I got engaged, planned the honeymoon, and then we set a date for the wedding....  Priorities a little skewed you say? No way, I knew both would take a lot of work to coordinate, but the honeymoon would be three weeks as opposed to the momentous day.

 

We planned our honeymoon for December so we could splurge on three full weeks in Fiji and Australia.  Since we both work in television it would take Hollywood’s holiday shutdown to give us the time off. (The wedding day occurred just over a week prior to the honeymoon.)

 

Now, if you know me, you know that I travel quite frequently, so I’ve racked up quite a few airline miles over the years and I knew it would be a beast to coordinate airlines and code shares to secure those coveted business class seats that mileage programs rarely give out.   Three-and-a-half weeks later - with only one short crying jag - the trip was completely booked... with a shout out to Lynette Wilson of Destination World for her advice and bookings. She’s rated one of the top 25 travel agents in the world by Conde Nast Traveler.  For our Fiji leg of the trip, Lynette had asked us if we wanted to experience James Bond or Humphrey Bogart/Lauren Bacall. Super modern or casual, eclectic comfort? We chose Humphrey.

 

We settled in on Air Pacific for a nearly 11-hour flight, got comfortable in our seats and enjoyed a few glasses of champagne, a movie, a little light reading followed by an Ambien-aided sleep.

 

We land in Fiji and learn that my luggage is lost. My cute honeymoon clothes would not surface for four days! Then, to add to my disappointment, when we land at the Labasa airport (after a long layover due to a broken plane), I use the loo and find it dirtier than a truck stop. I immediately questioned work ethic and personal hygiene - and we hadn’t even had a chance to start enjoying our honeymoon. I was leery of what else would arise.

 

The journey to our island resort was long - the big plane (11 hours), two small planes (about 3 hours due to malfunctions), an SUV (about an hour) and a boat ride (7 minutes) - but we finally stepped onto the sand amid a group of vibrantly dressed women and men with beaming smiles, joyously singing a welcome to us. 

Aaaahh, Nukubati. The owner, Jenny, graciously ushered us into the large, wide open roof-covered pavilion that would become the general meeting place for drinks, meals, borrowing books and games and just hanging out. We sipped cold drinks while she told us about what would be our new home for the next eight nights. The resort was recently rated the third best all-inclusive resort on tripadvisor.com with mentions of “heaven on earth” and “the food topped itself each day.” 

  

We had reserved one of the only seven bures (cottages) available to guests on the island. Our bure had two porches with plenty of outdoor seating - just steps from the beach and ocean. And the water was just the way I like it - "just walk right in" temperature. 

Nukubati is an island entirely its own... translation: it’s time to relax. It’s not a big island, as we walked around the whole island several times during our visit, passing mangroves, climbing rocks, and traversing logs crossing over water.  Each outing always lead to a few surprises, like the huge bee hive hanging from a curved rock face, funny-looking crabs and piles of broken coral.  Several mornings before breakfast we hiked up to the lookout hut - a moderate hike at best - but once there it offered amazing 360-degree views of Fiji and far off smaller, uninhabited islands. 

 

So what does one do on a secluded island at a highly-rated resort? You eat yourself silly. The food was fresh and perfectly prepared. The grounds behind the pavilion boast multiple gardens and a variety of fruit trees, many of which were completely new to us, like breadfruit and sour sop.  Going to the farmer’s market is one thing, but to walk among mango and papaya trees and see pineapples growing up from the ground is enchanting.  Everything they prepare comes from the ocean, gardens, chickens or the small market in Labasa.  No importing or freezing food here.  Dessert was offered twice a day, at lunch and dinner, and we never skipped a chance to enjoy fried bananas in a sesame and coconut crust or lemon soufflé.  And the menu only repeated once during our entire stay: delicious lobster, curried beef, delicate fish, paw paw soup, spinach croquettes  and chicken coconut ginger soup. YUM!  We shared so many dishes, afraid we’d miss out on some new amazing flavor. And unlike many resorts, this place catered to our time frame.  Any meal at any time at any place on the resort you want it. In bed, on your porch, on the beach or in the pavilion, you decide.

 

(New Year's Eve celebration: outdoor feast, the staff performing dances from around the world, and kava drinking.)

 

Several yards beyond the common swimming area lay an ocean floor teaming with deep blue starfish, black cucumbers and plenty of coral and small fish. But for the best snorkeling we spent two-and-a-half hours exploring the Great Sea Reef (the third largest after the Great Barrier Reef and Belize - both of which we've also snorkeled) about 25 minutes north of Nukubati; just Daysun, me and our guide, Villy.  The water was clear, calm and filled with a mind-boggling array of fish and coral, plus we saw several shark. No worries, they didn’t linger.

Two days later we opted for a picnic on a deserted sand bar. Another 25-minute boat ride and we were perfectly pleased to be marooned alone together on a deserted sand bar in the middle of the ocean, with just a table, chairs, umbrella and a walkie-talkie.  The sand was soft and pristine and had I considered the sand bar earlier, we would have gone several times.  There is something so serene and magical about being in the middle of the ocean on a small patch of sand.  The only bummer came several hours later when the boat returned to take our picnic gear (and us) back to the island, as high tide returned and the sand bar retreated back under the water. 

Nukubati is one of those resorts where life slows down for a little while, the people are incredibly sweet and kind and their only request is that you enjoy a drink in your hand at sunset.

After eight nights on Nukubati, we spent an additional day and night in Fiji on the main island near Nadi at the Fiji Orchid, a small, but more contemporary style resort also owned by the same family as Nukubati. And this time we had a pool to enjoy.

Next up will be our our exploration of Australia!