Mana Island Resort

Back in January when bf and I were booking our trip to New Zealand he thought it would be a good idea for us to make a short trip to Fiji. This was mainly because we were staying with our friends that were getting married for a couple of weeks before their wedding and he thought they might appreciate not having to drag us around constantly. Admittedly, we could have gone somewhere else in New Zealand but he had his heart set on Fiji, so Fiji it was (as he was paying…)

As a tourist, the choice of where to go is enormous - the Fiji islands are an archipelago of 333 different sized islands situated in the South Pacific. After much deliberation we decided to go to Mana island which is located in the Mamanuca island group 32 km west of Nadi airport.
A couple of days before we were due to leave I looked at the weather report for Mana island and was not too happy to see that thunderstorms and heavy rain was predicted for our entire 3 day stay. I was also feeling quite stressed for a few hours when my friends said that I would need at least 6 months before expiry on my passport, and I only had 3. After a few more or less hysterical phone calls and some emails later it turns out that this was not the case. All you need as a tourist from the EU is a passport valid for 3 months after your return date. Lucky me!

On the day we were flying out we were at the airport at 6 am. We were flying out from Palmerston North which is a tiny airport, but as I always have to be everywhere early I insisted that we get there on time. Something that we were not told while booking any of our tickets in the UK is that in New Zealand you always have to pay a departure tax which is not included in your ticket price. This is payable before you go through security.

The flight across to Nadi, Fijii's airport town took about 4 hours. As we arrived we were met by a representative of the resort, who put a shell necklace around each of our necks much to bf's horror. He then took us the short walk across to the domestic terminal where he pointed out our check-in counter and then left us. Bf was pretty happy that he had gone so he could take his necklace off without being rude. Now, I thought that was too bad as it kind of suited him but he definitely disagreed.

Now for the interesting part. As we went to check in they took a cursory look at our passports and tickets. I didn't get any comments on how my passport was nearly too old as I had had in every other airport I'd been to so far. When bf had put the suitcase up to be weighed the lady checking us in asked him to carry it into a small room on the opposite side to the check-in desk. A little bit strange I thought - but hey - technology is not the be all and end all. When he came back she told him to get up on the suitcase scales himself. 'Hmmm' - I thought to myself, 'I wonder if this might be a small plane'. I thought check-in woman might show some mercy and let me off being weighed, but oh no, no mercy for me. I had to get up and weighed with all my hand luggage and everything strapped around me - not a great experience! After this was done she told us to go off and come back to the check in desk at 11.55. As our plane was due to take off at 12.00 I asked several times whether this was correct but she insisted it was. At 11.50 we came back and the lady asked us to follow her. On the way to security she picked up 3 other people that were apparently flying in the same plane. We went through security but there was nobody there to check the bags as we put them through and when the machine beeped the lady just ignored it and told us to move it!

When I saw the plane I realised why we had to get weighed as it was absolutely tiny, with propellers at the front. As I went to get on it, I realised that our plane was actually behind the first tiny plane and was barely visible to the naked eye. Luckily, I have no fear of flying but bf turned a bit green and seemed unusually quiet. We ended up sitting in the back of the plane which could (very uncomfortably) sit 6 people. We were 5 and it felt like we were all pretty much sitting in each others laps. It was great fun to fly in this plane as it flew so low that you could see all the islands properly and the windows were open a little bit so you got a fresh breeze.

After about 10 minutes the plane started to descend but as I looked down I started to feel slightly worried as there was nothing there to land on. Finally I saw the shortest landing strip in history - just water, a little bit of grass and then water again. Amazingly (or maybe not, I guess he's done it a few times before, but it seemed amazing to me) the pilot managed to land on the tiny little tuft of grass. As it turned out this was not Mana Island but Plantation Island where the other 3 passengers got off. When everybody, including the pilot who helped carry some bags, left the plane we tried to take a sneaky photo as we realised nobody would ever believe us when we told them about the size of the plane. The pilot came back and managed to catch us taking photos but he was more than happy to pose for a photo outside the plane and we got to feel like proper tourists.

After another 10 minutes we landed on Mana island and not a thunderstorm in sight. Again, the landing strip was not so much a strip as a tuft of grass followed by water (or so it looked as we came in to land anyway) but our pilot seemed to have no problem getting us down safely. He helped us with our bags and led us to the 'airport'. This was a wooden shed where a guy told us that a car would pick us up shortly. "It's a BMW, no, no, no a limousine" he said and laughed, something which triggered my suspicions. Sure enough, after a 10 minute wait, a tractor with a large trailer pulled up. Ainsley Harriott, or his twin brother at the very least, jumped out and threw our bags in the back together with us. After a slow and steady trip where we had a chance to have a proper look at parts of the island we arrived at reception where we got a cold drink and some information and maps about the resort. The island is very small, you cand walk around it in about 1.5 hours, but certain parts of the island tourists are asked to stay away from as they are holy places to the Fijians.

As we had to wait for our bure to be cleaned we had a walk around, played some table tennis in the games room and then gave up trying to be active as we were still wearing jeans in 35 degrees heat. Just enough time for a drink by the beach-side bar then. When we finally got the key for our island bure we were more than ready to get changed into our swimming gear and go for a dip in the beautiful pool. Our bure consisted of one big room with a double bed, a desk, 3 chairs, 1 small table and 2 bedside tables. The bathroom was a decent size and sparkling clean (I always check, just in case). However, we didn't have air-conditioning, just a ceiling fan, and considered upgrading because of this. There are several different styles of bures you can choose from, some are more 'hotel-style like' and others are bigger and more exclusive. However, I don't think any of them offers a TV. In fact, the whole time I was on the island I didn't see a TV anywhere - what a relief! There are also specific honeymoon bures which are on the other side of the airstrip from all the other bures, just a couple of metres from the high tide mark. However, there are about 5 of them, all of which are right next to each other, something I found a little bit odd. Then again I guess that they will most probably not all be occupied at the same time. In the end we decided to stay in our bure the first night and if we felt the need for air-conditioning we would upgrade the day after.

On our first day we explored the island a little bit more and had a meal in the more 'exclusive' of the 2 main restaurants on the island. The menu was quite heavily geared towards fish and the fish I had (which I unfortunately can't remember the name of, it was a really long and strange name) was absolutely melt in your mouth gorgeous! The wine was ice cold and very expensive as I think beer and cocktails are more usual drinks. Later on we watched a traditional hakka and some very touristy performances. Normally I don't particularly enjoy things like that but as I'd had a few drinks by then I had a great time. That night we slept really well in spite of no air conditioning. After breakfast at the buffet bar (which was included in the price) the following day, we decided to walk up to one of the 2 look out points. For some reason we thought it would be a good idea to walk to the one the furthest away - trust me, this is not a good idea when it is a steep climb and it's 35 degrees and humid outside.

In the afternoon we went down to the water sports centre and got a kayak. Before we left I went back to the bure to put on some more sunscreen. Now, as I am the palest shade of pale I normally wear spf 40 or so, but I thought it would be enough to put on spf 15 before going out in a kayak on the ocean. Don't ask me why, I should know by now that this is not a good idea, certainly not in this area which has hardly any ozone layer covering it. There is no prize for guessing how much I burnt…The rest of the day we both had to sit in the shade in the pool and try to cool down. By the evening we were still in pain but went for a meal at the buffet bar and a cold drink on the beach. It was absolutely beautiful to sit outside at night as the temperature dropped to about 25 degrees and in the dark you could see thunder storms in the distance (beautiful in the distance but I was glad that they stayed there too).
On our last day we were both ridiculously burnt so we decided not to go on any more outings but just hang out by the pool (in the shade mind) and try to keep cool.

We returned to Nadi in a sea plane, which was amazing. At the break of dawn we were up and down by the beach where the plane was meant to land. As it came in to land I realised that it was, if possible, even smaller than the plane we had flown on our way to Mana. I had never flown anything like it and was really excited but as I waded through the water all I could think of was how much my sunburn would hurt when I had to climb onto the plane, as the doors were pretty high up. Well, we both managed to get on it and our 2 pilots had a little chat with us as we were right behind them. I could have stuck my hand out and steered the plane if I had wanted to (and been allowed to too, I guess). It was an absolutely amazing experience and not scary in the slightest if anybody's worried about flying.

I had the best of times on Mana Island, it was incredibly relaxing and the locals are ever so friendly, always greeting you with a cheery 'Bula'. In fact, everybody said Bula to each other constantly; it did get a bit on my nerves in the end I must admit. The best advice I can give is to pack plenty of sun block and USE IT! Don't make the same mistake I did, it really isn't worth it. I had blisters all over my body for weeks after - not a good look, I tell you. The resort organises activities for children and adults alike throughout the day if you are interested in that kind of thing. The activities could be anything from deep water fishing to music lessons and are, of course, free. I enjoyed just walking on the beach at sunset and chase the little, white and super quick crabs around.

I would recommend most people to visit Mana at some point in life. It is a very relaxing place and Fiji is absolutely stunning. Mana Island resort caters for families, couples and singles alike, and there is something here for most people. If you are after an active holiday, are scared of flying small, dodgy planes or if you're after a club 18-30 type holidays, this will not be for you. For anybody else I think it would make a truly memorable holiday.

Oh, and as for the price - I wouldn't have a clue as I didn't pay for any of it, but I'm sure prices change anyway so just have a look on the website at www.manafiji.com