Surfing Fiji

All photos by Monica Prelle

Surf traveler Monica Prelle avoids a sharks though not a embankment rash.

I WASNT SURE what to expect upon this trip.

Lefts, rights, as well as barrels roughly every call in Fiji is heavy, hollow, as well as shallow. Being an intermediate surfer, it was a bit intimidating.

Most surfers you met in Fiji had a little sort of embankment rash. Lunches were followed by Betadine first-aid sessions, as well as we usually hoped my own physique would stay unscarred. But if you paddle out during sufficient shoal breaks, youll eventually move home Fijian souvenirs.

Until recently, access to Fijis many important roller breaks was restricted owned by internal villages, with limited accede to use. But Fijian Tourism Minister Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum voiced Jul 1st which all restrictions to Fijis roller spots will be lifted. The brand new regulation supersedes privatization of reefs, including premier roller breaks during Tavarua as well as Namoto Islands.

Settling In

The first thing you did upon our roller outing was snorkel.

From Nadi International Airport, wed stopped off for a quick vacation during a Westin Denaru Island Resort prior to being driven to a Coral Coast upon a southern side of Viti Levu, Fijis main island.

By a time you got to Matanivusi Surf Camp, you were ready to get in a water.

On a roller camp boat, you sat in a channel as well as watched a waves break. The embankment was roughly dry as well as a waves were spitting tubes. A couple of Australians pointed past a break.

Thats where you saw a fin, they explained.

The roller camp was full of Aussies, as well as any a single of them told a story of a shark fin with more fervor. It ! was a ti ger for sure, a single said. No, it was probably a bull, said another.

Either way, progressing which morning there was a massive shark swimming nearby a mangle where you were about to paddle out. The Aussies were demure to get back in a water.

Should we be demure too? we wondered.

Snorkeling eased my nerves. On a vessel we could feel a oceans energy pulsing in my veins, though in a H2O we felt calm. It was remarkably clear, sea hold up fluorescent as well as plentiful.

Why would a shark wish to snack upon me we tried to pull a idea out of my conduct when a sea hold up is so abundant?

It was afterwards we realized, this roller outing really wasnt about a surfing it was about a water. we spent more time in a H2O than actually riding waves, since it quickly became apparent which call preference was crucial.

And when youre scanning for a right a single rolling in, theres no time to be concerned about a fin.

Culture as well as Cuisine

Fiji is done up of over 300 islands. English is official, though many Fijians still verbalise their native language. The many important difference to know have been bula (hello) as well as vinaka (thank you), which should always be accompanied by a wide, toothy smile.

Being an island nation, fish is abounding as well as served many ways. The normal kokoda quickly became a favorite: tender fish, served with lime, onion, as well as coconut milk.

Meal plans or comprehensive dining options have been charity during many resorts, as a internal villages dont have restaurants or shops. Many meals have been served with vegetables from a grassed area as well as a catch of a day.

Although ethanol is readily available to t! ourists, drinking isnt custom. Instead, Fijians lounge around a kava play after dinner as well as socialize, playing guitars, ukuleles, as well as singing normal songs.

Kava root is dried, pounded, as well as soaked in cold H2O to make an extract for drinking. Bowls have been served as an charity (not sold). The splash has a numbing prodigy upon a lips as well as tongue as well as relaxes a body, though does not affect a mind.

Getting Around

Traveling in Fiji is an adventure in itself. Boats as well as planes have been tiny as well as smaller. The rides have been remarkably scenic as well as sometimes a little bumpy.

Air Pacific offers inexpensive flights to eleven locations as well as charters flights to not as big destinations. Multiple ferry operators skip every day from Port Denaru nearby Nadi International Airport.

Most roller destinations have been located upon outer reefs, so youll need vessel ride to strech a waves. Surf resorts accommodate travelers with their own guides as well as boats.

Where to Stay

Mamanuca Islands This sequence is home to a many important of Fijis roller breaks: Restaurants, Cloud Break, Namotu Lefts, as well as Wilkes Passage.

The Mamanucas have been a many renouned end for roller travelers in Fiji as well as offer budget camp as well as oppulance resorts. The Funky Fish is a renouned preference among backpackers as well as caters to surfers, charity vessel transfers to a internal breaks.

Coral Coast Fewer people choose to visit a scenic seashore upon a southern side of Viti Levu, although a call peculiarity rivals which of any other area in Fiji.

The regions 60-mile seashore is lined with jungle-isolated beaches as well as stable by separator reef.

Matanivusi Surf Resort is tip nick for surfers who wish eco-ac! commodat ions, epic food, accessible service, as well as a preference preference of waves.

Four Epic Waves

Cloudbreak Fijis many important wave, this world-class left mangle is well known for a perfect heaving barrels. The traffic breeze blows offshore many of April to October, creation for epic conditions.

Namoto Lefts If a small, this call is fun for everyone upon long boards or reduced boards. Once it gets to 6 foot, a left can be a perfect blood vessel as well as a fast, down a line wave.

Wilkes Passage This right-hander breaks fast over a shoal reef. The call is mostly down a line surfing though can be barreling upon a day, depending upon breeze direction.

Frigates Pass Another hollow left-hander, Frigates breaks over a deep-water embankment passage. Named for a Frigate bird, this call is a 45-minute vessel ride from Coral Coast, located in a Beqa Lagoon important for a shark dives. The call rivals Cloudbreak since a right swell as well as breeze direction.

Frigates Pass

Community Connection

Find out because Fiji is also a single of The Best Volunteer Opportunities for Divers Worldwide.