The Yasawa Islands form a string of mountainous islands that rise out of the blue Pacific Ocean. I didn’t expect them to be so beautiful – in fact, I foolishly thought Fiji would be flat and a little boring.
For day two in the Yasawas, we travelled on the Yasawa Flyer – a sort of catamaran ferry from the southern islands up to the north. The journey took a couple of hours and turned out to be a highlight of our trip as we cruised over aqua blue water and gawped at dramatic rocky islands.
Waya Island in the south had the best scenery in my opinion, with sheer forested slopes topped with rocky outcrops. Along the way, we stopped near resorts where little fibreglass boats zipped along the crystal-clear water to pick up and drop off guests at the ferry.
We sat on the top deck of the ferry which meant we had an incredible view of the islands. As we watched boats speed to and from our ferry, we could see their shadows cast on the sand below.
The middle section of the islands was nice but not as wow as the start, but we finished the trip in a fabulous area in the northern part of the islands. Oarsman’s Bay Lodge was located in the most glorious blue lagoon – it would have been a good choice for us to stay as it was good value for money with incredible reviews – but the only rooms in our price range were the dorms.
A small island rose out of the shallow reef and the water around it was striped with every shade of turquoise until the sea dropped into the deep blue.
We were staying nearby on Nanuya Island in a cute guesthouse built on the eastern side. A little dinghy picked us up and we cruised over the shallow water. It was low tide so the skipper was struggling to get closer to the beach, causing our host to grab a long wooden pole and punt us forward.
The sun was shining and the location looked perfect – set on the shores of a glorious beach with turquoise water and white sand. Our accommodation was a family room which was a standalone yellow, wooden cabin. Inside was one double bed and two singles – and there was a bizarre ensuite bathroom.
It reminded me of a school bathroom as it had two showers, two toilets, and two sinks. It sounds rather luxurious, as if we had his-and-hers sinks, but it felt pretty grimy and was in need of a deep clean with stained toilets, broken sinks and no lights.
The room was very basic with terrible mattresses and no power, but we knew we’d be spending most of our time down at the beach.
Once we’d checked in we headed straight out to the beach where Craig attempted to snorkel in the shallow water and I basked in the sunshine beside a couple of dogs. We then walked barefoot along a dusty track towards the bottom of the island where we found a lady selling homemade doughnuts.
I suggested getting one to share, but Craig said one each, confirming the order with the lady “Two please” to which she responded “You should get two each”. I laughed at her comment; two each was far too indulgent.
She deep-fried the doughnuts and served them with chocolate sauce and my goodness – they were delicious. So good in fact, that we decided to order two more, and that’s when the lady muttered “I told you…everyone asks for another one!” We enjoyed them on a bench below banana and fruit bread trees, overlooking the blue sea.
Before we headed back to our homestay we walked up a small hill where we got a fabulous view of the palm trees, islands and every shade of blue painted across the sea.
Dinner was served on a long table with the other eight guests so it was a really nice evening spent chatting to them all.
The following morning we set off on a hike across the island to the blue lagoon – different to the one we passed on the Flyer the day before. It was a pleasant stroll which led us to paradise – a beautiful arc of white sand with crystal-clear water lapping the shoreline.
It was a stunning beach and we opted to walk to the far end of it where it veered out into a sort of sandbank. There were a few people around in the morning, but they all left by midday and it was just us, alone on one of the most idyllic beaches.
We realised people staying on other islands come to the beach for a few hours on a tour and then they leave, which was perfect for us and we had an incredible time swimming and snorkelling above the coral reef.
So that’s where we headed most days, across the island to the pristine beach which offered us protection from the rather chilly wind.
On our final day we arranged to go on a short snorkelling trip to see reef sharks. We hadn’t realised that the guide was taking a Hawaiian sling – a type of spear gun to get a small fish, causing the sharks to try and get the fresh kill off the pole. The guide’s large dogs insisted on jumping on board and they desperately wanted to jump in the sea.
Just days before our visit a New Zealander was spear fishing in Fiji when what looked like a reef shark abruptly swam up from the depths and took a bite from his leg. So we felt a little concerned but luckily it was very chill, and we spotted three rather large reef sharks casually cruising above the coral. The guide used his sling to get a very small fish and the sharks did indeed get rather excited, but it calmed down again very quickly.
We arranged for the guide to drop us at the blue lagoon beach and call for our next host to collect us at some point in the afternoon. Considering we didn’t have any way of contacting them, it all worked out perfectly.
While the accommodation on Nanuya was the most expensive at £35 a night, and the worst quality of our trip, it was an ideal location for exploring one of Yasawa’s best beaches.
