Fiji was one of the coolest places we’ve visited so far. Our first foray into the southern hemisphere, it was also our longest flight to date. We met our friends Renae and Stacy for a week’s adventure and made some new friends along the way. We stayed at Volivoli Beach Resort on the north end of the big island, Viti Levu. The ride to the north was about 2 hours from the airport and after a 12 hour flight, plus over an hour getting through customs, we were more than happy to finally have reached our journey’s end.
Volivoli is a really nice resort run by Australian, Nick Darling and his family. The staff was tremendous. Without a doubt, Fiji is the friendliest place we’ve visited so far. Several of the staff sought us out to say goodbye before we left. I truly believe they were as misty as we were, saying our farewells. Sasha, La, Viri, Vulo, Essy, Nox and the rest of the crew along with the dive boys, made us feel welcome and cared for.
During our stay, our dinner tables got more and more crowded as people we had befriended joined our rather raucous dinners in the restaurant. Nick and Jen from Brisbane, Don and Kathy from Colorado, Jared and Kara from Oahu all dove with us and soon were sharing dinner and drinks with the four of us post dive. The Fijian friendliness is clearly infectious.
Hey! I can see my room from here.
I would highly recommend the resort and the dive outfit, Ra Divers.
The Dive Boys – Pola, Essa, Solo and Sethi
We dove on some of the most impressive reefs we’ve ever seen. The sheer magnitude of life was overwhelming and we saw sharks on almost every dive. Despite the damage done to the island and some reef sites by Cyclone Winston the year before, things were well on their way to recovery. We dove on some huge coral bommies, 80+ feet from bottom to top, marveling at what we saw. Off in the distance swam a giant school of Chevron Barracuda, that were almost blocked out by a school of Jacks, that were obscured by a school of Blue Devils which in turn were blocked by the constant clouds of orange Anthias darting about. At times, it was total sensory overload.
The soft corals were stunning in all the colors and forms. My favorite: white Pulsing Xenia’s that were mesmerizing to watch as their little “flowers” opened and closed rapidly like little hands grasping at the water. Blew my mind.
The reef structures were incredible to behold. Several we encountered seemed to cover square miles of surface area at low tide. Without a doubt, the most healthy ecosystem we’ve encountered so far.
There are always places you want to go back to, as you check off places on your bucket list. Fiji cannot be experienced in one week or even 1 month. We definitely want to go back and spend longer exploring all we can. I am envious of the Aussies and Kiwis who have this fantastic place within a few hours of their home and regularly visit it. Bastards.
If the video won’t play, click the 3 vertical dots and download it to your device.