Within minutes of landing at Nadi International Airport we were already fluent in Fijian.  That is to say, we had already repetitively heard, repeated and smiled at what seems to be the only two words in that language – Bula and Vinaka.  Bula is usually said with a huge genuine smile and multiple explanation marks.  Vinaka is said at the end of every conversation, like the full stop of a sentence, with the same generous intent.  Yes, we were in uber-friendly Fiji.

All day at work I hear about Fiji – no surprise since one of our brands is amongst the largest wholesalers to this island nation.  I hear the Marketing people talk about the different great deals on offer, I hear the Product people raving on about how good the resorts are, I hear the Call Centre talking constantly to excited holiday planners.  An occasional Bula! is even heard amongst the team.  The problem was that I hadn’t been to Fiji for 31 years and Julie had never been there (probably the last Australian who can make that claim) so it was easily decided – we’re off to Fiji!

The Fijian Islands, all 332 of them, are bunched together in the South Pacific about 4 hours flight from Sydney.  They sit in the path of the International Date Line which obligingly detours around the island cluster so that the entire nation can be on the same day.  Fiji’s principal feature is two large main islands which host most of it’s 800,000 citizens, and a string of islands off the west coast which sports beautiful beaches, stunning coral reefs and endless sunshine.  We thought we wanted to see a bit of both – the islands and the ‘mainland’ so we split our brief time between the two.

The IMF calculates Fiji’s per capita GDP as $4,700, ranked 100^th amongst all countries (Australia is at 5 and Thailand is at 94).  Their two major exports are sugar cane, primarily grown on the western side of the big island of Viti Levu, and tourism.  Since their independence from the British in 1970 they have had a number of coups mingled amongst a few democratic elections, the last one in September 2014. Suffice to say, they are a work in progress.

We caught a bumpy and windy ferry out to the island of Malolo Lailai which features three resorts, including Plantation Island, nestled into a semi-secluded bay marked by a long pier, swaying palms and expansive white sandy beaches.

Stepping into this tropical paradise and amongst the swarming activity near the water’s edge one thing becomes immediately very clear – children. Not just a few kids but many, maybe hundreds, all ages, ankle-biters everywhere. This is a family resort and it is kid paradise. Kiddies pools, playgrounds, day care, toys for the water, just the whole scene was totally catered for young families. And Julie and I.

The rest of our first day in Fiji was marked by exploring, absorbing and readjusting to this beautiful tropical beach paradise crawling with noisy curtain crawlers. Drinks in a quiet place by the shoreline while the sun cast its final red glow across the horizon, then we joined the masses for the buffet dinner. This was a rookie mistake of the tallest order because on arriving at 7.30 we found we were the last ones to dinner and the buffet had already been hit hard by a horde of swarming and starving short people.  We gratefully scooped up the last scraps before the staff hosed down the floor and afterwards joined the masses in the entertainment area for some traditional Fijian dancers, all pleasant enough with a last drink in hand and the kids finally subdued by a day of sun and fun.

The next day our plan was to do some snorkeling so we jumped on the resort’s tender for a trip out to the outer reef where we saw a beautiful array of colourful fish, some surprisingly good coral and the fantastic experience of swimming on the edge of the reef before it drops off into the bottomless sea.  It is at this dramatic seafloor edge that there is a concentrated interaction of coral and fish near the surface and we loved exploring the area.

Unfortunately this dive site also featured sea lice, an almost invisible villain who has a nasty bite.   And as they have done in other dive sites around the world, they attacked Julie with such gusto she had to abandon the experience and return to the tender, very disappointed. As sea lice seem to ignore me I was able to stay in the water and more thoroughly explore this beautiful reef.  On a few occasions I swam through schools of little benign jellyfish about the size of a large coin, brushing up against my face, getting caught in my fingers, totally harmless.

That afternoon we retreated to the beach for some reading, relaxing and general downtime, including a stunning sunset. We dined at a nearby resort restaurant which provided much better food and a much reduced frenetic kid factor.  The entertainment that night was frog races, all great fun as three frogs eventually scampered to the finish line and disappeared amongst the shrieking kids. The remaining frogs were gathered up in the box and taken away while the three place-getters were left to fend for themselves in the jungle of kiddie-land. No telling what happened to them but champion frogs are obviously a replaceable commodity for the resort.

The kid factor was part of the fun of the place, even if most scenes had a strong element of noisy chaos. It took us back to many similar holidays ourselves, including ones with my parents. We watched many three generation families enjoy the sun and sand, just like we did 20 years ago. We were very nostalgic about it all, almost jealous.  It was great for a spectator over small bursts, even if the kids in the next room woke up in the middle of the night with loud squawks.

The next morning before the wind came up we embarked on a high-tide kayak paddle to the nearby resort of Muscat Cove and across the shallow channel to Malalo Levu, the larger sister island.  We pulled our kayaks ashore and explored the uninhabited beaches in both directions, enjoying views of the protected bay with its sparkling blue water and million dollar yachts.

That afternoon we jumped on our trusty tender again for a cruise through some of the nearby islands, snorkeling and a visit to nearby Castaway Island Resort. You might think that in such a tropical paradise the name of the resort’s snorkeling tender might be something appropriate like Island Splendour or Reef Explorer.  But no, the name of the large aluminium tender was named a somewhat less romantic Fat Bob.

We dropped anchor at the uninhabited Honeymoon Island, a little spot of an island with steep rocky walls and a spectacular under-water coral ring around it.  We jumped in and couldn’t believe the stunning array of unique and colourful fish and some absolutely spectacular coral of different shapes, sizes, makes and colours. We’re keen snorkelers and we’ve snorkeled some beautiful spots but this place was definitely one of the best.

After 45 minutes in the water exploring this beautiful reef we went on to nearby Castaway Island, one of the most popular resorts in Fiji, where we snorkeled again off the beach and explored the resort.  A great afternoon seeing Fiji at its best.

Our short stay at Plantation Island was great fun, especially the stunning snorkeling, great sunsets and exciting frog races.  But tomorrow we were headed back to the ‘mainland’ for the second half of our Fiji adventure.