Pizza in the clear blue sea
Fact file
I’m a pizza lover, but this takes my love to a new level. On the horizon bobs a little buoyant bar, surrounded by the kind of turquoise water that is so clear, it feels like you can stare straight into the soul of the ocean. As we get closer, people begin to do flips off the second level. I can see a little clay pizza oven puffing away, and bodies flopped on oversized loungers.
It’s like finding a little pontoon in the middle of the ocean where all the cool kids hang out.
This place happens to be in Fiji, near the stunning Mamanuca Islands.
Cloud 9 opened in 2013 – quite literally a pipe dream for a bunch of surfers who wanted a platform to take a break from riding the nearby world-renowned Cloudbreak.
While it was initially opened to host surfers, word quickly spread, and the platform merged into a general party hub, with live music, a bar and pizza served throughout the day.
And that’s precisely what we find as our boat pulls up. The two-storey pontoon looks like it’s near its capacity of around 100 people, so space is at a premium.
We skip the drinks and decide to order our pizza right away, but there’s a bit of a wait.
If you were at Dominos or Pizza Hut, you might go sit in the car. Here, you can jump in the ocean to pass the time. The pontoon is surrounded by some of the clearest waters in Fiji.
We get out of the water after 30 minutes to find our pizza waiting. And it’s fantastic. The dough is made fresh each morning, with an Italian flair that’s a little unexpected when you’re bobbing in the middle of the Pacific.
But, forget the pizza, what we’re all really after is a slice of paradise: and this delivers. Cloud 9: A six-hour day trip, which includes pickup from Denarau Hotels, a return ferry transfer, 31⁄2 hours on Cloud 9, and a $40 food and drinks voucher, costs $166 a person. See: cloud9.com.fj.
Malamala Beach Club: A day trip, including bus, ferry and access to the island, costs $123. See malamalabeachclub.com.
Shark snorkelling: The trip costs $236 an adult or $136 a child. This includes transfers from hotels in Nadi or Port Denarau, a scenic return cruise on the Yasawa Flyer to Barefoot Kuata Island, lunch, the shark snorkel trip, and snorkel equipment. See ssc.com.fj/day-cruises. Getting there: Air New Zealand flies daily from Auckland, and seasonally from Wellington and Christchurch.
See airnz.co.nz.
Downpatrick