Fiji’s 333 islands prepare for Kiwis’ return
Fiji’s tourism industry is taking on conservation initiatives as it waits to welcome New Zealanders back to its friendly shores.
Though it’s hard to think of a more beautiful place to do it, Fiji’s vibrant tourism operators have not been sitting back and relaxing in that year-round sunshine while the outside world has ground to a halt.
Instead, its industrious and innovative people are keeping the ‘Bula Spirit’ positive, coming up with ways to make the most of the enforced downtime. Several leading tourism operators have used the opportunity while the islands are quiet to work on some local conservation initiatives, so, when the time comes to welcome New Zealanders and other visitors again, there will be new systems in place to help care for Fiji’s 333 pristine islands.
And as well as offering training and employment opportunities for locals at a time when the country’s economy is suffering from the fallout of the pandemic, these programmes offer Kiwis an insight into what sort of sustainable tourism experiences they can take part in when they next holiday in Fiji.
The new initiatives are being led by Volivoli Beach Resort’s dive programme, Octopus Resort’s Hills2Ocean programme and Captain Cook Cruises’ Tivua Island Coral Reef Restoration.
Volivoli Beach Resort, a Kiwi run resort in Rakiraki, on the northernmost tip of the main island of Viti Levu, is offering a diving training programme where locals who have lost their tourism jobs as a result of Covid-19 can work off the costs of their dive training through an internship.
Once certified, the new recruits can join the team at Ra Divers, who are carrying out marine conservation work in the Bligh Water and VatuI-Ra Passage; a marine sanctuary. This stretch of water between Fiji’s two main islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, is famous for its abundance and diversity of marine life and offers some of the country’s best diving.
Over in the remote Yasawa Islands archipelago in the country’s west, Jodie Bly, dive manager at Octopus Resort on Waya Island, has launched the Hills2Ocean programme to teach locals diving, swimming and how to help out on Waya’s house reefs. The resort also hosts weekly beach clean-ups where plastic is collected and turned into crafts to sell to help pay for diving tuition.
Bly was inspired by her passion to create a bright future for both the villagers of Waya Island, and the protection of the waters surrounding the Yasawa Islands, a sparsely populated volcanic island chain that is largely untouched by the outside world.
In the Mamanuca Islands, small ship and day cruises operator Captain Cook Cruises has been working with their marine biologists at Tivua Island to help look after its 500 acres (202ha) of coral gardens through planting, monitoring and rejuvenation techniques.
The gardens have already benefited greatly from the extensive work done by the Captain Cook team during the lockdown period.
Captain Cook has also launched a coral rejuvenation programme, ‘Buy a Coral – Build a Reef’, where guests can buy a coral frag and plant it themselves -- like you would a seedling on land -- during a visit to the island.
Where the Bula Spirit awaits you Fiji, a quick three-hour plane ride from New Zealand, is looking to be in a small group of countries open to Kiwis when the Pacific Bubble is announced.
Each one of its 333 tropical islands, which are surrounded by clear turquoise waters teeming with brightly coloured fish, is spectacular. On, off or under the water, you’ll never be bored in this South Pacific paradise where the irresistible friendliness of the people is as warm as the weather.
A holiday in Fiji allows you to relax, reconnect and recharge in the place where the rainforests, waterfalls, coral reefs and sand cays are waiting to welcome you and your loved ones.
To begin researching your next trip to Fiji, visit Fiji.travel