WA
5 posts
Hi all, I am planning a trip to Fiji. I heard great things about the place but am not sure where to go (I heard of beachcomber, plantation Island, nqanaruira, yasawa, for example are kitable islands). I have also a non-kitesurfer friend with me, so a place that offers a little more than 25knots and flat water. ANY ADVICE????
WA
9 posts
beachcomber,morrisons contiki plantation are good or any where except for safari (****house) lodge
WA
5 posts
Hey tony, thanks for the reply. One Q: is morrison contiki plantation on Malolo LaiLai island? Or Plantation Resort Island is a different island
SA
2898 posts
hey coranto67,
don't get sucked in by the latest BS and vultureism going on and by all means checkout all options on fiji including Safari lodge.
I have seen it first hand and would never hesitate about going back to Safari lodge.
just search Fiji in this forum and all will be apparent.
including those playing comercial Vulturism.
best winds
Tony Lorenz
WA
206 posts
Hi coranto67,
I recently returned from Nananu-i-Ra Island in Fiji. The island is located off the Northern tip of the main island Viti Levu and is therefore perfectly situated to catch the SE trades. The wind is channelled along the side of Viti Levu by the mountains. Trades only kick in some time this month and apparrently go till Oct/Nov. So it was the rainy season while I was there and although still predominantly SE the wind was clearly frontal and often pretty gusty.
The East side of the island where Safari Lodge and Morrisons are located gets a cleaner wind although the launch and water conditions are a bit tricky. There are large sections of reef which are fine when medium-high tide but can be devestating to body and gear when low tide. It is admittedly butter smooth when low tide but the reef makes you ballsy to risk it. Realistically the conditions are choppy as you need a decent water depth to protect yourself from the coral.
The launch is difficult regardless of tide level. Beacuse of the lay of the land the SE wind is almost directly on shore. At high tide there is no beach left to launch from and the palm trees grow outward towards the water making walking out to launch only for the desperate. At low tide there is adequate room to launch but then you have a bit of a walk ranging from a few metres to 50m over sharp dead corally-bits to get to water deep enough to kite from. This would be OK except for the gustiness which means it's easy to get yanked by the kite and cut your feet! And even at happy-medium tide the wind is still onshore and a bit gusty so you need to know what you are doing. I wouldn't recommend this side of the island to beginners and cautious intermediates unless you have a boat to take you out to safer locations.
Another kiteable spot is at the Nanau-i-Ra Island Lodge (Backpackers) on the NW tip of the island. It gets the SE as well but cos it is coming over the island it was very gusty. At all water levels it was deep enough to kite safely but is also therefore very choppy. At high tide the launch is also tricky as the wind is almost directly on shore and the trees also grow outwards. There are some lovely bits of reef considerably offshore that you can kite downwind of at medium-low tide and have genuine butter-smooth, clean wind. You'll want a support boat just in case.
In summary: The immediate beaches in front of the viable kiting accommodations undoubtedly get the wind but water state, wind quality, and launching are less than desirable and nothing you can't get at home. With a reliable boat you can get to spots that have clean wind, genuine flat water and sometimes both.
Most accommodations offer kayaks and snorkels and lovely patches of grass/beach to lay on for the non-kiter partner. Take heaps of good books and solid walking shoes to go exploring as you can only stomach so much snorkelling and kayaking. You will like the 25kn plus though so take a small kite and a flexy board to deal with the chop.
I unfortunately didn't make it to the SW coast of Viti Levu and places like Sigatoka and Namotu but by all accounts they are great. They also give the variety of waves which Nananu-i-Ra lacks.
Jess
QLD
36 posts
Jess, thanks. This is the most genuine advise I have gotten till now.
QLD
211 posts
yeh i agree, very informative - great post Jess
WA
128 posts
Ok, I’m in a bad mood, cos once again the wind hasn’t cooperated, I wasted another day chasing a bad forecast and getting no session! So I’m bored and pissed off- perfect for writing my opinions about Fiji…
What you say about the coral low hanging palm trees, gusty fluky winds Jess, all true!! I had 2 weeks in Fiji in the heart of the trade wind season, it blew 3 days only, the day I arrived, the day I left, and 1 half assed 15 knot day in the middle.
I stupidly decided to do the trip under my own organization, ie no resort booking or organized kite trip etc. I figured in a warm and friendly island chain it would be easy enough to explore in my own time. I usually prefer to try and experience the real life-style if I can when I travel, and avoid the false ‘living in a paradise bubble’ you get when you book into a resort. – Plus my budget doesn’t always take me as far as I would like.
Anyway, I knew where I wanted to go- SE coast Natandola beach, Singatoka, the east coast islands. The mainland was a nightmare. Every minute of everyday was spent haggling with locals, trying to sell you everything from a coconut to a taxi-ride, a masasage from a toothless hag to a ride on a donkey etc. The friendly Bula and how are you going? Was only a quick intro to get to the business of trying to squeeze a dollar out of you. The local bus failed to stick to its timetable, leaving us stranded at Natandola beach as it grew darker, with an ever increasing tribe of ‘friendly’ locals gathering around.
The coral coast which looks stunning in every picture I’ve ever seen (a turquoise lagoon 500m wide of perfect flat water surrounded by an outer reef) looked like an oasis of flat water perfection. The truth became fast apparent as we approached to see km after km of exposed coral heads- at anything but high tide there is no water, and at high tide you’ll be risking your life to even attempt it. Just as well there was no wind.
We made a truly dodgy trip with a local taxi driver down to Singatoka beach, nothing around, bad roads and a wild and scary looking beach break (the only bit of sand on the whole east coast), one run down and deserted surf resort at the end of the track was the only sign of life. Wicked! This is the kind of adventure I love, but unfortunately there was no sign of the famous trade wind, In fact no sign of life at all, so back to the taxi, who had since decided to double the pre-arranged fare or leave us stranded in the middle of nowhere…
We did a bit of island hopping around the Yasawa islands, don’t ever do the backpacker route up there, ferry rides dropping you on tiny islands where there’s nothing to do, without paying through your ass, the locals feed you on cheap ****ty food, while they eat sea food and other good stuff.
The snorkeling was very average, and the beaches are treacherously sharp. The whole island chain is built up from coral, so I suppose its no surprise. We took a walk around one island (where they filmed the blue lagoon) and found the locals hard at work preparing for the 4 star resort boats visit- raking and sweeping the filthy beach to make it look pretty!
I’m sure there’s plenty of people out there who loved their fiji experience, and if you do go, save yourself the trauma and book a nice cosy resort holiday, Transfers from the airport to a well manicured island hide-away where the locals are paid to be friendly, - because the real fiji is a horrible thing!
Please don’t anyone dump on me for being ****ty, this is only an account of my experience there- its all I have to go on. And I like to think that I’m not spoiled and expecting too much, I’ve traveled a lot, if you want true hospitality and easy island styles with great kiting and adventures, try Vanuatu…
WA
128 posts
Just a bit more info on Fiji, I was checkin on my homies in NZ on www.kiteforum.co.nz , and there's a few threads and opinions on Fiji kiting. Glad I'm not the only guy whining about it.
check it out,
cheers
