As a treat for ourselves, and a pre-summer tanning break, my friend Tara and I decided we would go to Fiji. Tara wanted to do her openwater course and I just wanted to do some dives in warm waters. We found Eden on the island of Waya, in the Yasawa group.
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We spent the first night in Fiji in Nadi, we had a great time there, but we were keen to get to the island.
Some investigation on the internet led us to book the majority of our stay at the Octopus Resort on Waya Island in the Yasawa group. Their prices seemed to be more than reasonable, and there were glowing reports about them on travel sites.
They collected us in a minivan from our hotel and, after picking up a few more people, we headed for Lautoka, the port from which the boat would leave for the island.
The group of us on the boat to the island were all staying for approximately the same amount of time, give or take a day or two. We eventually dubbed ourselves the Super Saturday Crew because we ended up spending a lot of time together and became good friends.
The weather was fantastic for all of our stay there. We had moments of cloud, but they only served to cool us down adn get us ready for the next burst of sunshine.
The people and the place made this the most fun holiday I have ever had. Fiji is beautiful, with the friendliest locals you will ever want to meet.
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| Favourite spots: |
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One of my better attempts at underwater photography
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The warm South Pacific ocean.
The scuba diving was excellent. There were not a lot of large creatures to see, but every dive was like swimming in a well stocked tropical fish tank. There were thousands of different fish, all more beautiful than the last. And the water was a constant 26 degrees celcius.
Apart from the scuba diving, there is a reef right onthe beach at the resort. Snorkling there, you get to see almost as much as when scuba diving and you can do it at any time during the day.
Kayaks were also for rent from the resort, and these provided endless hours of fun for the more childish of us.
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| What's really great: |
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Outside the church in the village.
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At the request of the villagers, there is no diving on Sundays at the resort. As such, there are not a lot of activities planned. Instead, you can go to the village, 10 minutes walk from the resort, for the church service. While the service lasted a little too long for us non-fijian speaking tourists, the choir and cute kids was well worth it. It also gave us a chance to meet the locals in a relaxed setting, nothing was being sold and nothing was wanted from either side.
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| Accommodations: |
Octopus Resort is advertised as a flashpackers. It is not a luxury resort, but it is also not a backpacker resort, it has found a middle ground between the two.
Accomodations range from the swanky Poppy's Lodge, to comfortable tents, with private Bure's (Huts) with bathrooms and Bure's with shared facilities in between. There is also a Dorm with twelve beds. All the shared bathroom facilities are clean and well maintained throughout the day.
Because of the varied accomodations, the people at the resort are just as varied, in age, occupation and nationality. The one constant, it seemed to me, was that all the people who came to Octopus were there to have fun.
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| Nightlife: |
There is a different activity planned for every night and you can choose whether to take part or not. There was movie night, hermit crab racing, a sunset cruise, handline fishing and lets not forget Saturday party games night.
The resort bar stays open until about eleven, sometimes later if there are still people around and buying drinks. It is not a cash bar, all the drinks go on your account, so it is easy to get carried away. Though they sell the local Fiji Bitter for a good price and it is an excellent beer.
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| Hangouts: |
Where ever you like.
There was not one place in the resort that did not have a great view, and guests are pretty much allowed to wander where ever they please.
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| Restaurants: |
The restaurant at the resort is an open area under a fixed roof. The floor is covered with sea sand and it feels like you are eating on the beach. There is a deck around the restaurant for more relaxed dining.
The food was included in the accomodation price.
a continental breakfast was served every morning, cereals, bread, fruit, etc, but for a mere $6 you could order eggs and bacon or an omelette.
The lunch menu on the wall had about 10 options on it, we ordered something different everyday and were never disappointed with our food.
dinner was a set meal every night, but different each day. Dinners included a curry night and a local lovo.
There was a also bar menu that could be ordered from all day at the set price.
A few of the local staff would serenade us through the beginnings of lunch and dinner.
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Published on Monday November 6th, 2006
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Thu, Jul 02 2009 - 04:46 AM
 by nedkelly
| awesome cant wait to get there myself!!!! |
Wed, Apr 11 2007 - 04:34 PM
by downundergal
Hi Ronelle,
I don't know how I missed reading your report! Tara (quickfliqchick) has also stayed here & I am keen to do so in August. So thanks for the feedback.
Cheers,
Kerrie |
Wed, Nov 08 2006 - 07:13 AM
by rangutan
| Very adventures material, the photos backup the text very well. |
Tue, Nov 07 2006 - 02:33 PM
by davidx
| Much more informative than your earlier reports. The activities aren't up my street but there's plenty of information for practitioners. |
| Information: |
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| Australia |
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| Fiji |
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| Greece |
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| Malaysia |
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| Tanzania, United Republic of |
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