Bula Lori,
Well here is our report on
Fiji. We have owned our condo in Maui since 1988 and have been there
so many times we have lost count. However, if we were to rate Maui
a 10 then Fiji would be a 15. I think that our evaluation is based
on our, including your’s and Melissa’s, selection of islands.
If we had stayed at one of the resorts on Viti Levu we may have considered
Fiji equal with Maui; the difference was the selection of remote islands.
I have NEVER been on a vacation where I forgot completely about work
and didn’t feel the least bit guilty about not caring. We will
have a little different view of the three islands and our accommodations
since each of us has different needs and expectations.
I thoroughly enjoyed the island of Kadavu. The fact that we were totally
out of touch with the rest of the world and isolated on about one
mile of beach was perfect. The food was beyond our expectations since
we were not anticipating gourmet food and felt that the meals were
more than adequate. Bob, the owner, added a real plus to our trip.
He was concerned about our being bored and was constantly checking
with us to see if there was anything we needed or wanted. He brought
tea and cookies down to the bar at 10AM every morning. Being adjacent
to a village was a real plus. As we told you we visited the school
on Friday and on the way back to the resort we passed the village
meeting room and were invited in for a Kava ceremony as a visiting
chief had just arrived. The visiting chief was short on hair as I
am and so they sat us together as the “two chiefs”. That
enabled me to three shots of Kava where the rest of the group had
only 1 or 2. How lucky am I? We also enjoyed the church service and
had a great time talking to the pastor and some of the church leaders.
On Sunday evening we invited the pastor to our happy hour time at
the bar for a Coke. He and his daughter joined us, great time to really
get to know them and understand what their life is like. I am going
to be in contact with him and hope to invite him to Wisconsin to be
a guest preacher at a couple of conferences next summer.
On to Taveuni.
The house at Mattei Point is great. The location is hard to beat—sunrise
and sunset. We lived out on the covered lanai. We moved the dining
room table out to the lanai and ate our meals outside. As you know
the beaches are not as great on Taveuni as they were on Kadavu. We
swam twice out in front of the house once at low tide and once at
high tide. At high tide there is no beach, you go right from the steps
into the water. At low tide you have a hard time clearing the rocks
and finding deep enough water to swim. We did go to other beaches
by cab that were much better. However after having been in the water
for hours everyday on Kadavu it wasn’t a problem to be in the
water every other day. The trip to the Waitabu Marine Park was incredible.
Peg and I were the last to quit snorkeling as were busy following
a 6 foot grouper and a reef shark. We didn’t realize how long
we had been in the water; the rest of the group had taken the boat
back to the beach. By the time we were ready to quit we were exhausted
and the tide was going out so were unable to swim back to shore. They
sent the boat for us and threw us a line and pulled us back close
to shore so we could make it back to the beach. One of the great things
about the whole trip is that we were always in the water with local
guides. They do a great job keeping track of all the people in the
water and never leave you alone. We were not accustomed to the large
tidal changes since they do not exist on Maui. You have to be aware
of when the tides change since it creates a very strong current. Final
comment on Mattei Pointe—the outdoor shower was really great.
There is nothing like taking a shower outside soaping up and looking
out at the ocean and the coconut trees. At first it feels strange
being outside naked taking a shower and then it is so enjoyable to
be outside with such great views that it seems strange to be back
in a regular shower.
Finally, Koro
Sun Resort. The resort was doing some remodeling of the bures
where we were booked and so they upgraded both of us to 2 bedroom
units—we had plenty of space. Koro Sun had the nicest accommodations.
The food was outstanding, more on the order of gourmet food. Since
a number of the bures were under construction, there were only 6 of
us at the resort. We had at least 6 or 7 staff to each guest; needless
to say we were well taken care of. Every evening they put a list of
the activities for the next day in our room when they did the turn
down service. The list of activities were a list of the things that
we had asked the activities director if we could tomorrow—real
custom service. The beach at Koro Sun was great at high tide and then
disappeared at low tide. The coral reef in front of the resort was
outstanding and we enjoyed snorkeling there for hours. We also enjoyed
snorkeling at Coral Gardens as well as in the largest inland bay in
the South Pacific. I was surprised that the resort provided free transportation
to all of our activities. We also went to another village school.
Ryan, the activities director, had been a teacher last year at the
school we visited. This year there was no teaching position open and
so he was working at the resort.
I think you can tell that we had a great time. I would go back tomorrow
but have two problems—no more vacation time and no more money.
If I can solve those two problems I am on my way.
Thanks again for all your help. We will be in Maui in March and will
be sure to stop by and say hello.
Vinaka,
K. and G. Giacoletto
Green Lake, WI
Fabulous Fijian 50th Anniversary