Our flight to Fiji was unbelievably cold. Mike and I left Hawaii at 80 degrees and flew into Nadi (pronounced Nahn-dee) at 85 degrees and humid. The flight attendants must have thought we needed to be chilled like a nice Riesling to actually enjoy our vacation. Good thing there were blankets. Last year our friends Bill and Christine invited us on a sea kayaking and snorkeling adventure in Fiji. It was a tough call, but we, of course, said yes (within 5 seconds of getting the email....).
After shivering the night away, we took a short shuttle ride to our hotel and spent the remainder of the day napping and lazing by the pool. The rest of our group (13 of us in total) turned up that afternoon and we had yummy Indian food while getting to know each other. This is my first experience with a guided tour. We booked with Tamarillo Active Travel.
The adventure began bright and early Easter morning. We took a twin prop called a Sea Otter to Kadavu (pronounced Can-daahh-voo) Island. The ride was gorgeous! Kadavu is surrounded by one of the largest barrier reefs in the world, which means no shortage of perfect coral, bright fish, and turquoise water. Of course, from the plane all I could see was the water and the waves breaking on the reef. The plane landed on a tiny runway with a little building acting as the terminal. There, we met one of our guides, Tony, (Marina led the charge from Nadi). We walked through the town on the only road on the island to a dock on the other side.
From there, it was an hour or so boat ride along a coastline of jungle with the occasional tiny village. Oh oh oh!!! And there were dolphins! The boat stopped so we could watch little spinner dolphins frolicking in the waves! That was the moment I knew this trip would be special. We rode into the bay near Matava Resort and were greeted by Maggie, the flamboyant and jubilant Fijian host. He served us lunch and assigned us rooms.
Our grassy bure was above the main resort area with a great view of the bay. There is no air conditioning, no WiFi or outlets, and power is solar. In other words, perfect! We were given a half hour to change and come back for our first adventure kayaking and snorkeling out in the bay. It was amazing! I could see the reefs and the fish from the kayak. After a loop around the island we jumped in. There were all sorts of tropical fish. The coral was healthy and vibrant. Mike did a bunch of diving down to look at things and I started to get brave too.
We woke early to clouds tinted pink by the sunrise. The crew headed out for the kayaks. Four of us stayed behind for a half day of diving. The first dive was a lot of the same things we saw snorkeling, but I saw a turtle. The second dive was a metaphor for life. Sometimes we fought the current just to move forward and saw very little. At other times, we were rocketing along like the turtles on Finding Nemo and wishing we could slow down to have a closer look. All of it was great though. We even saw a couple of small white tip reef sharks.
We met up with the group for lunch on the beach provided by the village of one of the Fijian guides. The Fijian guides were awesome! There were five: Koro, Isoa, Mere (Mary), Simone, and Weiss. Each of them was so much fun in a completely different way. Mere was beautiful and quick with a brilliant smile and a laugh. Isoa was thoughtful and kind. Koro was a troublemaker once he came out of his shell. We loved him for it. Simone was a character and asked that we call him James Bond. Weiss was just an all around great guy. By the end of the second day, they felt like old friends. We joked and splashed each other with paddles, made jungle calls to scare fruit bats out of the trees, and bonded over close calls with needlefish. That bears mentioning. Needlefish are these silver guys with pointy noses that get excited and... run?... fly?... uh not sure what to call it... they launch out of the water, rocketing at up to 37 mph across the surface of the water. They hit our kayaks several times. Apparently there have been needlefish fatalities. Crazy!
Anyway, since we missed the morning paddle, we paddled most of the way back to the resort. Isoa and Mark took one canoe, and we had the other. It was super beautiful, serene, and freeing. We arrived back with just enough time to change for a short hike. The hike took us up to a farm and the cabin the resort owner stays in. The farm is what we would call a garden, but spectacularly beautiful and wild. They plant kava, taro, and long beans among herbs. The ground is lush and never over-farmed. I have to mention the stars at Matava. Because it is so remote, there is no light pollution. The stars were incredible. It was like those long exposure photos, specks of white everywhere with the milky way shining through. AMAZING!! There were even shooting stars! This place is magical.
On Tuesday morning, we paddled to a village, Mere's village, to be exact. They were extremely welcoming. We were given a place to change and brought into the community center for a beautiful lunch with lemon leaf tea. Afterward, the chief showed us around the village. 80 people live there and they have some Irish descent. Most of the group went out snorkeling. I learned to make a basket from a palm frond and found a tiny kitten to cuddle. The villagers gathered with us in the community center and served kava. It's a calming herbal brew made in what looks like a giant salsa bowl. It tastes like dirty socks, but it's a thing. The villagers sang to us while a few played guitar. Then they fed us doughnuts (cassava pancakes for me, yummmmm!) and sent us on our way.
That night was our last night at Matava (sad face). Maggie had prepared a ceremony. The Matava staff showed us the traditional way to make and drink kava. Christine was given the honor of being chief. She drank first, then everyone else could drink. You clap once and down the coconut cupful of sock water, then everyone claps three times. Pretty fun! I can't help but adore the Fijians. Then it was time for the drumming competition. We were all terrible. One group had made special instruments. One brave pair wore banana leaves over their undies (they won).
The next morning, Tony took us over to the general store to see what that's like. It's exactly what you would imagine from an old west movie. Basic canned and packaged inventory on shelves behind a screened counter. The guides filled the boats with gas using a hand pump from a 55 gallon drum. The Matava crew sent us off with floral garlands around our necks. The whole staff stood on the dock to wave goodbye as the boat took us back to the village where we left our kayaks. This day was a verrrrrry long kayak day. Most days we paddled 2-3 hours. This one was 5 or 6. Mike's GPS watch indicated we paddled over 10 miles! The trip was gorgeous! Undisturbed coastline as far as you could see followed by a tiny cabin or village, then more jungle. Mike and I paddled through a little arch. The tide was just right for it. Fuuuuunnnnnn!
Motor boats took us to Papageno Resort which was a much more resort-like place than Matava. It had a sandy beach with its own kayaks and paddle boards, but, most importantly, there were hammocks on the beach. Mike, Daneane and I spent some time snorkeling out in the bay. The reefs were lovely! We saw big fish, giant clams, lots of coral and a huge mollusk. That night was a beach walk to see the stars
The staff at Papageno were sweet, but not as boisterous as Maggie. By the end of our stay, they had opened up a lot. The last paddle from where we left the kayaks into the resort was gorgeous! There were cool rock formations along the coastline and lots of needlefish. Several of them hit the sides of kayaks (including ours) with a loud THUNK! I was waiting for someone to be impaled, but we all came out unscathed. At the halfway point, we beached our kayaks for fresh coconuts (sans rum, despite how I look in the picture), then followed a track through the mangroves.
We landed on the beach at Papageno with plenty of time to shower before lunch. They served us pasta with several fresh sauces and pesto made with basil from their gardens. I had my own special bowl since I'm the only one who is food retarded. I ate enough that I had to go nap afterward. Mike went out to snorkel and I read a book and had a massage. Life is soooo rough.
It POURED buckets all night long with lots of wind. Since I woke up at the first sign of light, I took one of the paddleboards out into the bay to watch the sun rise. I sat on the board by myself and watched the sky change from pink to orange then back to gray clouds. It didn't stop there though, the sky lit up orange again, closer this time, then faded to yellow and eventually to blue. Kind of awesome! I drifted a ways during this time so I started back. The wind kept turning me around when I stood, so I had to kneel, but I made it back. No sweat.
The group paddled out to a beach past the resort. It was a short paddle. They gave us a choice, walk 15 mins to a "pool" or snorkel. We opted to snorkel, which was, of course, excellent. The people who went to the pool said it had a waterfall with a cave behind it. Hard choices. First world problems. Mike found another little reef shark out snorkeling. There was an optional hike after lunch. I opted to be lazy. I took a nap and read my book in a hammock on the beach while Mike had his massage. Massages were 45 mins for about $30 with no tips. Worth it!
The manager (stand in manager) of the resort is actually a yoga teacher in California most of the time. So she taught a really lovely class in a room on the beach. I love beach yoga! Even though I go regularly in Hawaii, it never gets old. That night was the Fijian equivalent of a lu'au called a lovo. They smoke fish, chicken, plantains, breadfruit, and cassava in a pit covered in banana leaves then drink kava and feast. The fish was a 26 pound yellow fin tuna caught just hours before it was smoked. The closest village came and played guitar, drank kava, and danced. We all danced. There was a congo line, some forward and back line dancing. Very fun! I skipped the kava for a glass of wine.
A few of us woke up early for a sunrise paddle. Weiss and Isoa took us out into the bay and through the mangroves as a last cruise. Saying goodbye to all of the guides was sad. In a week, we felt like they had become our friends. The guides and staff gave us flower leis and sang us a farewell song on the beach. It was so sweet. We boarded our boat and waved goodbye. The boat ride to the ride was beautiful, but wet.
The plane ride back to Nadi was both beautiful and uneventful. We said a very abrupt reply to our group and caught a shuttle to Oasis Palms for our last night. The hotel had a pool, sushi bar, WiFi and AC. Plus it was right next to Club Fiji where Bill and Christine were staying. They joined us for sushi dinner and we watched a fire dancing show at their resort afterward. Perfect end to a spectacular trip!
