Fiji Islands

I had to pinch myself a few times to realise that this was classified as a ‘backpackers.’ Long gone are the days that my parents spoke of – Sleeping on paper thin mattresses with 32 other people and a light that doesn’t work – on the contrary!
Replace that image with a huge pool with swim up bar (and $10 happy hour cocktails mind you!) A long white sandy beach with hammocks swinging between palm trees, and tiki touches lighting up the sunset over this islands.
When arriving off the ferry, guests are met by a golf buggy style train (I already knew this was going to be a highlight before I even got on the thing) that winds its way down the riggety jetty to the main reception area. Guests are given a tour and a talk through of the main facilities – you know, the ‘usual’ – Lagoon pool and lap pool, spa, free kayak hire free mini golf, gym etc.
As you can probably imagine, by this stage I was well and truly ready for the induction to finish so I could get out there and start using all these things!$30 a night? Are the serious?
Another highlight was the sheer excitement that spread over a group of German boys (who were also checking in) faces as the receptionist explained that anyone staying in the barefoot lodge was able to upgrade to the hotel full buffet hot breakfast for only $10. Priceless.
After our briefing, I meandered up to the barefoot lodge, and I suddenly was overcome by memories of being on summer camp – the huge wooden lodge with cheerfully painted doors was pretty cruisy, if not a bit hot – fans only – but hey, with an island with facilities like this, who is going to be hanging around in their dorm?
The evening ended with an $8 pub style meal among new friends, playing the free game of trivia on the beach, and then enjoying a cocktail in the spa under the stars - This has to be flashpacking at it’s very finest!

"I had the pleasure of returning to Fiji and refreshing my memory about how beautiful the Mamanuca's and the Yasawa Islands really are. I was in Fiji for 12 days and visited 29 resorts, overnighting at a variety of accommodations ranging from basic village style, through to 5 star.

I had a chance to see a lot more resorts this visit compared to my last visit in 2007, and while I went to places like Treasure Island, Castaway Island, Malolo Island Resort, Liku Liku, Mana Island, Octopus Resort, Kuata Island Resort, Viwa Resort, Safe Landing and Nabua Lodge, I was able to revisit the resorts I went to in 2007 such as Bounty Resort, South Sea Island, Beachcomber Resort, Waya Lai Lai, White Sandy Resort, Korovou Eco-haven, Boataira Resort, Manta Ray Resort, Coral View, Oarsmans Bay, Nanuya Island and Navutu Stars, and see the positive changes they were making to the accommodation venue's within the resort.

The 2 that stood out the most for me would be the new dorms and bure's at Coral View Resort on Tevewa Island. They are also in the process of building new shower and toilet facilities for the guests staying the dorms and they have also tiled the dining area which use to be sand. They have plans of placing a pool in the resort and refurbishing the bar area. Coral View was one of my favourite resorts to stay at in 2007 and remains my favourite for any backpacker or young couple wanting the village feel while having mod cons such as electricity 24/7.

The second resort that had made significant changes is Waya Lai Lai Resort. They are in the process of replacing all of the old bure's on the beachfront with new ones and have turned the staff accommodation lodge on top of the hill into guest accomodation as well as a new shower and toilet facility for the guests staying in the dorms. Waya Lai Lai has a great beach to read a book in a hammock under the palm trees on the beach and has access to the summit walk which is great for early morning sunrises or sunsets.

With the new addition of Octopus Resort and Viwa Resort to the Awesome Adventures Fiji and Coconuts and Coral packages, I was extremely impressed with what each of them had to offer.

Octopus has a large variety of accommodation options to suit all budgets from dorm to 5 staf. It's a very clean, samll, family orientated resort with a beautiful beach, and they even have surf boards you can borrow, which I found was the only place that did such a thing. Meals are a la carte and for any backpacker, this is not a resort to be missed as it is excellent value.

Viwa Resort is a 1 hour private boat ride from Octopus. You can't even see the island on the horizon from Octopus. Viwa is surrounded by such aqua blue water it s almost hard to look at, and reef that has some amazing diving as well with their own run and operated dive team.

The resort was opended in November 2008 and is strictly for adults only, and has all the mod cons available such as hot water, electricity and air conditioning. Bures, are beautiful with an inside/outside bathroom and your very own verandah to kick back on your deck chair on. All meals are a la carte and a continental breakfast in included in the rate. As this is a fairly lenghtly distance to travel to get there, you would want to stay for at least 5 days if not more.

Getting away from the resorts, I had the opportunity to visit villages, where the village chief's permission is needed to entre and granted to you if present him with a gift, which is usually kava. The bigger the bunch, the more chances of him letting you in. Once we have a kava ceremony with him, I went to visit the village school, where the kids did alot of traditional dancing, sang to us in Fijian which sounds amazing, and then practiced their english by breaking up into their respective year groups and singing songs like "Little Peter Rabbit" and "If you're happy and you know it". It was great to see how they live and are educated away from the tourist areas.

My ultimate favourite food in Fiji is their traditional dish called Kokoda ( pronopunced Kokonda) which is cubed fresh fish that is 'cooked' in vinigar and lemon juice for 24 hours, and then mixed with finely cut spanish onion, capsicum, tomato and corianda, and then presented in a fresh coconut with coconut cream mixed through it! YUM! Another favorite is their lovo's which all the food is cooked under ground and is buffet style with dishes to suit all walks of life.

I was pleased to see the end of my trip in Fiji purely to stop eating so much food.

Just one of the many highlightes of my trip would of been snorkelling with the Manta Rays at Manta Ray Resort. From wing tip to wing tip would of been at least 16 feet in length and there were about 4 or 5 of them swimming magestically around us.

On the last day at Navutu Stars, I finally had the opportunity to relax in the morning before my boat departure at 1:30pm and was waved goodbye by the staff of the resort while they were singing the farewell song that you are given at each resort upon departure.

As most of the reef in our world has been subject to impact of both nature and human, our own South Sea Island is affected by this as well. South Sea Island Reefs is stressed and with reports obtained by biologists in our Environment Team, a plan has been set to both restore Coral and also plant some clams.

Tourist from all over the world come to view our spectacular coral reefs and the tropical rainforests of the ocean, we are very proud of them, and we want to protect them so future generations can appreciate them.

In this project we are assisting this reef with its rejuvenation. Clams that were once in healthy abundance are now almost non-existent. They are as important on a coral reef as they act as natural biological filters, cleaning the water and making it optimal for coral to grow. So by adding these babies into the system we are promoting the natural growth of coral. They themselves are also an attraction, as we will be able to watch them grow into beautiful giants. We also thank Ministry of Agriculture & Forestry for donating 36 clams which is an added bonus to the South Sea Island Reef. We are also planting the tips of broken coral collected here on the reef, we have made a bed for them to grow on and in about a year we will relocate them onto the reef. We have also made fish houses which are an attraction to fishes.

We hope that you come back one day to see how these clams have bloomed and appreciate the color we are hoping to restore back onto the reef. On a bigger scale, we are also trying to raise awareness for our coral reefs as they are being threatened globally. A workshop has also been organized for the people of Vuda and this have been the first conducted in this area and has been successful.

By taking a small step here on South Sea Island, we also hope to encourage the protection of reefs all over Fiji.

Thank you,

Many visitors to Fiji opt to stay on the mainland and laze around the hotel pool and unfortunately miss out on a lot of what this beautiful Pacific nation has to offer.

On our first day in Fiji we headed straight for Denarau Marina and boarded the Yasawa Flyer. As the name suggests, the vessel services the Yasawa group of islands consisting of 20 ancient volcanic islands. It is jaw-dropping to sit back and take in the view as we pass these gigantic islands surrounded by stunning white beaches and lagoons of coral that make you want to jump overboard and start exploring.

Upon arriving at our destination for the night at Tavewa Island, one of the northern most islands, and were greeted on shore by every member of the resort with a genuine Fijian smile, a cool drink and the welcoming Bula song. After exploring the island we are served a traditional Fijian meal and spend the evening dancing, laughing and making new friends. By the time it comes for bed, the weather is still warm enough to make the many hammocks lining the beach almost tempting. This really is a five star location.

The next morning we were all looking forward to our adventure out to the Sawailau caves. Just a short speed-boat ride further out into the remote islands and we are faced with great lime stone walls that leave us in awe. On goes the swimming gear and in we go. It was amazing to see how deep the water is inside these caves. For a little more excitement there is an underwater swim through tunnel where you surface on the other side in complete darkness and are shown around by the guide with his torch.

Our journey then took us back down the chain of islands to Naviti Island and our next resort where all their produce is grown locally in what they call “Iteni” meaning “The Garden of Eden”. We were lucky enough to be invited by the staff to be included in their Kava ceremony and enjoyed the evening by the beach under the stars talking and drinking Kava. After a good nights sleep it was time to meet the local sea life. Just a short walk from the shore into the sea you are greeted by some of the most amazing coral and fish you will ever see when snorkelling. The visibility is crystal clear and there is no shortage of new life to experience.

It was time to board the Yasawa Flyer again and head down to Waya LaiLai Island where we were again greeted by the locals singing the Bula song (which never gets old) and soon heading out on the water again to feed the sharks. The local guide seems to have no fear as he dives off the speeding boat with his spear and disappears, not to be seen again until he lets us know he has found the sharks. Sitting on the bottom of the ocean floor with no scuba gear on, he holds onto the small reef shark like it’s a pet while he hand feeds it with the fish he’d caught with his spear. During the evening, the local villagers preformed their traditional dance and we turned in for the night knowing we had an early start.

We woke the next morning about an hour before sunrise to commence our hike up the great peak of Waya LaiLai in time to watch the sun rise from the east starting the new day. The views from up here were unlike anything else, looking out over the vast Yasawa Islands. We had now finished our time in the Yasawas, but had one last stop before finishing our trip.

The Mamanuca Islands tend to be a little smaller in size then the Yasawas but still offer plenty to see and picturesque beaches to match anything else on the planet. Lying to the west of Nadi they are a lot closer to the mainland and are a more popular destination for tourists with some of the larger resorts located here.

The highlight of the Mamanucas was the day sailing trip on board “Seaspray”. Leaving from Mana, Seaspray sets sail and we soon arrive at one of the islands where we were treated with the opportunity to visit a typical island village and see what life is like living on a tropical island. We then soon set sail again and made it across to Modriki Island which is one of the few remaining uninhabited islands and location of Tom Hanks’ film Castaway. As the sun was starting to come down, it was soon time to bring a close to our Fiji adventure.

As we cruise back to Denarau with a cool drink in our hand, watching the islands behind us, we chat about the fun times we’ve had over the last few days and know we won’t soon forget our adventure into the real Fiji.