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Oarsman’s Bay Resort, Nacula Island, Fiji

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This is the last of 4 nights we have spent on Nacula (pronounced Nathula) at this laid back resort with the most amazing turquoise water just 10 steps away from our bure (hut). After spending a delightful day and a half at the Sheraton we woke up bright and early on Wednesday morning and got on the Yasawa Flyer, a large yellow catamaran that sped us over the waves of a not so sunny day to our island getaway. The journey took 4 hours, as the Yasawa group of islands is further north than the Mamunucas where we stayed previously. On board we sat at the lower deck, with air-con and flat screen tvs showing extreme wrestling. Happily for the children, a local mother with her 3 young ones were on board and they played together.

The flyer stopped many times along the way, dropping off travelers on their way to the many resorts on the islands we passed by. Our turn came at 1pm, when we switched to a small water taxi that took us the last 2km of very shallow water to Oarsman’s Bay on Nacula island. We were greeted with guitars and singing of the staff and quickly settled into our bure, which is actually 2 interconnecting rooms in a large hut. The accommodation here is a bit bare compared to the Sheraton or our previous resort, but the staff is very warm and there is a feeling of closeness that we did not have at the previous places. Part of it has to do with the dining arrangement. Food is served at 8, noon, and 7pm and guests are seated at large rectangular tables that accommodate 8 people. That way you get to meet and talk with some interesting people. We especially enjoyed time spent with a New Zealand couple that taught us a lot about their country. The guy, Dave, also had marine photo equipment, so I finally have some underwater shots from an OK dive we took together yesterday afternoon.

The resort is too small to have a swimming pool, but you really don’t need it here. The beach is quite protected, with very calm water, so we felt very safe about spending time with the children near the water. The water is so amazingly clear that you can see the sand below even at 3 meters depth. And right off of the beach, a beautiful coral reef runs out to the deep, providing the best snorkeling I have ever experienced. You start seeing various species less than 10 meters away from the shoreline. On the first afternoon I even saw a small ray scooting away from me at no more than 4 meters depth.

Yesterday we had an excursion to the local village of Nacula, 300 people strong, which is where most of the resort staff come from. We got there by motorboat, 15 minutes up the shoreline from the resort. We visited the chief’s ceremonial hut, 2 churches, and the local ladies who sold jewelry off of blankets on the grass. The most impressive part was our visit to the local school, which services elementary school kids from all 5 villages on the island. When we arrived, the children were assembled into a large room, sat on mats in front of us, and performed songs and dance for about 30 minutes. They sang Fijian songs, school songs, and a thank you song for the visitors. They were very good. It seems that all Fijians are into singing and playing music whenever they can. No wonder, they get an early start at school. After leaving a small contribution at the school donation box, we returned to the resort.

Last night we had a traditional meal of food cooked in a ground stove, called Lovo. Preceding that, the staff performed a Meke, or traditional singing and dancing ritual. At one point, we the guests joined in with them. It was a good way to build up the appetite and share a few laughs.

The staff here is very friendly, and help us out with the children here and there. Since Ron Orr and Shir are the only kids here, they get the royal treatment, always served food first, and if one of them is crying, one of the staff takes them away for a few minutes to play or see something until they come back laughing.

The one bummer is that the weather was not as great as we would have liked during our stay here. It has been cloudy and very windy for the past 4 days, and just a few minutes ago it was raining really hard. Aside from the late night rain just now, today was actually a bit sunnier than the previous days, so we tried to make the most of it. The sunset photos I was so hoping to capture will have to wait for another opportunity.

Tomorrow we head back to the Sheraton, where we will spend the last 3 nights in Fiji.

Good Night,

-Hemi

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 9th, 2007 at 6:44 pm and is filed under Big Trip, Fiji. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.