Travel
Fiji time - how to make a week's holiday feel like two weeks
From tying up to coconut trees in the Blue Lagoon to being welcomed like family in remote villages, Leonie Jarrett discovers the magic of slowing down in the South Pacific.
By Leonie Jarrett
I enjoyed a seven-night cruise of the Yasawa Islands in Fiji with Blue Lagoon Cruises. And turned a week’s holiday into what feels like two weeks.
“No hurry, no worry.” That’s Fiji time.
It’s the incredible scenery, the warmth of the crew and the local villagers, their ability to make beautiful music every day, the sun, sand, swimming and snorkelling. It’s the colours too - dark green vegetation covering the mountains, coral reefs and water which ranges from emerald to teal to sapphire depending on the sun and the location.
This cruise with Blue Lagoon Cruises is an expedition cruise which will take you to places that you won’t see if you’re staying in a resort. A boutique expedition cruise with luxe elements like private beach clubs and daily tender excursions.
Beaches, beaches, beaches
This cruise started with a pickup from our hotel on the Mainland and a ferry to Malamala Beach Club. This was our first taste of the clear, clear water we were to see every day for the next week.
Our day in this cruise “waiting room” was lovely but it was the beaches to come that will be my standout memories of this week-long cruise.
On our first morning onboard the M.V. Fiji Princess, we had our first tender excursion. To Modriki Island where the 2000 movie “Cast Away” starring Tom Hanks was filmed. The sand was white and super soft and the water was warm and crystal clear. I had my first (of many) swims in the South Pacific Ocean.
Another day, anchored at Waya Island where a sand isthmus joins it to a sister island, we had our first experience of the crew setting up a private beach club just for the onboard guests. Beach umbrellas and chairs with afternoon tea served on the sand.
With waves on one side of the isthmus and lagoon on the other, rugged peaks mostly hidden underneath dark green vegetation, teal-coloured water, clumps of palm trees and the blinding white sand beach, we felt like we were on a movie set!
We had a private beach club set up a couple of other times on remote beaches. With a water temperature in the high 20s, you never needed to get out of the water. We often had little colourful, striped fish as swimming companions.
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Blue Lagoon Cruises operates a private beachfront at Nanuya Lailai Island. We docked there, tied up to a coconut tree (yes, you read that right!) for a day and an overnight stay. This area is known as the Blue Lagoon. The 1980 movie of the same name starring Brooke Shields was filmed nearby.
When docked at Nanuya Lailai, you can use the tender service or swim the small distance to shore from the boat. We loved the sun lounges amongst the rows of palm trees. There were kayaks and stand-up paddle boards if you wanted them and hammocks to rest in. The onboard Spa even relocated for the day.
We had a BBQ lunch on the beach and, after an amazing sunset, a Lovo (a traditional woodfire underground oven) for dinner. Paradise.
Snorkelling, coral and fish galore!
Snorkel equipment was provided and yours to keep for the cruise. There were opportunities to snorkel every day and a couple of special reef trips. At Mouva Reef, you could snorkel amongst white-tipped and black-tipped reef sharks! My husband, Andrew, did this and he loved it.
I chose to view the coral and the sharks via the glass-bottomed boat. We both saw lots of sharks, many varieties of reef fish and colourful coral.
There were so many opportunities to view very impressive coral on this cruise. Layers and layers of it. Some coral looked like cauliflower, some like pinecones, some like tree branches (without any leaves on them), some like planets and some just had the most amazing shapes that I can’t even begin to describe them.
The reef fish were plentiful too. A marine biologist came onboard and gave us a talk about the commonly seen reef fish. We learnt that the “Nemo” we had both seen was a Fijian Nemo ie a clown fish with only one vertical stripe. Movie “Nemo” has three vertical stripes outlined in black. We also learnt that a clown fish is a variety of Damselfish, so called as they are always petite. Cute.
There were handline fishing tours too. Not my cup of tea but definitely Andrew’s. While he rose early a couple of times to try his luck fishing, I watched the sun rise. One morning it was raining and the soft dawn light combined with the rain seemed to make the colours even richer - the sand yellower and the water greener.
Caving adventure
One afternoon, we docked at Sawa-I-Lau Caves (they feature in the 1980 “Blue Lagoon” movie). Tenders took us to the shore and then we climbed the stairs into the cave system. The first cave pool was light-filled. The water was refreshing; cooler than the outdoor sea water. The rock walls were cathedral-like. I grabbed a noodle and happily floated about.
For the brave, there was a brief underwater swim into a second cave which was completely dark. Andrew was adventurous enough to do that.
Culture we can learn from
There were cultural visits too. Highlights were Soso Village, Tamusua Village and the Yasawa High School. Soso Village is the biggest, traditional village in the Yasawa Islands. We were welcomed as family by a village Elder who proudly told us that, “The Yasawa Islands is what the world should be.”
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We visited the primary school and the Church and returned to Church the following day for Sunday service. As the Elder had told us, “The Church music is no instruments. Just the human voice.” The a cappella harmonies were magical and moving.
At Tamusua Village, there was more music and we were again welcomed as part of their Village. That night, we ate a seafood dinner on the beach cooked by the local women.
My favourite cultural excursion was to Yasawa High School. Greeted by a group of students singing to us from the shore, they had hibiscus flowers for our hair. We were told that flowers behind the left ear signals married, the right ear marks us as single and, with giggles, we were told that a flower in the middle of our head meant we were looking! The cheeky sense of fun and joy prevailed throughout the visit.
Students took us on a school tour then we gathered in a hall for a very lively concert. Despite the heat and no electricity (both the solar system and back-up generator were broken), there were beaming smiles. The Assistant Principal told us about the school and said the students, “Always have a Bula smile.”
The concert finished with the School song called, “Yasawa Until I Die.” Us cruise guests were wilting in the heat but the students were singing, cheering, smiling, clapping and swaying. The performance at this school amongst the palm trees was so joyful and so pure, I was moved to tears.
Meaningful music
Music was central to this cruise. We had the beautiful school singing and we had locals serenading us a few times. Each time was special. It seemed that music is part of Fijians’ DNA. Copious amounts of talent too.
We also had the treat of crew performances. From singing to us as we boarded on the first day to Bill, one of the deckhands, singing and playing guitar on deck in his free time to an unforgettable goodbye ceremony.
About a dozen staff comprising guitarists and singers all performed Fijian songs to farewell us. The final song called “Isa Lei” is sung to family members who are leaving. When the lovely song was finished, Captain Fabbi told us that, “We joined as guests and left as family.”
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Onboard guide to the M.V. Fiji Princess
We sailed on the M.V. Fiji Princess. There’s only 34 cabins but there is lots of communal space. As always on a small ship, my favourite space was the Skydeck but a very close second was the sea water pool at the back of the ship.
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Here’s a few special touches that I loved on this cruise:
· There were two filtered water stations to fill up your gifted Blue Lagoon Cruises metal drink bottles.
· All guests were gifted a Blue Lagoon Cruises beach bag to hold our bits and bobs.
· All guests have a complimentary daily laundry bag.
· There is a glass-bottomed boat on board!
· The Wifi was excellent. We could stream and video call Australia.
· A first for us – we had a smart TV in our cabin. We could log into our favourite apps eg Netflix. There was also a library of movies to watch on demand.
Feature image: Leonie Jarrett
Leonie travelled as a guest of Blue Lagoon Cruises. All opinions are her own. You can follow Leonie on Instagram and YouTube.
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