After a few too many nights sleeping in a van, Louise and I felt we needed a vacation from the vacation so to speak (yes – travelling does take its toll…). Alas, from New Zealand we went on holiday to Fiji. True to form, we left booking accommodation etc. to the last minute and only got around to it the day before we were flying out (the difference is that in Fiji, you cannot quite just go out to an island and hope to find a vacant bungalow on the beach for US$10, like in Thailand or Cambodia). Luckily enough for us, there was still room in Paradise, although we had to stay four nights in a five star resort on the main island (what a nightmare…) before we finally got out to Fiji’s main attraction – the islands.
We were staying on Tokoriki in the Mamanuca system of islands. The Mamanucas are quite handy because even though they are situated only one and a half hours by boat (or 15 min from the airport with helicopter if you have cash to spare) from the main land, they still have that island vibe. Think long white beaches, crystal clear water and fantastic coral reefs to dive and snorkel.
The island hotel turned out to be an interesting story in itself, as it had just been bought out of receivership by a group of Hong Kong based investors. The downside of this was that there still was some catch-up maintenance to be done, mainly cosmetics though as far as we could tell. However, the flip-side was that we enjoyed a very reasonable rate and that we were treated absolutely amazingly. We had opted for one of the cheaper rooms in the resort, but were lucky enough to get upgraded to a honeymoon suite on our third day (we got to know the general manager over a drink on our second evening), which meant that we spent eight nights in a very nice room with a lovely view of the sea and with a lovely private spa bath. This felt really nice after camping for so long and we sure will miss it now that we leave for LA, and South America. We sure will miss the general manager, John, as well – a really nice guy. He took us island touring (business trip for him – jolly ride for us) and we played monopoly together. Clearly, turning around a resort is not an easy undertaking, but we wish him the best of luck and hope to come back to check on the progress at some point. Monopoly was THE game for us on Fiji. Louise beat me three times. Unbelievable! She is one astute real estate investor! It did not even help that I thoroughly analysed which streets have the best yields using excel (yes – and no surprises there by the way, Mayfair (Sw. Norrmalmstorg) is the street to own), she still beat me…
Apart from us swimming in the pool and off the beach, and kayaking around the island, I took an advanced dive course, consisting of five different dives. This was absolutely fantastic. The marine life in Fiji is amazing. Every day, I was more and more impressed. Among other things, I saw sharks (Louise did too, snorkling), lobsters, turtles, mantas, crabs and all varieties of coral reef fish. The best thing though was when the divemaster Bill looked at me during a dive, pointed out a big lobster and asked me (using sign language) if I would like to eat it. Obviously I accepted, and he caught it with his bare hands and brought it up for Louise and I to enjoy for lunch. You can’t beat that for fresh seafood and it was a nice surprise for Louise who did not know about it until it got served up. Also, not having caught any fish (Louise did get a small one, but of the variety 'More Bait')on our fishing trip the day before suddenly felt more bearable. Thanks again Bill for all the lovely dives and a great meal!
All in all, Fiji is really a slice of paradise on earth. Definitely worth the splurge if you can go there. If you like beautiful sunsets, long beaches, crystal clear water, friendly smiling people and good cocktails, then this is the place to be. And let’s be honest, who doesn’t like these things?
Lars
