4 days in Fiji Islands

As we were leaving New Zealand to go to Asia, we could make a stop on one of the most beautiful islands of Pacific. We had a choice between Philippines and Fiji. Andrea is an unconditional fan of rugby, so we chose to make a few days stop in Nadi before going to Hong Kong and finally Hanoi. As it was the rainy season we were most likely keen on experienced crazy tropical storms and this is why we chose to spend only few days staying close to the airport of Nadi. This is far away from being the idyllic crystal clear and white beach scenario of Fiji but for us it was the most affordable and convenient. Vanua Levu Island or one of the 330 other paradise islands that Fiji counts, are to be privileged for a longer stay.  

Anyhow we were absolutely not disappointed by our stay. As we arrived at the airport while waiting to pass the customs we were welcomed by 3 Ukulele musicians with a big smile giving us a warm “Bula” (which means “hello”). We were directly dropped into the island tropical vibes. However, as we were leaving New Zealand we heard that a strong storm was going to hit Fiji with a high probability to turn into a hurricane. As we exited the airport we could see the strong winds and heavy rain shaking the coconuts and this was not a good sign!  We had 3 full days to spend and one of them must have had good weather as we wanted to try an amazing place we discovered before leaving for our world trip through a culture trip video called “Cloud 9”, a pizza bar in the middle of the ocean with perfect crystal clear turquoise water!

We stayed at the Travellers Beach Resort, a fairly priced hostel directly  on the beach. Rooms are oldish but beds were confortable and the place was clean. But most importantly the restaurant and bar was offering amazing food for a cheap price. As a manner of fact this bar was the main attraction on this part of the island and locals as well as tourists were coming here to have diner in the evenings. A nice nightlife atmosphere without having to go further than the room. On our First evening, the rain stopped and we could featured incredible sunset with millions of beautiful colours. But most importantly Andrea could make one of its travel goals come true by playing rugby on the beach with locals. On our second day as the storm was getting stronger, we decided to go and visit the city center of Nadi. As we expected, it was quite pointless as there is nothing special, neither beautiful, but it could give us a little glimpse of local life. 

On Sunday we could finally enjoy a perfect sunny, warm day. And as by chance we managed to book a place to Cloud 9, we spent an amazing moment on this peculiar and unique place. It combines both most loved things for Andrea: pizza and crystal clear water. We booked through their email as the webpage were showing no availability. It costs 92€ and it includes pick up at your hotel until Denarau Port, 45min transfer boat and 60€ to be spent at the bar. There are two shifts per day (morning 9am to 3pm / afternoon 3pm to 9pm).

As we took the boat we could only see dark blue water and started to be a bit disappointed even considering that what we saw online has been photoshopped… But the 45 minutes ride left us some times to sympathise with the owner of the place and his lawyer as they were welcoming future potential buyers. Few minutes before arriving we could finally see the atoll pointing out and this vision was amazing! It was paradise on earth and most of the pictures you can see in our gallery have been very few or not retouched at all! Yes this mad turquoise colour is real and yes this water feels warm and comfy when you jump in it! When we arrived close to the boat everyone was pushing to make his way first and catch the best spot, targeting most particularly the beds in front of the ocean. We shared our journey with very diverse and surprising audience from regular tourists, to Japanese girls changing 4 times to take pictures as if they were posing for Vogue Magazine passing by the owner and the futures buyers who got pretty wasted very fast! The place is amazing, a little piece of paradise in the middle of the Ocean. You can jump into the water from the very top part of the boat or just chill out enjoying a cocktail and a pizza, which was not as bad as we expected! Overall we made the best out of our 4 days in Fiji experiencing the two extremes : hurricane and beautiful sea life!

 

Watch the video of our incredible day at Cloud9 Pizza Bar 

 

Gallery