HAPPY AS A CLAM
Dive with the world’s largest bivalves, or just kick back, in Fiji fair
CONSIDER the giant clam. A simple bivalve of two equal shells connected by a hinge joint and ligament. They weigh up to 750 pounds and measure as much as 4 feet from end to end. A single giant clam can filter hundreds of quarts of water in a day, eliminating the microscopic spawn of the reef-ravaging crown-of-thorns starfish, helping to preserve the underwater splendor of the South Pacific.
Prized for its meat in Japan, France and Pacific Island nations, the giant clam is an endangered species that is best experienced in sanctuaries like the Makogai Mariculture Research Centre in Fiji, where juvenile clams are cultivated and raised in fisheries until they are large enough to transplant to a marine-protected area. Many resorts get in on the action and contribute to the task of repopulating the sea with these armchairsized wonders of the world.
Keeping the clams safe is one reason that you can visit Makogai but can’t stay. And why would you want to when 6 miles to the south is Wakaya Club & Spa, one of Fiji’s most exclusive resorts.
Take a swing at the 9-hole golf course or hit Breeze Spa offering a wide variety of body treatments, facials and massages combining pure coconut oil and local flower extracts. Afterward, dine on award-winning Chef Marielle Hajj’s stone venison, slow cooked on volcanic rocks and served with pon su, chimichurri and fried rice. Or, try the specialty curry crab.
Accommodations range from luxurious beach bures, such as the 2,400-squarefoot Yasi ($3,500 per night), featuring a secluded garden with a waterfall, to Sega Na Leqa, the Fijian phrase for “No worries” ($11,000 per night). It has a private gym and an exercise pool, a spacious living area, a state-ofthe-art kitchen, a library, a grand foyer and a great hall, as well as a private guest suite (WakayaResort.com).
If Makogai isn’t on your itinerary, you can find a pair of giant clams at the end of the pier near the Wakaya‘s dive shop. But if for some reason bivalves aren’t your top priority and you find your budget taxed by the Edenic splendor of Wakaya, you could ship off to the Royal Davui, a tiny island retreat a short ferry ride from Suva. It offers 16 luxurious villas and bungalows accommodating couplesonly, a steal at roughly $1,000 per night including meals (RoyalDavuiFiji.com).
Diving off their pier you’ll find thick black zigzags in the coral bed. Those are the mouths of smaller giant clams blending in with the rocky bottom. Unlike their larger kin, the smaller shellfish can fully close, so keep your hands to yourself or you’ll wind up sleeping with the fishes.
An excursion to the cay is a unique opportunity to lunch in the middle of the ocean without the benefit of a boat. Enjoy a prepacked meal under an umbrella and swim the shallows or just lie in the sand until the tide comes in.
Cap off the day with a sunset champagne cruise. Watch the sky catch fire as the clear cool water takes on impossible shades of teal. Arriving back at the Banyan Bar & Restaurant (named for the tree that serves as a canopy), order okonomiyaki with prawn and follow it with chateaubriand of yagara beef with a béarnaise sauce, some of Chef Joji Bakaso’s best. Choose from a wine list including labels from New Zealand and Australia, or settle for the local Fiji Bitter, a smooth lager known to the locals as Fiji Baby.
When the time comes to leave, you can board the ferry back to Suva or go in style: a chopper.
Pull back from Davui for a bird’s eye view of paradise, a green speck in a universe of blue. But if you’re still not ready to leave, top the trip off at Vomo Island, a short cab and ferry ride from Nadi International Airport. There you can take a bure on the beach for $1,300 a night, and dive the reefs on the northwest side (VomoFiji.com).
And if all those fish make you hungry, the Rocks Restaurant is just up the beach — it only serves adults. The Reef Restaurant on the other side of the island is where you take the kids.
Between them is a 9-hole golf course, in case you want to work off lunch.
In the morning, the sunrise points you home. Boat to the mainland before catching your flight on Fiji Air.
Your tropical sojourn has ended but hopefully, after a journey through paradise, you now know why they say clams are so happy..