UW Adventures in Fiji

Senga Na Lenga: No Worries in Fiji
Rain covered the cracked windshield as we bounced along the dirt road somewhere in the Western Region of Fiji. It was looking wet, dirty and very poor. Where was the lush resort, the hot sun, the swaying palms?

Well, actually the palms were swaying to the beat of the howling winds blowing around 35-65 knots. Yes, we were here in rainy season. And when they say rain, they mean rain. Buckets, barrels, torrents for around 30 minutes. Then it dried up, the sun came out, and all the water drained away into the porous soil. In Fiji , even the weather is on "Fiji-Time".
We were also winding through police roadblocks all along the 2-hour drive. Bored policemen sitting under the lee of tin roofs called a welcoming "Bula" to us as we passed. A reminder of the coup a year or so ago, the actors of which were sentenced the week before we got there. Ah, yes, paradise.

Passing the Raki Raki Hotel sign by a miserable looking building, I was getting a little worried as the leader of the group from The Marker Buoy Dive Club. Were the photos and write-ups that misleading? Thoughts of "Oh, my god - I've dragged 10 friends into an expensive mess… and it's in a typhoon!" were going through my mind.

Finally, we turned of the main road and onto another rougher road under a small Wananavu Resort sign. Things started to look a little better. As we crested the hill, they started to look a lot better. Or, at least what we could see of it through the driving rain.

Pulling up, we were greeted by John Gray the transplanted Kiwi owner. He ushered us into the beautiful, varnished pine restaurant and even through the rain we could see that the bay and expansive gardens of the resort were fantastic. What an oasis.

John quickly got us breakfast, and after 14 of traveling we could finally start to relax. Throughout the week, the friendly, easy-going good service and overall high quality of the resort, its restaurant and facilities (including a wonderful pool), was very impressive in such a remote setting.

After breakfast we repaired to our "bures" and were again pleasantly surprised by their varnished pine beauty and perfect design. Each had a nice large bedroom with double-screened doors to the covered porch as well as a nice sitting area and sparkling bath. All, overlooking the bay and fantastic tropical gardens of the resort.
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