1. Explore I FIJI
83
Savusavu
Travel a little further afield
on your next trip to Fiji and
get to know the locals
Secret
FIJI ISLANDS
SUVA
Savusavu
FIJI I SAVUSAVU
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2. garden bures to overwater
villas, and the resort’s
famous adults-only
Edgewater bures.
The US-based owners
foster a strong sense of
community with the
surrounding villages and
were instrumental in
helping rebuild villages
after Tropical Cyclone
Winston devastated the
area in February.
“Our guests are looking
for something more
authentic; luxurious
but also rustic,” general
manager Margaret
Rayawa says. “We
attract those wanting to
experience the real Fiji
and all it has to offer. The
beauty of Savusavu is in
the authenticity of the
people. Tourism is not
such a big thing here, so
our staff look forward
to coming to work and
meeting new people.”
Life lessons
At the primary school
in the seaside village of
Nagigi (population 150)
the next day, the teachers
told us that many of the
children have to leave
home very early in the
morning to travel to
school from neighbouring
villages. They asked us
questions and sang songs,
their joy infectious.
We had heard the
school was in desperate
need of stationery and
brought a bag of supplies,
plus a rugby ball that was
soon thrown around the
playground.
The pristine reef,
visible from the school’s
playground, beckoned
later and we paddled
kayaks out to the reef,
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Explore I FIJIExplore I FIJI
T
he young girl’s
warm brown
eyes light up as
she looks down
at the protected
bay below her island
home. “It is so beautiful
and peaceful here,” she
says, smiling. “Every
night, I watch the sun
set over the water and I
feel so lucky. Savusavu is
paradise to me.”
We are climbing the
bumpy, winding road
with our cab driver Bobbie
and his daughter and son
to their home, perched
high in the tropical hills
overlooking Savusavu, a
town on the south coast
of Vanua Levu, Fiji’s
second-largest but less-
frequented island.
My family and I met
Bobbie days earlier
when he drove us from
the shack of an airport
at the island’s largest
town of Labasa to our
accommodation at
Savusavu.
Many visitors opt to
fly directly into the tiny
Savusavu airport – a
50-minute inter-island
flight from Nadi – but
we enjoyed every second
of our scenic 90-minute
drive through remote
villages and lush green
mountains, past myriad
colourful shacks and
friendly locals waving
and yelling the greeting,
“Bula”.
“We are known as the
hidden paradise of Fiji,”
Bobbie says proudly.
“More tourists have found
us but it still has the
magic.”
We discover this to be
true during our nine-day
stay at Savusavu, where
we see only a handful
of other tourists during
our regular trips to town.
With a population of less
than 5000, Savusavu’s
village-like charm,
vibrant culture, natural
beauty, warm people and
laid-back way of life is
enchanting.
Resorts reinvented
US motivational speaker
and author Tony Robbins
owns Namale Resort
at Savusavu but there
are no international
hotel chains, upmarket
boutique shopping or
kitsch tourist attractions
here. We stay at a
family-owned boutique
resort called Koro Sun, a
sprawling 150-acre former
copra plantation with
virgin rainforest on one
side and the aquamarine
waters of the Koro Sea on
the other.
Owned by the hands-on
Young family for the past
15 years, Koro Sun offers a
range of accommodation
from original Fijian
More
tourists
have found
us but it
still has the
magic
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT:
Families find a warm welcome
in Savusavu; view to the marina;
children on their way to school;
Edgewater bures at Koro Sun.
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Great views
of the
marina

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Explore I FIJI
passing smiling locals
hand-line fishing for their
lunch. As we snorkelled,
our four-year-old son
shrieked with joy each
time he saw a brilliant
blue starfish, a colourful
fish, or a piece of coral. He
was not as excited when
he saw reef shark darting
below him, and opted to
snorkel on my back.
Kava currency
The following day, our
guides Solo and Romano
drive us to visit Vuadomo
Village, where we offer
a gift of kava root to the
locals in return for a visit
to the waterfall.
The tiny, self-sufficient
village is peppered with
multi-hued bures and the
locals laugh as our sons
chase chickens around
the gardens and marvel
at a bamboo raft used for
nightly fishing trips.
The 10-minute walk
to the waterfall is just
as scenic as the falls
themselves. Along the
way, Solo points out
kava plants, passionfruit
vines, wild chillies and
ginger. We are greeted by
a cascading waterfall and
waste no time cooling off
in the fresh water.
Savusavu offers many
adventures – fishing,
diving at Namena
Marine Reserve, a visit
to J. Hunter pearl farm,
exploring local villages,
kayaking on the island’s
tranquil salt lake – or the
opportunity to relax and
enjoy the natural beauty
of the surroundings.
A trip to Koro Sun’s
Rainforest Spa – where a
cascading waterfall and
native birds provide the
background music – for
its signature banana-leaf
body wrap is also
an option.
Island dining
The food in Savusavu is
also a delicious surprise.
We enjoy Koro Sun’s
smoky, traditional lovo
feast, where an array of
meats and homegrown
vegetables are placed into
an earth oven, lined with
palms and hot coals, and
cooked for several hours.
And we eat lunch a few
times at popular curry
house, Country Kitchen,
across the road from the
marketplace.
Despite its dubious
Fijian kids at play.
BELOW: Traditional Fijian
bures accommodation.
The tiny,
self-sufficient
village is
peppered with
multi-hued
bures
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Explore I FIJI
name and dilapidated
entrance, one of our most
memorable meals is at
Surf’n’Turf in Savusavu
town. It might be the local
fine dining restaurant but
there’s definitely no need
to dress up, and the big
timber deck overlooking
the water is great for
families.
We loved chef Vijendra
Kumar’s mud-crab curry
and the kingfish sashimi.
The staff is on laid-back
‘Fiji time’ here, but if
you’re patient enough to
stick around for dessert,
the homemade coconut
ice-cream is well worth
the wait.
For fresh fruit and
produce, the Savusavu
farmer’s market is a hive
of activity, especially
on Saturdays, the main
market day. We loved
chatting to the locals
selling everything
from organic fruit and
vegetables, fish and spices
and arts and craft.
Perfect play date
One of the highlights
of our stay in Savusavu
is meeting affable local
Jope on a fishing trip. He
invites us to his home so
our kids can have a play
date with his boys, who
are the same age as ours,
the following day.
Jope picks us up and
drives us to his scenic
village where we are
welcomed into the
family’s home. Jope offers
kava and his wife cooks for
us as we watch our boys
play.
The kids couldn’t
understand each other but
they bonded over a game
of rugby, chasing chickens
and sharing food. Later,
my husband and I agree
the people in Savusavu
have an unrivalled
generosity of spirit.
Adopted family
We meet 84-year-old
Zelma Gartner, of
Victoria, who has been
visiting Savusavu for
more than 40 years.
She loves that it is still
very much “bush Fiji”.
Much loved by Koro
Sun staff and locals,
Zelma, or “Nau” as they
affectionately call her,
travels alone and stays in
a bure that has a plaque
bearing her name.
“I have no family so I
think of the people here
as my family,” she says.
“I come away feeling
refreshed, very loved,
but very sad because I’m
leaving my family.”
As a parting gift, the
staff at Koro Sun give
our two sons each a
coconut tree and let them
help plant them on the
grounds. Now we have the
perfect excuse to go back
to Savusavu with our boys
and watch how the trees
have grown.
You can
almost touch
the reef
Aerial view of Koro Sun Resort.
INSERT: Young Fijian boy fishing.
BELOW: Savusavu’s waterfalls.
Jetstar has great
low fares to Fiji from
Sydney.
To book, visit
JETSTAR.COM
Travel info
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