Sonaisali

After a half-hour flight from Nausori (the airport near Suva) to Nadi we found two taxis to take us to the jetty a few minutes boat-ride from our next destination, Sonaisali Island Resort. This was the hedonistic part of our holiday. On arrival at Sonaisali we were gretted with a hearty "bula" and a shell necklace. Sophie had made such a fast leap off the boat she'd missed her greeting but when she saw everyone else getting the treatment she made sure she went back for hers.

The short stroll to the main lobby set the scene for a soothing and pampering few days.

The view from the verandah of our "beachfront bure" was simply beautiful.

First priority was lunch at the poolside restaurant where we sat right next to the toddler pool that Rosie couldn't resist getting in for a wade.

Hunger satiated, we of course checked out the most important feature which was a huge lagoon-style pool with rocks for jumping off and a swim-up bar which we didn't really utilise but was nice to have just in case.

One of my favourite spots for post-pool drying off and just lying about were the sun-loungers in front of our bure (only a stone's throw from the pool but cleverly made to feel like your own private front yard).

That night after dinner there was organised activity with the MC Charlie, our Activities Coordinator, a great character and quite hilarious. Firstly there was a limbo competition which Sophie was quietly keen to do. The rest of us watched and cheered as she kept advancing from round to round and the bar got closer and closer to the floor. Charlie was a bit of an expert himself and kept up the encouragement. In the end our very own Soph was one of 3 winners, a grownup and two girls. Later they were taken to the bar for a free drink (what! no KitKat?!!!!!). Sophie enjoyed her moment of glory. Then it was time for us all to feel a bit silly doing one of those mass dance numbers with Charlie up the front. Peter escaped by taking pictures instead.

On day 2 there was lots of pool time, lying about reading and doing Sudokus, eating and Kasi, Jessye and I availed ourselves of some personal pampering at the Beauty and Health Spa. Kasi had a manicure, Jessye had a pedicure and I had the deluxe full-body massage followed by facial and pedicure. The very nice ladies at the spa knew they were onto a good thing with us. The next day we booked in for a massage (Kasi) and manicures (Jessye and me). They told us about the weddings coming up.

Just in front of our bure was a decorated little landing with stairs up from the beach. This was to receive the bridal party brought by a decorated boat complete with decorated real Fijians who motored from a couple of hundred metres down the beach. The groom waited in front of the wedding bure along with a party of pink-clad Fijian choristors singing Fijian hymns to serenade the bride's arrival. The wedding package is quite big business with three happening the day before we left. This one on the Friday was our favourite because the groom was 5'4"" and the bride was 6'1". At first we were a bit sheepish about taking pictures and invading but they seem to want participation from the other guests and so we soon got into the spirit of it. Sophie found a good vantage point near the choir.

Happy Hour became a focal point of the evening and the sunsets from the poolside bar area were gorgeous. The newlyweds were set up on the beachfront with their own little spot for dinner. When there was more than one wedding that day they'd set the little tables up at a discreet distance from each other but we noticed on our last night that two of the couples had had enough of their private moment and had joined up for a foursome. To announce Happy Hour the lunatic Activities Coordinator would appear in a grass skirt and wander about lighting the flaming torches around the pool area then he would leap up onto one of the rocks jutting into the pool and shout "Happy Hour". If he was pleased enough with the level of enthusiasm of the assembled audience he would clown around for a while, pretend to leave and then come back with a running start and leap off the rock doing a somersault into the pool miraculously still keeping the lit torch above the water through the whole landing process.

One of the night-time activities was a performance by a local village group doing a bit of singing, dancing and carrying on with spears. Rosie and Sophie sat in the front row and got a bit of a fright when one of the young guys doing the spear routine ended up with a lunge in their direction and the point of his spear a few centimetres from their faces. I think he was smiling at the time but still.... Jessye, who thought she was safely tucked behind in the second row, was mortified when one of the young guys asked her to dance when it got to the audience participation bit. She put up a fight but in the end couldn't go against the loud insistence of the audience.

On our last day the resort had arranged a shopping trip to the town of Nadi. Their small bus was ready at the mainland jetty to take the 10 or so of us who wanted to go. We wandered the main strip and checked out the market which was just about as big as the one in Suva. We stopped at a cafe for morning tea and Peter, who must have decided to forgo breakfast, ordered the crab curry. He was a bit disconcerted when it arrived in its shell but got stuck in with a vengeance. We managed to pick up a few souvenirs before heading back.

On our arrival back at the bure, the wedding choristors were already hanging out waiting for the first wedding of a big day for them. Waiting is something Fijians are quite good at because of their constant exposure to the famous phenomenon of "Fiji Time".

That afternoon after appreciating our beautiful environment again at lunch we tried a spot of kayaking. We all started out in our own kayaks but with the sea being so warm Rosie and Sophie gave up on theirs pretty early on and spent most of the time in the water.

Post-kayaking we made use of the spa built into the verandah of our bure with Sophie and I especially enjoying the late afternoon soak while Jessye kept an eye on the wedding proceedings.

We played cards at our last Happy Hour.

Kasi had a very early departure for Auckand the next morning, about an hour earlier than ours, and I got up to see her off at the island jetty. Then it was our turn to head off in two taxis for the airport just as dawn was breaking over the interior mountains. What a fabulous week. The girls were very impressed with their first visit to Fiji and we hope to make it a regular event.