Month: August 2013

August 2, 2013

We headed over to the Coconut Grove’s own beach, which unfortunately involved using the yelling sticks as it was fairly low tide. We made it ashore, both of us still healthy and well, neither one with an oar protruding out of their skull. That’s always a sign of success.

We tied up the dinghy and walked along Coconut Grove’s lovely little beach and up the stairs to their covered deck dining area. We ordered eggs and toast with their home-grown chopped veggies, and their specialty: banana bread.

With this, we found our easy winner of the Best Breakfast in Fiji Award (at least of the places we’ve tried). The banana bread was easily the best we’ve ever had, more like a giant banana nut cookie in loaf form than normal cake-like banana bread. The eggs and toast were very good, but the standout was the side of chopped veggies in some seasoning mix that I couldn’t identify, but was amazing. We topped off our morning feast with cappuccinos.

Sitting out on their tropical deck overlooking the ocean, having amazing food, was about as nice as a breakfast as we’ve ever had. It was well worth using the yelling sticks to come here, and if we were staying I’d happily use them to come back here every morning! Sadly today would be our last day here. –Cyndi

August 1, 2013

On the way back from Restaurant Tramonto were three small resorts I wanted to check out. When we travel to areas like this, I love going to look at the special resorts and consider them one of the attractions of the area. After all, they’re a combined effort of talented architects, interior designers, landscape architects, floral arrangers, and gardeners.

If they do their job well, the final creation blends with the landscape while enhancing and maximizing the impact of the beauty of surrounding area. It also gives a feeling for the local culture, a sense of place. When they really get it right, there’s a serenity around the area, an undefinable sense of grace. It just feels good to be there. A well-designed resort is a work of art as much as any painting in a museum, but this a work of art you can walk through and be a part of.

The first resort we came across was the Taveuni Island Resort, a very nice place. The open-air dining room looks out over an expanse of grass and beautifully landscaped grounds to an infinity pool, which overlooks the beach below.

Next up was the very exclusive Taveuni Palms. There are only 3 villas, each with their own beach, swimming pool, and staff including a personal chef to create your multi-course meals. This is a place to come to be catered to, pampered, and indulged.

We knew when we were getting close because the landscaping along the road went from very pretty to wow! Just walking past the resort grounds along the street was a visual feast for the eyes. We hoped to see more of the incredible grounds and walked down their drive.

We ended up at the simple reception area and met one of the owners, a lovely Kiwi lady and her little daughter. She was very kind and gracious, saying she’d normally show us around but all the units were booked. We chatted with her for awhile, and there was no hint of snobbery or suspicion that certain other resorts adopt when they’re pretending to be classy. This woman was the real deal, able to make her resort feel easy-going, yet able to cater to the needs of those from the highest echelons. She’s like the Mr. Roarke of Taveuni Island. Below is a gallery of the street in front of the Taveuni Palms, and their wonderful white dog.

Finally, we headed back on the road to the Coconut Grove Beachfront Cottages, another beautiful little gem, set on a golden beach. Their open air dining room sits on a hill above the beach, giving a treetop view of the surrounding palms. We loved it and decided to come for breakfast the next day. –Cyndi

August 1, 2015

We decided to be dropped off at an Italian restaurant I’d read about, Tramonto, maybe a mile from the anchorage. We’d worked up an appetite, and Italian food sounded pretty good.

We’d come for the pizza, but the setting was breathtaking! The open-air room hung off the side of a jungle-covered hill. Below was a postcard-worthy view of the bay below, with its blue and green water, long white stretch of sand, and tree-lined beach.

The cheese and garlic pizza was very tasty, but with this view it could taste like cat food and we’d still come here. Speaking of cat food, we were thrilled to see this restaurant had its own cat who would visit every table. A fantastic view, good food, and a cat! Does it get any better than this? –Cyndi

August 1, 2013

By the time we arrived back at the lower waterfall, a few people had arrived. No matter: it’s a big pool with more than enough room for a lot of people. We met a large family, half Fijian, half English, and the English half was visiting the Fijian half and getting the grand tour of Taveuni. Wow, two great places for relatives to visit each other!

The water in the pool was initially quite cool but felt great once we were in. Rich and I swam by the base of the falls and watched as a young Fijian man climbed the rocks and dove in. Soon, he was showing the kids how to climb up and do the jump. It was fairly high, and the objective was to run a few feet to gather forward momentum, then leap off an outer rock to land well into the pool below.

The young teen girls did the jump successfully, and I figured if they could do it, I could do it. After getting some coaching, I ran to the edge and leapt off. As I fell, I realized this was higher than I thought, realizing it mostly because I had so much time to think about it before hitting the water.

I slammed into the water, got some water up my nose and actually hurt my ear some as it was probably too fast a descent without clearing. I guess I should have done as the girls did and held my nose. This was definitely the highest jump I’ve ever done. I surfaced and felt a bit stunned, but I was also glad I’d done it. Never again do I have to wish I had the nerve to try something like this; I can happily sit and watch others now.

We swam more around the base of the fall, just reveling in the cool water and beautiful scenery. But we couldn’t stay forever. We exchanged numbers with the nice family before heading off to change and go find our driver chief. –Cyndi

August 1, 2013

We had another 15 or 20 minute walk from the pavilion to the middle Tavoro waterfall, but it was an easy trail, with a final short, steep descent.

The path comes out right near the base of the waterfall, giving an up-close (aka wet) view. While this fall wasn’t as tall as the lower waterfall, it had tremendous force, creating wind and spray at its base. The thundering crash of water was so loud we had to shout at each other to be heard.

We sat on a rock and let the waterfall wind and spray whip around us, getting us pretty wet. It was very refreshing, and pretty exciting to be near such a powerful force.

That middle fall was neat to see, but the highlight was the beautiful forested walk we took to get there. We saw lots of blue-tailed skinks (lizards), frogs and even parrots. Trees, tree ferns, and vines grew abundantly around the path. Butterflies flitted around, black with white dots. It was like an enchanted forest.

After briefly considering trying for the upper falls, we decided to heed the advice we’d been given and not attempt it. Maybe we’d be back to try again someday, but sometimes you just have to let things go. We headed back to the lower falls, happy to have even gotten this far.

Above is a gallery of photos from our walk (click to enlarge and scroll). –Cyndi