apriha.com » Trips

Fiji Diving Video

Andrew Riha — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 00:45:55 +0000

Recently I’ve been organizing my photos from the South Pacific, and in the process I came across my videos from diving in Fiji. Here’s a compilation that highlights the Great White Wall (in the Somosomo Strait near Taveuni) and the Shark Dive (in Beqa Lagoon near Suva).

The Great Untold Adventures of Yesteryear

Andrew Riha — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 02:53:51 +0000

Observant readers will remember a brief mention of Eurotrip III back towards the end of 2007, with no word since. (Sorry, things were busy.) Over the next few months I plan to remedy that and tell the tales about the trips that have taken place since then and that I haven’t had a chance to write about yet.

Included in this recap of past trips are Eurotrip III (Germany and Spain), a trip to Turkey (Istanbul and Ankara), a ski holiday in France, a road trip through the American West, and Eurotrip IV (Hungary, the Czech Republic, Germany, and Italy). Stay tuned!

Sydney

Andrew Riha — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 19:20:48 +0000

Throughout my time in Australia I made a total of three short stops in Sydney where I stayed with Tristan and Adrienne. Tristo and Adro (as I colloquially call them) are great friends, and I consider myself very lucky to have met them. I became friends with Adrienne from my study abroad in Newcastle, and once she started dating Tristan, I somehow convinced him to befriend me as well. After a couple of beers in Newcastle and two years later I had the privilege of being one of Tristan’s groomsmen in his and Adrienne’s wedding. (This is the wedding where I met Don from Perth.) They got married in Adrienne’s homestate of North Carolina and before you could say “baby wombat,” they were on a plane back to Australia to start a life together down under. After my visits, I’m happy to report that they’re doing great.

In addition to visiting Tristan and Adrienne in Sydney, I visited Joe and Annette, who Jimmy and I met scuba diving in Fiji off Taveuni about three months earlier. It was nice to catch-up and reminisce about the Great White Wall.

Unfortunately I missed Adrienne’s birthday during our time studying abroad four years ago (I was in the Outback), so it was a top priority of mine to be in Sydney to help celebrate this time around. It was quite the pub golf pub crawl!

Alas, the day after Adrienne’s birthday celebration it was time for me to leave Australia and continue my South Pacific adventure. Next stop, Apia, Samoa. And with that, consider this South Pacific trip a success (and blogged)!

Australian Road Trip

Andrew Riha — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 05:33:31 +0000

After Perth I flew back to Sydney to meet my dad and brother for an Australian road trip. (This was their first time in Australia, so what better way to see it than by driving?) We rented one of the garishly decorated Wicked campervans and started our trip in Sydney before we continued onto Canberra (Australia’s capital), Melbourne, and the Great Ocean Road. Hanging out with Clare in Melbourne, a new friend from Fiji about three months earlier, was the highlight of this part of the trip!

We then turned north to visit the Grampians National Park before we entered the Outback on the way to Broken Hill. My dad and brother saw their first wild kangaroo in the Grampians, and little did we know at the time that we would be seeing/dodging many, many more of them in the Outback.

From the “remote” town of Broken Hill, we turned back east to Newcastle via Dubbo and the wineries of the Hunter Valley. Here I introduced my dad and brother to my Newcastle friends, and at this point especially it was quite surreal to be with family so far from home!

Finally, after about 3000 km of driving, we returned to Sydney where I said goodbye to my dad and brother until my return home in August. The road trip complete, it was time to help a good friend celebrate her birthday…

Perth

Andrew Riha — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 16:41:30 +0000

I met Don at a wedding in North Carolina a couple of years ago, and now he’s living in Perth, the capital of Western Australia. Visiting Don was a given since I was primarily in Australia to visit friends, plus I’ve always wanted to see the mystery behind one of the world’s most isolated cities.

I spent a week in and around Perth hanging out with Don and his friends. We were lucky to have unseasonably warm and sunny weather while I was there in early June, and when you put everything together, it felt like 1985 in suburban Los Angeles. Don showed me the sights, and when Saturday night rolled around, we joined the thousands of Perthites in the bars and clubs. My drink of choice? Redback.

Newcastle

Andrew Riha — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 04:43:54 +0000

Now that I’ve finished blogging about the Cooks, it’s time to wrap-up the story of my South Pacific trip with a few posts on Australia. The story left off with Scone, after which Tristan, Chris, Brent, and I headed back to Newcastle. Here I spent a week reminiscing with old friends and revisiting the old haunts, which was one of the main reasons for my trip to the South Pacific. After spending almost two months on the road at this point of my trip, it was great to be “home,” or at least back in a place I called home for half a year.

Aitutaki II

Andrew Riha — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 15:55:01 +0000

Here’re some additional photos from Aitutaki and its lagoon.

Aitutaki I

Andrew Riha — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 05:57:38 +0000

When I booked my flight to Aitutaki in June, I knew that I was saving the best for last, but I had no idea just how good it would be.

As the last major stop on my South Pacific trip, I spent a total of 9 days on the small island of Aitutaki based at Paradise Cove, and although the island is plenty beautiful and tropical in and of itself, the real attraction here is the Aitutaki Lagoon. The lagoon is filled with 15 small, uninhabited islands that are the spitting image of the perfect desert islands. The only real way to see the lagoon is to take day trips on small boats, and since the lagoon is regarded as one of the most beautiful in the South Pacific, I took three of these trips – two with Aitutaki Adventures (the Yellow Boat) and one with Teking. In addition to stops on the islands, the lagoon tours also included snorkeling and all-you-can-eat buffets featuring yellowfin tuna, wahoo, fruits, and salads. The yellowfin tuna prepared by Aitutaki Adventures was quite literally the best fish I’ve ever had, and I’m already planning a return trip just to taste that fish again someday.

Below are some pictures from a lagoon cruise with Aitutaki Adventures and around Aitutaki itself.

Rarotonga

Andrew Riha — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 23:46:23 +0000

My next hops after Samoa brought me to Auckland for a night, then to Rarotonga, which is the capital island of the Cook Islands. While on Rarotonga, I spent about a week scuba diving, hiking, driving my hired scooter around, and enjoying the relatively cooler “winter” sun on the island’s beaches.

‘Upolu Redux

Andrew Riha — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 22:52:06 +0000

Following Ofu and American Samoa, I spent a night CouchSurfing in Apia with Paul. Paul was a fantastic host, and our Friday night program included the Zodiac Bar (where I quite coincidentally bumped into an Australian friend) and Paddles Night Club. On Saturday we toured the island in Paul’s 4WD with Dave (another CouchSurfer) and Henrik. Indeed, it was another extremely positive CouchSurfing experience!