SWEET SECLUSION - Turtle Island Resort is located on its own 500-acre island and is reached by a half-hour seaplane flight from the main island. CNS Photo by Fred J. Eckert. The weather is perfect - temperature in the low 80s, clear blue skies overhead, a gentle tropical breeze blowing. There is no one else on this stretch of beach, no one else anywhere in sight. A few feet to my right the water splashes softly against the beach. It is unbelievably clear and clean and shimmers shades of blue and green. To my left rows of gently swaying coconut palm trees fringe the beach and stretch as far as I can see. As I walk along the isolated beach, the only noise I hear is the water splashing and some birds singing softly. This is the South Pacific that everyone dreams of. It's great to be back in Fiji. I think about some friends and recall their talking fondly about walking along the beach at Waikiki - and I chuckle. Why would anyone want to walk through that congestion of bodies surrounded by loud noise and boring views of high-rise buildings when the real South Pacific awaits them in Fiji? ALL TO YOURSELF - Set amid 60 acres of coconut plantation and fronting a white-sand beach, the maximum number of couples visiting Vatulele at any time is 16. CNS Photo by Fred J. Eckert. STILL UNSPOILED Not too much has changed about Fiji since I first discovered its charms 23 years ago. Sure, on the main island of Viti Levu, which has roughly the land area of Connecticut and contains the country's only real city and towns, there are more buildings than there used to be - even three McDonald's - but not much is truly different. Because of increased prosperity, there is a bit more traffic on the roads, but the roads are much better. Broadcast television, not introduced in Fiji until the early 1990s, is now most everywhere on the main island but almost nowhere on Fiji's outer islands. Fiji has retained its character and, far more so than most tourist destinations that come to mind, the 300 islands in the Fiji archipelago, roughly 100 of them inhabited, remain largely unspoiled, unchanged and wonderfully pleasant. Also unchanged are the Fijian people, still as warm and delightful as these islands they call home. HOT ROCKS - Fire walking is a highlight at cultural shows popular with tourists in Fiji. CNS Photo by Fred J. Eckert. You can find beautiful islands with plenty of sunshine and great beaches all over the world - but it's the Fijians that gives Fiji its edge. "The nicest people in the world," James Michener called them. Visitors are always amazed by Fijian hospitality. No other country in the world makes the visitor feel so welcome. Fijians are unbelievably friendly and hospitable. It's not feigned, not just some gimmick designed to boost tourism - it's the real thing, being nice comes naturally to Fijians. To Fijians, family and friends are the most important things in life and if you are visiting you are a friend and if you are a returning visitor you are almost family. A country of Western values (it's a former British colony; English is the official language) and South Seas charm, Fiji is a fascinating mix of cultures. The indigenous Fijians make up barely a majority of the country's three-quarters of a million people. Nearly as many Fijian citizens are Indian, descendants of indentured workers brought to these South Pacific islands from India 100 years ago to work on Fiji's sugar plantations. The remainder are a mix of European, other South Pacific islanders and Asian. This cultural diversity brings forth some pretty good cuisine and makes for interesting cultural performances. Especially noteworthy are Fijian fire-walking ceremonies, Indian curries and Fijian song and dance. Fijian music is exceptionally pleasant and Fijian singing can be unforgettably beautiful. DAYBREAK - Sunrise at Turtle Island Resort, the location for the film ''The Blue Lagoon.'' CNS Photo by Fred J. Eckert. BETTER VALUE THAN HAWAII OR TAHITI What seems to deter many Americans from considering Fiji for a vacation is a totally false perception about cost. Actually, the cost of accommodations, entertainment and food have always been considerably less in Fiji than in either Hawaii or Tahiti. And now the cost of getting there has also become quite affordable because Fiji offers some extraordinary value packages built around the five-times-a-week flights from Los Angeles on Air Pacific, its first-rate international airline that is allied with Quantas, And for those who want to splurge for the experience of a lifetime, Fiji offers some incredible upscale resorts that are like something out of the movies. One of them, Turtle Island, was the site featured in the film "The Blue Lagoon." Sited on its own 500-acre island and reached by a half-hour seaplane flight from the main island, Turtle Island is the resort that set the standard for Fiji's reputation as the world's finest get-away-from-it-all destination. "As close to heaven as you're likely to get," Harper's Hideaway Report called it. Only 14 couples are permitted at any one time - amazing when you consider that there are 14 separate isolated beaches on the island, some bordered by high cliffs, some set in coves. If you wish, you can reserve your own isolated beach and have drinks and meals delivered by boat. Home during a stay at Turtle is a huge bure, a Fijian-styled, thatched cottage with king-size bed, large living and dressing areas, walk-in double shower, a Jacuzzi and a bar that is always well-stocked with the finest in beverages and a selection of fresh tropical fruits. On its verandah there's a queen-size bed for daytime napping under the shade in case you prefer that to the hammock under the palm trees at the beach in front of your bure. Gourmet-caliber meals can be taken either communally, which most guests seem to prefer because it gives you the chance to meet and form friendships with interesting people from different parts of the world, or catered to you at your bure or some beach. Right up there with Turtle Island on the top tier of island resorts in the world is Vatulele Island Resort. Set amid 60 acres of coconut plantation, it fronts a magnificent white-sand beach and blue lagoon. A half-hour flight offshore from Fiji's international airport, Vatulele is the only Western-style development on the secluded island for which it is named. Elsewhere on the island are a few tiny villages whose total population comes to less than 800. The maximum number of couples visiting Vatulele at any time is 16. Each couple stays in a huge (2,000 square feet), thatched-roof villa with a spacious bedroom, large sitting area and tiled terrace, whose architectural style is a mix of Fijian and other styles that include Santa Fe and Mediterranean. Each villa sits on a large, very private site beautifully landscaped by lush tropical vegetation. Vatulele also offers The Point, a beautiful, large house with two swimming pools set among dense vegetation on a high bluff overlooking the ocean. Also particularly outstanding and, like Turtle and Vatulele known for its fine accommodations, pampered service and great food, is Namale, located on Fiji's second-largest island, Vanua Levu. Set upon a volcanic cliff overlooking the sea and with a rain forest at its back, Namale has Fiji's finest spa and a conference center. Fiji also has other resorts at or near the Turtle and Vatulele level, such as the Wakaya Club, and plenty in the medium and budget category, as well as great family-friendly resorts, such as Shangri La's Fijian Resort, plus resorts that specialize in diving, such as the renowned Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort. Walking along the beach at one of my favorite island resorts one day, I remembered that when I first set foot in Fiji 23 years ago there were posters promoting Fiji as a tourist destination that said simply: "Fiji: The Way the World Should Be." In lots of ways, it sure is. IF YOU GO For travel brochures and other information about visiting Fiji, call the Fiji Visitors Bureau at (800) 932-3454 or click on www.bulafiji.com. For information about special visit Fiji packages through Air Pacific, call (800) 227-4446 or click on www.airpacific.com. Fred J. Eckert is a freelance travel writer.

Rate This Article 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Select    View top rated articles

Printable Version    PDF Version    Email to a Friend    Post A Comment    View Comment    Discuss

	Popular Tags
	sings  islands  South Pacific  rows  plantation  towns  dreams  Western  tourists  cuisines

Featured Testimonials

I like LawCrossing as it has a very userfriendly approach.  Steven

Facts

LawCrossing Fact #29: There is no other law job website available that delivers the volume of jobs and specificity that LawCrossing does.

"We want to hear your thoughts. Please comment on this article (below)!" Comments

Article ID: 740     Article Title: Fiji remains unchanged, unspoiled and unbelievably pleasant Comment not found for this article. Comment

Facebook comments:

Enjoyed reading this article? Click here to sign up for News Wire, our weekly newsletter, and you'll receive articles just like this right in your inbox.

Enter your email address and start getting breaking law firm and legal news right now! Every Alert Alert once a day