July 15, 2015
We ventured out of the reef-enclosed west side of Fiji to go to the much-acclaimed show at Robinson Crusoe Resort on Likuri Island at the southwest corner of Viti Levu. Wow, was it worth the upwind ride! I thought it would be a hokey tourist thing. It was, but it was also incredible and wonderful. The setting is great, the staff welcoming, the food good and the show was one of the best we have ever seen!
The dinner was a lovo – a traditional Fijian style dinner with food cooked in the a covered pit in the ground on hot stones. We liked our food. Then came the show…
Well, actually this was our second show. We’d gone in earlier for a beer and were surprised to see a lunch-time show for guests brought in from the mainland. It was nice, but we hadn’t seen anything yet. (See photos from both shows in gallery above).
The dinner show was definitely the main attraction! Our recommendation: come in for the lunch show, but make sure to come back in for the amazing dinner show…
The highlight of the show was definitely the fire dancing. It’s not native to Fiji but they do it right. The dancers were amazing with an equal mix of concentration and joy showing on their faces as they twirled burning batons and threw fire into the air. These are skilled athletes and entertainers!
We even got to witness a first: a Flyboard fire dance! Flyboards are the water jet powered things people ride over the water, soaring to the amazing height of twelve feet while making a lot of noise. It was pretty cool to watch a firedancer doing his thing just offshore (see gallery above).–Rich
Note from Cyndi: I have been to a lot of Polynesian shows in my lifetime, but this was my favorite. They manage to combine the awe and spectacle of a large production with the intimate feeling of a small local show. Even more amazing: because we came on our own boat, this only cost us $25FD per person (about $13 dollars US), which included the show and the dinner. Drinks were extra, of course.
For anyone who’s interested: the dinner show is held Wednesday and Saturday, and you should call ahead and make a reservation. By the way, it’s a good anchorage with room for lots of boats. The pass is large and easy to negotiate. –Cyndi
(You can click to enlarge/scroll through both photo galleries above.)
