July – November, 2015
There is more to Malolo Lailai island than Musket Cove. It’s nearly 2 miles long and about a quarter-mile wide, and one of the fun things to do here is taking a walk to see the rest of the island.
It’s an easy walk over to Dick’s Place (the restaurant and pool), and from there less than a quarter mile to the next resort down the beach, the Plantation Island Resort. It must cater to families since there were enough children to fill an elementary school. While it’s not as nice as Musket Cove’s resort, the beach is narrower with more coral rubble, it does have a nice pool.
In stark contrast to the Plantation Resort was the adults-only Lomani Island Resort just beyond it. While the Plantation was pretty hyperactive, the Lomani was completely quiet. Too quiet. No one was even out by the pool, and while it was a nice enough place, the energy there just felt dead.
After checking out the other resorts, it was an easy walk through a coconut plantation to the other side of the island. After finding a path through some scrub, I found myself on a long, narrow beach that was windswept and totally deserted; I felt like Tom Hanks in Castaway. It didn’t look like anyone ever comes out here.
After walking down the beach, I headed in and found myself on a golf course. I’d describe it as dry, desolate, and windswept. After walking for a surprisingly long time, I was relieved to see a familiar landmark, the small airstrip I’d crossed earlier in my walk. I followed it back to the other side of the island and soon was back at Musket Cove. (Below, a few photos from my walk. Click to enlarge and scroll.)
One very nifty and popular feature of Malolo Lailai is the sandspit just offshore. It’s under water at high tide, but at low tide emerges a long bar of sand that’s fun to visit. You can walk along the bar and look for shells, snorkel and swim off the beach, and walk out into a huge area of water only inches deep. We only felt the need to go out there once, but some people like it so much they anchor their boats off the spit instead of staying on a mooring or in the anchorage.
Click to enlarge or scroll in any of the galleries above.–Cyndi
