Holidays: who doesn’t love them? But there are travel holidays and there are holiday  holidays.

When I first tried to define this at work, the snort of derision almost permanently parted my hair, but I stand by my distinction – on some holidays, I love to travel and explore the world, but as much as I love to do this, it takes quite a bit of energy.  Then there’s the drop and flop. A holiday holiday.

This is when I like to drop all my cares, drop my baggage and flop on a beach, flop into the water, or just plain flop.

And where better to drop and flop than in the middle of a tropical paradise : Fiji. Or to be more specific, the Yasawa Islands.

It takes just under 5 hours on the Yasawa Flyer catamaran to get all the way up to the tip of the Yasawas, but every second (and Fiji Gold in the Captain’s Lounge) is worth it.  The exorbitant fee for the emergency speedboat to catch up with the Yasawa Flyer that I missed was probably also worth it, but I won’t relive that tale of rookie errors and curry & roti.

The Yasawas is a chain of about 20 islands lying north-west off the coast of the main island of Fiji, and in my humble opinion, no trip to Fiji is complete without a stay on one of them. If you’ve ever suffered through “Blue Lagoon” with Brooke Shields, then you will be able to picture the verdant islands fringed by white sandy beaches, crystal clear water and vibrant coral reefs. If not, then here you are….

It’s easy to get onto ‘Fiji Time’, slow down, unwind and fall face first into the water (with a snorkel or a Fiji Gold, take your pick).

The hardest part (after choosing where to stay), is deciding which drink to have next. Or getting out of the water to get said drink.

 

For the most part Fijians are incredibly friendly, quite cheeky and love to have a laugh.

If you’re willing to learn some Fijian aside from the usual ‘Bula’ (hello) and ‘Vinaka’ (thank you, but can also be beautiful or good) they will love you for it.

Just don’t go calling the chief ‘Uro Levu’  (hot stud) – you’ll either find yourself on the wrong side of the kava bowl or else stuck there drinking it all night (not recommended).

Either way, get to know the locals and you’re bound to have a laugh.

This little corner of Fiji is rapidly gaining in popularity so if you’re dreaming of tropical beaches, come sooner rather than later (and leave the Coral Coast behind).  Any time between May and October should have you on the beach, dropped and flopped in no time but outside these months may bring some wet and certainly hotter weather. Happily, the Yasawas is north enough to sometimes miss the wetter mainland weather and our week of forecasted rain turned out to be only a few nights or mornings of rain and cloud before sunshine reclaimed its title.

So there really is such a thing as a holiday holiday, and for me, that’s this little corner of the world.  Where’s yours?