No clocks, radio or television but once a week there's a movie shown on a catamaran sail. Photo / Christine Retschlag
No clocks, radio or television but once a week there's a movie shown on a catamaran sail. Photo / Christine Retschlag
Mana Island is sparkling like a Vegas showgirl out on the Fijian horizon but, like her name, she's more of a serene spirit than sultry seductress.
From my perch on neighbouring Castaway Island, I am listening to a group of guitarists croon Hotel California, nodding in agreement with the palmtrees that this South Pacific destination is one in which you may be able to check out, but you can never really leave. And I am not alone in my thoughts.
Earlier on this most delicious of days I cradled a sweet mojito while speaking with three staff members who love Castaway Island so much that they have clocked up a combined 90 years living and working in paradise.
Long-running Castaway Island, Fiji, staff Pau Delana, Emily Waquivatu, and Lingo Reece. Photo / Christine Retschlag
Emily Waquivatu, a bar tender, the longest serving, at 34 years; duty/sales manager Lingo Reece (33 years); and Pau Delana (23 years), have seen it all, including four cyclones, the most recent being Winston in 2016.
Although they hail from different parts of Fiji's 322 islands, the siren sound of life on Castaway Island was like an ancient conch shell, too strong to ignore.
"To me, it's a nice small perfect property, and easier to look after your clients and you get to know them," Lingo says.
"The atmosphere is fantastic. We are a family island resort from the staff right down to the guests, we become one big family.
"We have lots of return guests, we come to know them when they are small and now they are coming back with their kids."
Nearby Modriki Island is where Tom Hanks shot Castaway. Photo / Christine Retschlag
Long before Hollywood actor Tom Hanks made nearby Modriki Island famous in his movie Castaway, the real Castaway Island was receiving guests, first as a day trip island back in 1964, before it became a hotel with four bungalows in 1966.
These days it's a private island resort, with 64 bures surrounded by white sand and framed by coral reef, which makes it an ideal snorkelling spot.
On a sunny Saturday I join Castaway's environmental officer Koli Vulaomo on a snorkelling safari of the resort's underwater coral and clam farm, which is part of Outrigger's global Ozone conservation and environmental initiative.
"My main programme is coral planting and we plan to build a football field of coral by 2050," Koli says.
"We've started to see partial bleaching activity. One of the biggest impacts here is the fluctuation in sea-water temperatures. The hottest one was 36 degrees.
"Now we are focusing on planting the coral species that has a heat tolerance. We are seeing fish numbers and fish sizes decrease and they are highly dependent on coral."
The good news is that guests can become involved in this programme, with once-a-month planting activity, and those who do snorkel here won't be disappointed with schools of fish and gardens of coral still in existence.
Later the same day, I board a speed boat which carves like a butcher's knife through the swell, enroute to Modriki Island.
Further out, the ocean is thrashing and crashing against the reef, forming the perfect waves upon which a playful pod of 30 dolphins has decided to surf. Almost as if it knows it has an admiring audience, one even performs a triple somersault.
It's pure perfection around this Mamanuca group of islands that sound a little like an exotic fruit you'd find in this part of the world.
I sip champagne in the shallows of the island that Tom Hanks found so difficult to leave and can see why he had such a conundrum. It's beautiful.
The Water's Edge Restaurant on Fiji's Castaway Island. Photo / Christine Retschlag
Back on Castaway Island, I snatch a sneaky beer at the beach bar, a crude hut on the north beach, before dining at the Water Edge Restaurant on Fijian kokoda and steam shrimp dim sum; creamy cinnamon-spiced pumpkin soup with garlic bread; aged black angus Castaway surf and turf (with fresh lobster, of course); and coconut chocolate cake with pineapples, and watermelon sherbet.
Late at night I sit under a stunning Southern Cross sky, cradling a crisp chardonnay and listening to the roar of the reef.
I've languished in the fresh-water swimming pool, kayaked the lagoon, snorkelled the underwater garden, eaten like a Fijian high priestess and danced with the dolphins.
Had I more time, I would join a night snorkelling tour, head out to nearby Cloud 9 floating pontoon for a swim and a wood-fired pizza, trek the bush track to the top of the island, plant some coral, and indulge in a poolside massage back at the resort.
Fiji's Castaway Island is the kind of place you won't want to leave. Photo / Christine Retschlag
I'd laze for days listening to Fijian guitar songs wash over me like warm waves, relax on the day bed of my private bure and stare at the traditional tapa ceiling, or simply gaze at the ocean beyond my feet.
There's no clocks, radio or television here, but twice a week you can catch a movie being broadcast on the sail of a catamaran while you plant your feet in the cool night sand. Wi-Fi is limited to certain spots on the island.
Arrive by catamaran, helicopter, seaplane or water taxi . . . it's not getting here that's the hard part, it's leaving, because you won't want to.
And that's when Lingo's words linger in my ears.
"We've been to the other side of the world and I still think Fiji is a safe place to come to," he says. "I've seen how the other side of the world live, and I can't wait to get back to Fiji."
DETAILS
Fiji Airways and Air New Zealand run nonstop flights from Auckland to Fiji daily.
South Sea Cruises are the most popular and affordable mode of transportation between the mainland and Castaway Island. ssc.com.fj
Stay at Castaway Island Fiji (castawayfiji.com) and its sister property on the mainland Outrigger Fiji Beach Resort (outrigger.com/hotels-resorts/fiji/viti-levu/outrigger-on-the-lagoon-fiji)
