Oh Fiji, we love you! We recently spent a week away in Fiji staying at the lovely Intercontinental Hotel in Natadola Bay. We returned home feeling refreshed, inspired + completely relaxed. Here’s our 14 reasons to visit Fiji, in no particular order of importance.
- The people of Fiji are ridiculously nice, big smiles, all the time no matter what the weather (we LOVE nice people).
- It’s a paradise getaway but only a four 1/2 hour flight from the east coast of Australia. We’re not so big on long flights (actually we hate flying + wish we could teleport) so this was perfect for us.
- Best. Coconuts. Ever.
- Bula! This means hello + every single person we walked past said this to us. How friendly + refreshing (back at home when we walk around the block we try to say hi to everyone, sometimes people just look away or pretend they didn’t hear us…big meanies!)
- Breakfast, pretty sure we may have gone back for thirds of bacon…oops (we were on holiday after all!)
- The day spa. We don’t treat ourselves to spa sessions (like ever) but when in Fiji…right?! We don’t have a lot to compare to BUT we are certain it is the best spa in the world. You can quote us on that.
- The pineapple. Never have we tasted pineapple so sweet, juicy + just plain delish! Actually, ALL the fruit was amazing…
- Speaking of fruit, we now have a new love for papaya (some recipes will definitely be featuring this funny fruit over summer).
- The water (at the beach) is crystal clear + the perfect temperature. There were LOADS of surfers too, so the waves must be pretty good!
- Two words: cassava wedges. When we saw these on the menu, we asked Google, what is cassava? Well what do ya know, it’s tapioca! And yes, paleo approved! (BUT very starchy + high in carbs…)
- Sunset. The sun sets over the water + there is usually a palm tree in sight (makes for the perfect photo). The colours are always swirls of purple, pink, orange + yellow (every evening was unique).
- The seafood…oh the seafood! Think lobster, crab, curried prawns, squid + smoked salmon. (We ate ALL of this + more at a giant seafood buffet night…when we were up to our third plate, we realised that maybe we had gone a little seafood buffet crazy…buffets are dangerous).
- Kokoda. Fiji’s native dish. It is a raw fish salad, with coconut milk, lime, chilli + papaya…a must try for any seafood lover.
- The perfect place to relax + re-energise. Fiji is on what they call ‘Fiji-Time’…this basically means no deadlines, you don’t need to be anywhere at any time + you just do what you want, when you want. This trip reminded us how truly important it is to take time out from our busy lives to just breath, admire the view, get close to nature + live in the now.
We want to say a big BULA to the friends we made in Fiji at the Intercontinental Resort. Each and every staff member went out of their way to make sure our stay was perfect. To Jen, for organising everything AND more, all of the staff at the club, the chefs – for chatting to us + finding out about the way we eat + modifying the menu + the lovely day spa ladies. We can’t thank you enough for making our holiday completely PERFECT!
If you are wanting to get away we can’t recommend Fiji enough. Perhaps we might see you there! As we plan on heading back every year for a merrymaker getaway. Officially in our top ten of favourite places EVER. We shall leave you with some photos to get jealous of!
Always merrymaking,
Emma + Carla
