Bula!!

It's 30 degrees in Fiji - welcome to the Pacific! 

After calling to check my flight details at Air Pacific's office in Auckland and casually mentioning that I was in the media industry, I was upgraded to business class and am also enjoying the business lounges in New Zealand and Fiji. Although I'm making the most of this (of course!!), I do think it's quite sad that in general, so many problems go unfixed until somebody says they're from the media and then organisations pipe up and don't want to make themselves look bad through subsequent possibility of negative publicity. I've seen it happen a few times in my short stint so far as a reporter.

Anyway, speaking of business, tomorrow things are really going to get exciting. Everything I've been planning for the last few months should come together when I arrive, hot and lacking sleep, at 6.30am to the largest coral atoll in the world. Wahoo, finally!!!

Tomorrow I'll hopefully have pictures of this largely unknown paradise and will no doubt fill you in on the boat, the crew and all that jazz.


For now though, I'd like to draw your attention to the links on the right hand side of the page. While I've been doing my trip research, trawling the net, these are some the organisations and websites that have stood out. All have a pacific or environmental focus in some way, but I guess what's cool is that I don't think they force their views down your throat - they are more just interesting insights and valid observations.

Also, big ups to Sustainable Coastlines - Pangaea Exploration's New Zealand partner organisation - who just won an award at the Ministry for the Environment's Green Ribbon awards evening. The guys from SC work really hard to let Kiwi's know the importance (and fun of) cleaning up our beaches.

In a later post I will piece together an interview I had with Camden Howitt, one of the key Sustainable Coastline members, who went on the second leg of the Pacific survey trip around Rarotonga.

Bula for now!

No adventure starts with things going to plan..

It's 7.15pm. My flight left at 2.30pm. Well... it was supposed to. But, “due to engineering problems” or so the loudspeaker keeps saying, I’m still sitting in Auckland Airport’s departure lounge. C’est la vie I guess. Since when have adventures ever started smoothly anyway! That would just be predictable.

One thing that being stranded here does is give me some time to put this trip in to perspective. The build up to leaving has been crazy hectic, and sometimes it's easy to forget the bigger picture of why I signed up for this crazy-holiday-type-thing in the first place.

So, after pondering and walking round in circles at the airport for a little too long,  I've come up with these goals for the next four weeks:

- Take every opportunity on offer, even if it scares me a tad!

- Chat with as many people as possible to get a broad view on conservation issues in the Pacific.

- Link what I learn back to New Zealand and its association with the broader mare pacficum

- Blog everyday where possible, with a mixture of interviews, pictures, stories and personal excerpts.

- Not miss my certain someone too much

- Send postcards (I'm so bad at that!!) 

Oh and it would be nice to come back with a tan that replaced the Auckland winter shade of white. hehe.

Just before boarding at 1pm when thing were still going to plan!