Likuri Island Resort
Thurs 26th Feb
The bus arrived at 08:50. A bit later than usual. We arrived in Nadi at 09:20 and the Sunbeam bus came around 10:00. Heavy rain.
It cost 4Fjd to Maro junction which is the junction to Natadola beach.It was a 10:10 departure, and arrival at 10:55. I paid the taxi 10Fjd to go the 8kms. Someone at Nadi bus stand said it’s a long way and cost 20+ Fjd. Hmmm….such exaggeration.
The driver took me to the championship golf course built by Vijay Singh.
Then to the Beach…nothing but massage beds and horses to ride on the beach.
Buna helped me with contacting Likuri Island resort and booking a room for the night. Natadola Beach villas, although on the map, is apparently closed.
I went to Yatule Resort for a coffee. Stayed an hour and a half. Nothing to do there…very boring !!
Back to Buna. She called me a taxi to take me to the jetty. He wanted 10 but I offered 5, which he accepted. I waited half an hour before the ferry arrived. The 20 minute trip was mainly down a river to the open sea, then Likuri island was very close.
I was the only passenger. I was greeted by someone singing along to his guitar. I went to reception to complete check in process; I was greeted very warmly. Then things took an unexpected turn. The single room for 179 was upgraded to a double/family room that should’ve cost 260, but I was given it for 180. So of course I was definitely staying 2 nights for 360Fjd…or about 60Gbp per night.
I paid 158Fjd (50Gbp) half board for 2 days…or 25Gbp per day for breakfast and dinner. The only other cost 60Fjd…just under 20Gbp for the return ferry trip. So, total cost was under 200Gbp for the 2 days. This was all thanks to Inochi; I don’t know why he upgraded me.
I was shown to room 33. It was large with a bathroom; some rooms (I don’t know how many) have to use a central wash/toilet facility. I just wandered around, taking in the atmosphere/environment, gettin a feel for what it was like to be in a resort.
There was a group of at least 15 people involved in activities such as weaving, dancing the macarena, and crab (real live ones) racing. I found out later that the guests were on a half day excursion to Likuri, but it was nice to watch them so enthusiastically participate and enjoy the activities.
Inochi collared me to say that with the room came a complimentary bottle of wine and a free 100Fjd towards my bar tab.
After the guests left I took advantage of the offer and sat down with an ice bucket of 5 Fiji Golds ( 40Fjd against my tab ) to enjoy the view of the sea. I talked to an Oz couple.
Dinner was between 7 and 8. There was beef and chicken and all sorts of vegetables and a soup…all very tasty. After that we sat on the beach in front of a wood bonfire and chatted. I was exhausted at this point and retired to my comfortable room.
Fri 27th Feb
1st night at Likuri went well…very comfortable; the fan was just right. I happened to notice the tail end of a sunrise, so I went outside for some nice pics; actually it was quite special.
Breakfast is between 8:00 and 9:00; I wandered over for the standard selection of bacon, sausages, cereals, fruit, toast, jams… The omelette of your choosing was very nice. It was good that there weren’t many guests.
I walked down the beach a little and could see the smarter rooms with a/c through the trees/bushes. I went on a fish catching demonstration. A net was taken a few metres from the shore, then bits of bread were thrown into the water, and up to a dozen little fish could be caught. Getting them untangled from the net was tricky, as they seemed to have ‘spikes’ all over and had to be held around the head. Anyway, that was a free activity.
The other freebie was the preparation of the ‘lolobun’. Flour and water kneaded into a dough, and the dough balls cooked in hot water, I think. Then coated with coconut milk and served in a coconut husk. It was quite solid and very filling.
Apart from that…I washed my zebra shirt. I lay on a lounger for a short time. I went for a swim; the water temperature was lovely. You could see some fish swimming around, but there was quite a lot of debris in the water.
It threatened with rain. There is Internet within the public areas..i.e. not rooms…and I got the password so was on my phone for a bit.
When it got to passed 5pm I got myself a bucket of 5 Golds and relaxed while looking out to sea. Curry dinner was at 7pm… nice enough, but the dishes are a bit bland; to be expected I suppose as they cook 3 meals per day.
Quiet evening. Being a Friday they don’t have any activities and therefore no guests on day trips. In fact that’s why I extended my stay by a day, so I could see the Saturday activities. After an evening chatting with fellow guests, I went to my room.
Sat 28th Feb
A comfortable night. The shower is really good. A bit too cloudy for a sunrise. I filmed the drum beating at 08:00 to announce that breakfast was ready.
I saw the burning ‘lovo’…covered fire pit…to be used in an afternoon activity. Two boat loads of half day guests arrived; they really got a first class welcome of singing, guitar playing, fire torches, hand clapping… Compared to my solo guy when I arrived.!! I wasn’t envious or bitter as there were about 30 of them.
I looked in on a lady boiling fresh crabs. A small sample was served to us in a coconut husk with hot coconut milk. The flavour was nice, but sucking on a crab shell with virtually zero crab meat, wasn’t very exciting.
There followed a kava ceremony which was far more elaborate than the 2 times I had drunk kava. In my case I was the only person there (at Sailor’s) and didn’t have to share with anybody. !!! The visitors didn’t do any tasting…they only witnessed the ceremony.
Then the lovo ceremony which consisted of taking off the protective material and palm tree branches/leaves and exposing the cooked potatoes and casava. Well, okay. What was more interesting to me was the barefoot fire walkers. Those coals looked bloody hot and to stand on them was quite an impressive feat !!!
Then the evening’s finale after dinner. Basically, at least 30 minutes of fire show and dancing in traditional costumes to different drum beats. It was carried out by both men and women.
The day trippers left on the 9pm ferry. I finished off my bucket of 5 Golds and proceeded to make inroads into my bottle of red wine. My excuse was that I didn’t want to be carrying a full bottle in my rucksack the next day.
I had a good conversation with French guy Patrick who was staying at Likuri. Earlier in the day I had a great chat with Guy the Canadian who was part of the day visit. I finished the whole bottle of red, which was fitting end to my 3 days on the Likuri island resort.