Our family recently enjoyed 9 days in Fiji. We arrived in Nadi on a hot 30 degree, humid winter day. Well, what Fijians call winter anyway. We are from Canberra where winter equals minus degree temperatures.
We made our way by transfer car to the Sonaisali Island Resort 20 minutes South of Nadi. This is a resort on its own island but only 3 minutes water ferry from the mainland. The water ferry provides 24 hour access to the mainland.
The Fijian people are so polite and wouldn’t let us carry any of our own bags. We felt spoilt even before we arrived at the resort. We made our way by ferry to the Sonaisali Island and were greeted by staff members who presented us with shell necklaces. The children had already practised saying Bula so we were all ready for our Fijian greeting. We were escorted to the lobby and we immediately realised that we were in for 9 days of relaxation. We were upgraded from a beach view hotel room to a beach view Bure which thrilled dear husband. Apart from a few minor maintenance issues in the first few days, we were more than thrilled with the clean and tidy Bure we stayed in.
The children immediately settled in to the kid’s club program. They couldn’t wait to get there each day. They enjoyed bowling with coconuts, watching fire walking, hunting for geckos, racing frogs, swimming in the ocean and fishing. These were only a few of the many activities they took part in. They loved their carers Shabnam and Tupo (or Tomato as the Sonaisali kids call her).
As a family we visited a local village and saw first hand what life is like living in a village. We took a shopping trip to Nadi to collect souvenirs and snorkelled off an island off the coast. One of the highlights of our trip was a wedding vow renewal that I organised as a surprise for my husband. The lovely wedding coordinator at the Sonaisali took care of all the arrangements to help make it a special time for us.
We loved our time at the Sonaisali and can’t wait to go back again.
Natalie Otten | 
