Find your own paradise on Fiji’s islands
Fiji adventure made unforgettable by locals
TAVEUNI, Fiji — If Fiji was nothing more than sand and sea, palm fronds and flowers, it wouldn’t matter which South Pacific beach resort you visited. Every vacation would be just another ho-hum adventure.
But after 15 years and as many visits to this 333-island nation, I’ve got a good idea why each destination promises a unique experience. What’s the secret? It’s the Fijians themselves, proud to be Fijian and proud to show you their country.
Sau Bay Resort, on Vanua Levu, the second-largest island, was the first stop on my most recent trip to Fiji. Still jet-lagged, I was sitting on the deck of the lodge, gazing over the bay, when the bushes below me suddenly stirred and two hands and a pair of clippers appeared, followed by a head.
Then the head looked up, saw my feet and without missing a beat asked me what I thought of the umbrella-like trees towering over the lodge. Thus was my introduction to the owner, Nigel Douglas, a Scotsman by ancestry and a fifth-generation Fijian.
“These are rain trees,” he said, affectionately patting a gnarled trunk. “I took one look and I knew this was the place for me. You don’t often see them so close to the shore — saltwater, you know — but they’re thriving. And look at these tiny white flowers. These bushes are rare, but native.” He paused, scanning the hillside. “This was bare when we bought it. Carroll and I planted everything you see.”
I’d already met Carroll, who emerged from her garden to show me Sau Bay’s four ocean-view bures (i.e. cottages), each equipped with big beds, mosquito netting, private baths, coffee makers, a cookie jar and air conditioning.
Casual but courteous, the Douglases know how to make travelers feel at home. On most mornings, Carroll worked at her desk while divemaster Nigel suited up to guide the resort’s six other guests to Rainbow Reef and the Great White Wall, 10 minutes away by dive boat.
That left precious private time to kayak across the bay, hike uphill and (with assistant manager Sarah as guide) visit nearby Kioa Island, the adopted home of Polynesian immigrants from Tuvalu, where rising oceans are washing away their villages.
Four days later it was time to leave Sau Bay, this time to go to Tides Reach Resort, on Taveuni, Fiji’s Garden Isle.
Expecting a clerk and a check-in desk, I was welcomed like royalty as the staff — 10 handsome Fijians — lined up with hearty “bulas” and firm handshakes. “You must be thirsty,” said bartender William Celua, eyes twinkling, big smile, handing me Fiji’s traditional welcome drink, fresh coconut water topped with a flower.
Just 4 years old, Tides Reach is still growing, adding two bures and a dive shop later this year. The bures are sleek and simple, uncluttered white with minimalist furnishings and bold Asian and Fijian art. The main lodge, airy and spacious with two open-air sides, looks out over a sandy beach and the bluest of blue water.
“Some people don’t want to do anything but relax,” said guest relations manager Paul Gonebeci, nodding toward a guest on the beach, reading a book under an umbrella.
With a free afternoon ahead, Gonebeci suggested snorkeling around Honeymoon Island, at the end of the bay. Following sports guide Niu Lebaivalu into water as clear as glass, I had my first look at the coral damaged when Cyclone Winston roared over Fiji in February 2016.
Clumps of newly grown coral, yellow, beige and red, looked healthy. But you couldn’t miss the piles of dead coral ripped out by wind and waves.