Let me tell you about a place. A mystical place where fantasies of quintessential tropical island holidays come true. Let me tell you about our stay at the Sheraton Golf and Beach Resort on Denarau Island.
After 3 years, we finally got on a plane leaving Australia! Like everyone, Covid stopped us in our tracks and we should’ve renamed this site from ‘Road Less Travelled’ to ‘Road Not Travelled’. International travel certainly became the path not taken and it did make a difference. A difference to my mental health and optimism.
I’ve always written about how important travel is for personal and spiritual growth. To not travel during covid created a mindset of apathy. A constant state of indifference experienced in my loungeroom during constant lockdowns with nothing to look forward to. Life is short and to lose those years has been difficult. I’m not yet sure what I’ve learned or what this has taught me. I’m not yet ready to say that covid has made me a better person or that I’m stronger for the experience… I’m not sure many of us are just yet (and many did it far, far worse than I did). I still avoid the evening news and commercial TV in the same way you’d avoid eye contact with an annoying, negative person you don’t want to get stuck in a conversation with at a party.
I log on each day and scroll the headlines to make sure the world isn’t ending today and then move on with my day but with a burried sense of unease and subconscious pondering of “what next?”.
Yet, in Fiji, all these anxious feelings and the lingering sense of dread lifted as I remembered the joys of travel and experiencing other cultures and new places. I’d never been to Fiji so everything about this experience was totally new.
This was the first overseas trip with 2 kids. Lewis is now almost 2 and Lilly just turned 8. With factoring in kids as well as fatigue from covid and anxiety around covid testing proceedures abroad, we figured Fiji was a safe option. We booked our whole trip through Luxury Escapes which covered our flights, accommodation and all our food. The deal also allowed kids to stay and eat for free… what a win!
In the true sense of the ‘road less travelled’, I’ve always avoided package deals. My belief was that such deals stifled sponteneaity and trapped you into a rigid, “boring” pre-planned agenda. In my mind, I put package deals in the same boat as going on a cruise… appologies to any cruise fans here but I never thought it was my style of travel. After covid, I’m still not sure cruising is…
But… I was wrong about package deals. Maybe it’s post-covid fatigue again, but I thoroughly enjoyed the ease of having everything booked and not having to worry about anything or pay for anything.
My room number became my mantra for 5 days as I gleefully signed every food and drink bill! No stress over converting currency, navigating international ATM fees or haggling prices… I would simply be known as “Room 1717” and that was enough to stay, eat and drink… I’d do it all again in a heartbeat.
Not every holiday has to be a spontaneous whirlwind through temples, local street vendors and bars interwoven by wild rides in tuk tuks, auto riks or trikes… There was something so peaceful about being looked after in a resort… and what a resort it was!
We stayed at the Sheraton Golf and Beach Resort on Denarau island and I can honestly say this is one of the best resorts I’ve stayed in around the globe. It wasn’t just the location and facilities that were supurb… it was the people. What made this holiday was the wamrth and authenticity of the Fijian people. Every single staff member at the Sheraton Fiji were just beatiful.
We made so many friends (both staff and guests) and the whole place felt like a beautiful, friendly tropical community… Our community for 5 nights. As I said in the video above, this was absolute paradise… a tropical fairytale of vivid blue ocean, endless blue skies, sprawling landscaped pools, powdery white sand and slender tropical palm trees that bow silhouetted before the setting sun. It was everything you’d expect from a Pacific Island holiday and more.
Only 4 hours flight from Sydney, I now feel we’re spoilt to have these islands so close to us (clos by an Australian sese as we’re not really close to anything down under!).
Now, it wasn’t all resort, we did leave our ocean-side luxury for a trip into downtown Nadi. I was keen to experience the “real Fiji” and learn more about how the local people live. I also wanted to tick off my usual travel bucket-list items of having a beer in a local streetside bar and people watch. So, we jumped a cab into the ‘FNPF Plaza‘ for a cool $12 FJD.. probably the first time we needed to use cash on the trip!
The FNPF Plaza is just a landmark that cab drivers know so it’s a good place to get dropped off. The plaza itself is almost empty and there’s nothing much inside but over the road, there’s a great handicraft market where you can buy local wares for half the price you pay at the resort. The main street also has local shops and bars… yes a local bar. In this case, it was the ‘Tiger Restaurant and Bar’… A cool, dark oasis with unusual, psychedelic tiger artwork and cold beer…. Tick!
The vendors at the market were also so friendly that they invited us to join them for some local kava… of course we did, and well… I’ll just say I felt pretty relaxed afterward!
For all the details, check out the video above! In short, Fiji blew me away and totally exceeded my expectations. It’s not often a place can do that and not something I experience often. I can’t wait to return again one day to re-visit this tropical paradise and it’s beautiful, warm and loving people.