Executive chef Rudolf Kunkel has assembled a team of culinary wizards, both local and international, who weave their magic across half a dozen resort venues.
More than 75 percent of all meat and fresh produce, including seafood, is now sourced locally. Takali Asian Kitchen is the new fusion restaurant, perched above the reef and serving up drool-worthy dishes, from spicy dumplings to sizzling seafood curries. I highly recommend the Singapore style Chilli Crab, crafted from Fiji mud crabs cooked in a savoury tomato chilli sauce and served with mantou buns.
Golden Cowrie Coastal Italian delivers Mediterranean-style dining in Fiji, beautifully producing authentic Italian dishes from the island's freshest seafood and local produce. Sous Chef Bruno Bettinazzi makes all of the soft cheeses and pasta.
Tuck into the Bombolotti pasta with prawn mousse, prawns, black truffle, pistachios and almonds.
Water-lovers, rejoice. The resort lays it on thick with aquatic adventure options, from jet ski safaris to Natadola Beach and Sunset Cruises to the enormous inflatable water park that has recently been erected in the lagoon.
If you are travelling with kids, the resort's fantastic Little Chiefs' Club will keep them enthralled.
A wildly popular activity is building fish houses that, when dry, are placed in the lagoon and become home to fish, clams and baby cowrie shells.
For supreme pampering, how could you say no to some personal body panel-beating at CHI, The Spa? My 60-minute treatment was a traditional Fijian Bobo massage, firmly administered, using a rich coconut oil blend to increase circulation, draw out toxins and reduce muscular aches and pains. I felt 10 years younger.
It may sound like a Fijian cliché, but what really stole my heart about the resort are its people, because it is generously staffed with the most ebullient, big-hearted, attentive and personable hospitality pros you could imagine.
Definitely take a ride with Ecotrax, located right next door to the resort, launched four years ago. A couple of Cromwell expats, Howie and Mandy de Vries, are the powerhouse behind this riveting eco-venture, which has repurposed a retired sugar cane train railway line for a ride through the villages, forest and lonely coastline. Ingeniously reviving the 19th-century velocipede, you are riding on rail-mounted bicycles, with batteries for electric assistance, on this very quirky excursion.
Your adventure starts in a century-old locomotive shed where our vivacious hosts, Britney and Dolly, get us ride-ready, while seated in a row of aircraft seats that were salvaged from the set of the American TV series, Wrecked, which was shot nearby. Configured in pairs, before we know it, we're off on our velocipedes clickety-clacking down the track, purring across open fields, skirting deserted beaches, through rock cuttings, across rickety old river bridges and through tropical forest. There is one particular section where the long, low-slung canopy forms a wondrous “Tunnel of Love.”
A frisson of pure joy takes hold when a village comes into view, like Malomalo, with friendly villagers and excited children leaping to their feet to greet us with their flashing smiles and ebullient bulas, as we pedal by.
The line takes us to the stunning serenity of Vunabua Beach, a pristine sweep of white sand, caressed by an iridescent lagoon. A paddle here is compulsive, backed by rocky coral outcrops festooned in lush foliage. A small herd of horses were grazing on the coastal pasture, wrapped in gazillion-dollar views. Only in Fiji.
I tripped to Fiji with Fiji Airways, who fly to Nadi from Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. Enjoy 15-minute-free text plans, while affordable wifi plans are also available. Plus enjoy a generous economy class baggage allowance of 30kg. Fiji Airways is also offering great-value exclusive package holidays.
With 333 islands, white sand beaches and year-round tropical warmth, Fiji is absolutely open for happiness. Whether you're after a “fly and flop” getaway, a romantic sojourn or an adventure-packed escape, make your first port of call the official website.
www.ecotrax.com.fj
www.fijiairways.com
www.fiji.travel
