Bula Vinaka!

Goodbye winter, hello pacific island

When the coronavirus hit the world, it meant we couldn’t leave the house, much less the country, for months. By the time the world opened up again, it was years later, and we hadn’t been overseas for about three years, since we last went to Australia. It was definitely overdue!

This time it wasn’t going to be a sightseeing holiday – it was all about beaches and relaxing. So we dusted off our suitcases, packed a week’s worth of books, and flew off to sunny Fiji. William impressed the stewardess on Fiji Airways when he very politely thanked her in Fijian.

We were staying at Plantation Island, a kids-friendly resort with four pools, a waterslide, inflatable playing area, kayaks, and the clearest, bluest water I’d ever seen. We had some awesome snorkeling, seeing so many different coloured fishes swimming around us, even right up close to the shore.

Most of our meals were all you can eat, and boy did I put that to the test, especially when it came to the deserts. Every night I’d go back for a second and then a third helping, before finally admitting I was full. William loved the never-ending bacon so much at breakfast that Mum and Dad had to put him on a bacon-free day after one morning when he came back with almost a whole pig curled up and roasted on his plate.

Something else William was obsessed with, even before we left New Zealand, was coconuts. From the day we arrived, he was searching the lawns and under the trees for a fallen coconut he could claim. There was one hanging from a tree that he thought was loose, and he kept throwing rocks at it trying to knock it loose.

He soon found a couple on the ground, and we got one of the workmen to open them for us with his big knife. Then him and Dad were hacking away at their coconuts with breadknives to get all the coconut out, looking like they were trying to carve a statue. Eventually William ate so much he got sick of his and couldn’t finish it (Dad finished his though).

All good things must come to an end though, and after a week we had to pack up again to head home. It had been the best holiday ever and both me and William were crying on the boat as we left our island behind.