Pacific Islands
Oliver Driver provides the definitive guide for a perfect pre-second-child babymoon
Ababymoon, as you probably know, is a holiday where you and your partner escape to somewhere beautiful and relaxing before the only beautiful, relaxing experience you will ever have again is sitting in your car waiting briefly for your baby to wake up.
Truth be told, you never really appreciate your first babymoon. Before you’ve had a child, you have no idea what you are about to lose, and so a holiday to make the most of what you have no idea you have, doesn’t really make sense.
That’s why I recommend saving your pennies and waiting till you are about to have your second before going on a babymoon, when you know what hell you are about to enter into and will appreciate every single second of peace and quiet you can get.
Of course you will already have a baby/ toddler/child, which is why you need to go to Fiji. Nowhere on Earth is quite like a resort in Fiji when it comes to indulging in a pre-secondchild babymoon, mostly because of two things: cheap childcare and staff who love kids and will constantly take them off for walks and adventures so you can eat another bowl of hot chips in peace. So here is my definitive guide to a pre-second-child babymoon in Fiji.
No matter how old your child is, if they are under 2, ask for a bassinet seat on the plane. Of course you’re not going to use it, but it ensures you and your partner are seated with room for all the bags, toys, books and blankets you are going to need for the flight.
Bring a bottle. I don’t care if your kid doesn’t drink one or has been weaned off it already, nothing shuts up a toddler with sore ears faster than a warm bottle of milk.
The cabin staff will be able to fill your bottle with warm water before you take off; ask them to do this as soon as you are being seated or they get busy pointing at the exits. After that, snacks and books and walks up and down the aisle are going to be your reality for the next three hours, GETTING THERE airnewzealand.co.nz STAYING THERE ONLINE Oliver, Ella and Etta Driver at Paradise Cove Resort, Fiji (top). unless they go to sleep in your arms, in which case smile gratefully at your partner and grab your Kindle. If you don’t have a Kindle, buy one; you can read them one-handed.
Forget about watching movies, either of you. You cannot both do it, and you don’t want to start your holiday with one of you resenting the other because you got to watch Pork Pie while they were reading That’s Not My Reindeer for the four thousandth time.
The biggest thing, which I cannot stress enough, is do not worry what other people think. If your baby is crying while you walk up and down the aisle or is hurling peas at your neighbour, just remember that everyone has either been exactly where you are, or are not parents, and therefore should just shut up and thank the gods that they are not you, yet.
On arrival in Fiji, you need to get to your island. You can do this three ways: by boat, by helicopter or by seaplane. We were staying in the Yasawas, which is further out than a lot of the resorts, and because we were conscious of total travel time we opted for a seaplane with Pacific Island Seaplanes. They reduced a threehour trip involving buses and ferries into a 30-second walk across the airport and a half-hour flight.
The other benefit of a seaplane is travelling when you want to. It not only means you can get to the resort earlier but also often stay a night extra and still catch an early afternoon flight home. The flight also allows you a spectacular view of a Fiji you rarely see, hundreds of islands smattered across the brilliant blue of the Pacific — magical.