Strewn like a string of pearls in the South Pacific Ocean, Fiji is about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand, and neighboured by other continental shelf beauties such as the Marianas, Tonga, Vanuatu, the Solomons and French Polynesia. Thus, Fiji is ideally located in the tropics of the southern hemisphere, lying on the 180 Meridian where the dawning of each new day occurs.

The terrain of Fiji and her Islands is mostly volcanic, with massive seismic activity on the ocean floor having created islands out of mountains, often surrounded by huge and luscious reefs, and sometimes, pure coral atolls teaming with exotic and unusual forms of marine life.

The Fiji Islands are clustered around the mainland areas, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, in distinct groups, covering 1,129km of coastline. Of the 332 islands, humans inhabit only 110 and the rest remain as nature reserves. To the northwest of Viti Levi lies the Yasawa Group. Below this, the Manamuca group of islands. To the east, the Lau group and Taveuni among others. A difficult choice… lush secluded rainforest, 6 foot waves, or powder sand and palm trees preceding virgin reef?

For us the idea of an ocean-view bure at Castaway Island in the Manumuca group, seemed to be a touch of paradise.

Arriving at Nadi airport in Viti Levu is something of an experience. The relatively seasoned traveller is apt to think of an airport as a necessary evil, a grey and white place with lots of shiny surfaces and vaguely uncomfortable people. Consequently Nadi airport is a welcome departure. The customs officers greet you with 'welcome, bula!' as they scrutinize your passport, and smile at you warmly. Leaving baggage claim, there is a sort of softness in the air, an easy feel about the place and the people. It can't be the sun, we arrived at 3am. It could be the group of Fijian guys in red and white hibiscus shirts and sarongs, playing eukalaeles and singing tropical lullabies. Or it could be the fact that the big and gorgeous woman in the transport office put flower lei's of pink frangipanis around our necks as she gave us our travel details and pointed us in the right direction.

The sense of being welcome in Fiji is overwhelming. Smiling faces and open arms is part of it, but also the genuine friendliness of the people, largely a blend of Melanesian and Polynesian cultures, is very distinct. When a Fijian waiter comes to your table, deep-chested, barefoot and head held high with pride, he is there to help you enjoy. He may sit and tell you about his family or the island or ask about your life, smiling broadly all the while and looking you directly in the eye, as if learning about you. It seems to be a place where even the socially introverted feel more inclined to chat, sit for a while, shoot the breeze. Their culture is to give, and give warmly. The richness of a voice singing out 'Bula!'(hello / welcome/ how are you / good day) is everywhere on the islands. Somehow though, this benevolence is subtle and unintrusive. It just allows you to warm to the people, easily.

Driving towards the Jet-ferry to the islands (you can also get there by sea-plane), we were treated to a brief view of Fijian life. The landscape is a kaleidoscope, satiny green leaves of palm-fans, the crepe-paper petals of scarlet hibiscus everywhere, faces open to the sun, and then the tall, stringy sugar cane sweeping field after field. Fat little piglets ran around seemingly unfettered. Dusty buffalo looked up nonchalantly and panting dogs idled on the side of the dirt road. There were run-down wooden shacks with makeshift roofs next to elegant white colonial houses, a legacy of the British empire before the 1970's republic. The locals gathered in unhurried throngs at roadside markets to purchase and barter for farming produce from poultry to pineapples, ochre to oven-baked breads. An old, crinkle-faced and cotton-shirted man sat in a deck-chair that had seen way better days, drinking kava as the breeze played with his white afro curls.

Our Taxi driver, Thomas, had us deep in conversation about V.J Singh within minutes, a PGA Tour golfer and local hero. Then about rugby union and the passion they had for the game on the islands, because it gave them an opportunity to express their history as warriors and their sense of community. Pretty philosophical, young Thomas. He told us stories of local men who went to New Zealand and Australia to play rugby and upon their intermittent returns, would take money to the principle houses in their village as a gift. He used the term gift, but also explained that this was an expectation of the community, charity in Fiji is seen not as a noble gesture but as the right of those less fortunate, and an integral and reinforced part of the culture.

The fairytale of idyllic island life does, of course, contain a fair bit of myth too. Fiji is endowed with forest, mineral, and fish resources, and is one of the most developed of the Pacific island economies, though still with a large subsistence sector. Sugar exports (constituting one third of industrial activity) and a growing tourist industry - with 300,000 to 400,000 tourists annually - are the major sources of foreign exchange. Tourism however, creates something of a dilemma. Tourists are attracted to the area by what they perceive to be an innocent and natural way of life, yet the balance between the financial possibilities of tourism and the traditional values of village life is very fine. Further, the influx of ethnic mixes including Chinese, Indian and European migrants over time has led to a society (of over 800,000) that is at best, cosmopolitan, and at worst, politically and religiously confused. Long-term problems include low investment, uncertain land ownership rights, and the government's management of its budget. But this is a young republic and a young democracy. On balance, the future looks stable and the attitude of the place is optimistic, and of course, relaxed.

My relaxation gave way to temporary hyperventilation when we first turned the corner and saw Castaway Island. What a sight. Abel Tasman and James Cook must have also gasped in delight at such Pacific pearls. Castaway Island is a small 174-acre private resort which sits on Qalito, a small reef-ringed island in the Mamanuca Group just 20 miles due west of Nadi. The view is postcard-perfect. Turquoise waters lapping onto vanilla sand, palm trees, birds of paradise, white sail-shade umbrellas jutting out over the ocean and haphazard arrangements of coloured sea-kayaks and paddles against wooden beach shacks. Greeted by a choir of singing voices and an orchestra of colored sarongs and shirts, this is a place where you immediately want to take your shoes off.

Those in search of a romantic isle will not be disappointed by Castaway. Washing your hair in the hand-made coconut milk in the bure showers, wearing frangipani in your hair (left side for singles, right for attached) and dining under the stars on fresh walu reef fish, lime-chicken and Australian wines. Sunsets were spent line fishing in a tin-boat off the reef , days spent swinging in a hammock, sailing a catamaran or snorkeling the reef. There is an abundance of marine life visible from 15 metres off-shore, a whole fantasy world of creatures and flora we know so little about. There are also sea-snakes, and reef sharks further out, but they are very well feed and disinterested in homosapiens, as a rule. You're more likely to have trouble with a nippy little crab or an unhappy barracuda on the end of your line.

The Fijian Islands are a mellow place, requiring a change of pace that most definitely makes you breath more deeply.

Pippa Grange

Sources/Further information

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