Trips to the South Pacific are not a common occurrence in our lives and we made a point of seeing and doing as much as we could in our 6 weeks. Cycling and culture, hiking the steep topography, oceans and lakes were our focus. Fiji was our respite from all the activities before tackling the long flight sequence home.
We knew that rainy season ran from December to April. Despite the wacky winter North America has experienced, this seasonality in Fiji held true. It doesn’t just rain. I think the clouds descend, en masse, and coat the earth like a spilled bucket of paint. The ocean ran higher after it rained.
The road to the resort wound through the city of Nadi. Our driver, Avi pointed out some of the highlights as we drove through traffic.
Night falls quickly in Fiji. We left the airport in broad daylight and arrived at the resort in the pitch black.
We were greeted at the resort by drum beats and a trio of men shouting “Bula, Bula, Bula” and a welcoming cocktail. We walked down a long, covered promenade to register while the gentleman at the front put our bags on to a golf cart to take us to our suite.
Fiji time began. It must have taken half an hour to register.
We loved our suite. Each time we stayed at an Intercontinental facility we got an upgrade. Here we were on the quiet lagoon side room with a curtained patio, lounge, private outdoor soaker tub and clear lawn between us and the water. There were floor to ceiling windows and patio doors with wooden sliding panels to close us in for the night. We spent a lot of time reading on that patio. Ken caught some beautiful sunrises. I slept through them.
The back end of the room was a large spa bathroom. There were large closets, a comfortable king size bed and two less than comfortable wicker chairs. The coffee bar and fridge were kept well supplied by the woman who prepped the room twice a day. She was supplying us with more bottled water than we could consume in a day.
The resort wasn’t overly busy. We took advantage of the adults only pool each morning, walked the beach, sat on our patio and visited the three restaurants and bar. Though it was often cloudy, sunscreen was a must every day. I burnt the side of one leg even though I was sitting under an umbrella on the last day. There was live entertainment at two venues each evening. The lone fellow at the beach restaurant on the last evening was by far the best.
The landscaping was well done throughout the resort.
Breakfast was included and very nicely done. We tend to be early birds and got ocean facing tables each day. There was an a la carte hot food menu and well-done buffet.
The rest of our meals were expensive and hit or miss. Each restaurant had a limited menu, catering to multiple cultures and was somewhat influenced by raw material availability in the rainy season. I had several good mocktails at meal times but the one day we ordered margaritas was an eye opener. They seemed to be missing any hint of lime essence, triple sec or good tequila. The coffee was great, though it could take up to half an hour to prepare a cup. There was an ice cream bar. I visited it a few times.
I don’t think a beach vacation would be a good reason to visit this part of the world. It is beautiful but it is not substantially different than the Caribbean or Mexico.
And, with that, and an overnight stay in Auckland before we catch our flight home – the trip is done. We had a wonderful time in New Zealand and Fiji, and hope you have enjoyed following our adventures!
Ken and Phyllis