it wasn't delayed and that I should get to the airport so it all became a bit of a rush where they quickly summoned a taxi and I had to grab all my belongings and say goodbye to Alan who knew how frustrated and agitated I was with the whole situation and had tried to cheer me up.

The journey thankfully didn't take long and my driver was funny and chatty, although his car was pretty worse for wear with his window broken and the rain slashing in so I had to sit on one side to stop myself from getting wet in the back. He dropped me off in a pool of water where the rain was relentless and I made my way into the check-in desks.

There was no mention at all of a delay when I checked in and the lady said it should be on time. I walked through security and bumped into Annika whilst I was browsing duty free.

I bought myself a Burger King meal and sat down to eat it to tide me over, wandered around some of the other shops and then saw Annika again so went and sat with her and a couple of the other girls who had been at Smugglers.

It took an hour for them to announce that my flight was delayed by 2 hours which was a pain and they called my name over the tannoy so I had to go over to the desk. Luckily, it was nothing to worry about; turned out they'd had to switch my seat so they just needed to give me the new ticket.

Annika's flight to LA was announced as having a delay too only hers was 4 hours. She was then panicking as it meant she would miss her connection so she left to go and chat to the staff to see what she could find out. They gave her a voucher for food and drink worth 30 dollars and she gave me a bottle of water where she said she wasn't going to use it all.

Airport staff wandered around handing out blankets and pillows and everyone was just sat bored stiff waiting, so much so I even paid 3 dollars for some wifi. At midnight, they announced my plane had arrived and I could finally board; wahoo!

I was on the first row after business class where I'd been moved so I had plenty of leg room which I was thrilled about. It took a while for them to get going and before we'd taken off I'd drifted off to sleep where I was knackered!

Sadly this was short lived as once we had taken off, the air steward woke me up to hand me a blanket which I wasn't thrilled about. He then woke me up again to hand me a tray of food which put me in a bit of a grump but where I was awake, I thought I might as well eat it. There was coleslaw to start and a pasta with sauce which I polished off before falling back to sleep.

Thankfully the flight was only about 3 hours long so it went really quickly and before I knew it, the Captain was announcing that it was time to start our descent into Auckland.

Here's a positive quote to leave you on for today: "People who wonder if the glass is half empty or half full miss the point. The glass is refillable."

Ciao for now! Xxx