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20 May 2025
Fiji
We offer a wide choice of cheap flights to the Fiji together with Fiji hotels, tours and self-drive itineraries.
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Fabulous Fiji, just what the weathergirl ordered…
Sian Lloyd tells of the trip that left her feeling ‘just like a nymphette from The Blue Lagoon’
1 Meeting the friendly locals 2 Fijian Kava is prepared 3 Swimming beneath the Bouma Falls
MY ARRIVAL IN FIJI was a seductive assault on the senses - warm smiles, bright pink orchid garlands and a melodic welcome in perfect harmony.
Half an hour later, after a chauffeured transfer from Nadi airport, I was in my designer villa at the Fiji Beach Resort and Spa managed by Hilton, tucked away on the Denarau Peninsula.
All I had to think about was which cocktail to order and whether to have a massage by the beach, the pool or in my room. Later came the dining decisions. A mango-scented chicken and chilli rock lobster at the waterfront restaurant?
Seductive assault on the senses
After two days of sunbathing and effortless luxury, even more seclusion beckoned. An hour’s plane ride from Nadi to the town of Labasa and then a thrilling 60 minute drive along Vanua Levu’s north coast brought me to Nukubati Island, the ultimate South Sea escape.
Nukubati has just seven bures, straw-roofed and quietly luxurious cabins, and is surrounded by a dazzling sandy beach and coral reef. Extreme chill-out time! I spent three happy-go-luckydays swimming, snorkelling, reading in my hammock and scoffing freshly-caught seafood.
A 30-minute boat ride takes you to the Great Sea Reef. Nukubati Island is the only resort in Fiji with access to this vast underwater treasure and it’s the dive holiday of a lifetime. Nukubati is especially sensitive to ecology.
The owners, Peter and Jenny Bourke, have built one of the largest solar power plants in the Pacific, so there’s an uninterrupted supply of electricity. Fresh water is either filtered rain water or comes from their desalination plant.
The local villagers regularly visit
Fruit and vegetables are organically grown on the island and meats come from free-range farms.
But it was time to move on to Qamea Resort and Spa in sultry Northern Fiji – more sophisticated and even the cuisine is a bit Californian. It’s the only resort on Qamea island and set in 100 acres of tropical landscaped gardens, bushland and jagged volcanic mountains.
The local villagers regularly visit for a special treat - meke. This traditional Fijian ceremony is a mix of dance and beautiful singing, interspersed with copious amounts of kava drinking.
On a trip to the Bouma Falls I swam under three spectacular waterfalls cascading through lush rainforest and managed to convince myself I was a nymphette straight out of the film The Blue Lagoon.
But that’s what Fiji does to you. I’ve had no massages to compare to Fijian ones, at the beachfront spa. With sea breezes caressing my face, the Pure Fiji products lulled me into a sense of total wellbeing.
Matangi Island was just a short boat trip away and this was where I would spend the last three nights. Matangi Resort, set on a 240-acre private estate, boasts cliffs which are part of a collapsed volcanic crater and are spectacular when viewed close up from the sea. The Douglas family, who own the resort, took me on a boat tour to see them, stopping for a picnic in Horseshoe Bay.
At a party to celebrate the building of a school library, we were invited to the Lovo traditionalfeast where food is wrapped in banana leaves and cooked on hot rocks under the ground.
Both feet were in paradise
We ate baked pork and fish, meat-stuffed taro leaves and onions cooked in coconut cream, roast sweet potatoes and breadfruit. I managed to walk off the calories by bush hiking among the fragrant ginger plants back at the resort.
On the day I left, I managed a quick visit to the International Dateline on the island of Taveun - one of the few places on dry land where you can have a foot in each day, but both in paradise.
My Welsh is better than my Fijian, but I know how to say Thank you, I’ll be back…
Vinaka Vakalevu Na Gade Mai Fiji!
