Fun in the Fijian Sun

We had a great time playing at the beach. The lagoon was really warm and shallow enough for us to walk way out in it. We played in kayaks and tried the paddle boards.

Except for two small houses, the beach was completely ours as far as we could see.

Total paradise!

Alex's favorite activity was sitting in little holes in the rocks and pretending his "bathtub" filled up with water every time a wave washed over it. Later he learned that his shoes floated and that was even better. He never cared to venture out into the water and HATED the paddle board.

Ben, on the other hand, was right out in the action once we told him he could see fish. It was perfect for him to watch the fish through his goggles in water shallow enough to stand. Matt and I did some snorkeling in deeper water and saw all kinds of fish and had an up-close encounter with a leopard shark.

Happy guy!

Wish we would have had an underwater camera for some of the cool fish, but the best we could do was a brilliant blue starfish in knee-deep water.


Matt and I absolutely loved staying at a smaller place because everything was so close. It was just a few yards from the beach up to the pool. It also helped when we forgot toys, cars, sunglasses, shirts, and books, because they were always exactly where we left them.

The staff at the resort was incredible. We were on a first-name basis with almost everyone and they outnumbered the guests almost 2 to 1. They made sure that the kids and I weren't bored while Matt was surfing and one of our activities was river kayaking. We took a boat around the corner, through a big cove near the local village, and on into the mouth of the river. Weiss sat with Ben on the boat and kept him entertained.

The mouth of the river was all mangrove trees, which slowly gave way to hardwoods and bamboo as we made our way into fresh water.

Ben and Kevu, the activities director, shared a kayak while Alex and I took the other. The boys were mostly interested in scooping leaves out of the water but I really enjoyed the scenery and birds.

On our way back I also loved this island with just 3 palms on top.

Kevu and Ben invented a game requiring lots of noise on the way home. Kevu (pronounced Kay-boo) was terrific with the kids and we had several more adventures with him during the week.

We only had one rainy day but it didn't stop us from enjoying ourselves. I went out with Matt and another couple to see the waves at Pipe but had trouble getting any decent pictures (and none of Matt riding waves, much to his disappointment, I'm sure) in the rocking boat.

The island looked beautiful underneath the clouds and mist.

Overall, our weather was perfect. Highs around 88, lows around 75, so it was comfortable all the time and we slept great without air-conditioning. Ben even managed to get cold at night. Even on the rainy nights it was still fun to sleep with the sound of the raindrops trickling through the jungle.