Turtle Island life reveals itself from the air

Turtle Island life reveals itself from the air

THE seaplane slowly edges towards the water surrounding Turtle Island. With six guests and a pilot it’s a bit of a squeeze. Not all that comfortable for a big bloke, but it’s only a 30-minute flight from Nadi to paradise.Unknown
From the air, Fiji‘s famous Turtle Island looks like any other in the Yasawa Group. It is only as you chug-chug-chug your way towards the beach that the island’s stunning natural beauty reveals itself.
The lagoon is long and flat. The water is clear and the sand white. Beyond the beach a canvas of almost every imaginable shade of green helps hide the island’s buildings from view. Fish leap out of the water as if in celebration of their surroundings and once the propeller has completed its task, the sound of strumming guitars and angel-like Fijian voices fills the air.
This is the lagoon, or at least one of the many spots, where both Blue Lagoon movies were filmed. They were based on the novel by Henry de Vere Stacpoole and tell the tale of two small children, a boy and a girl, who are shipwrecked on a tropical island.
They grow up, fall in love, have a baby and try to escape — although why you would ever want to leave this place is beyond me.

Dive into the Blue Lagoon

The first film starred Jean Simmons and Donald Houston, with Noel Purcell in the role of the sailor Paddy Button who survives the shipwreck only to die during a drunken binge. The second Blue Lagoon‘s gift to the world, for better or worse, was the young and barely clothed pair of Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins.pier_sunset
Luckily for us, our arrival was much better planned than that of Simmons, Houston, Shields and Atkins.
Wading knee-deep in water, our welcoming committee was made up of at least a dozen smiling faces — with digital cameras, cocktails, hugs and handshakes.
Filipe, a barrel-chested man who looks like a Fijian rugby front-rower, gathers us together for photographs. It is a procedure that has been performed hundreds of times before. Smile. An image captured for eternity.
He then introduces us to our bure mama, Bulou, and we head 60 metres down the beach towards our island home.
The bure is only a few steps from the beach. Under its thatched roof is an outside shower and double day bed. Inside, it is all open plan on timber floorboards with a lounge area, timber bed, writing desk, spa bath and double shower.

A special place to hold hands

The most amazing thing, however, is the side-by-side his-and-her toilets.
If you want to, and I’m not sure you ever would, you could hold hands while letting go of everything else. I know this is a honeymoon destination, but I think this might be taking togetherness too far.dining1
I must admit that I was unsure of just what a bure mama was supposed to do and whether it would be a good thing or a bad thing.
Sometimes, on holiday, you just want to be left alone. But Bulou was like that favourite family member who looks after you when you visit their home. Someone who knew intuitively when, and when not, to be around.
She asked about our food likes and dislikes. She wrote it all down and then told the chefs. Then she asked us what activities we wanted to do. Wrote it down, and then made it all happen with a minimum of fuss.
But she also made us feel as if we were part of her family. She told us about her husband, who works on another island, and about her son, who lives with an aunt on the mainland.
When she gets time off and goes to see him, they eat McDonald’s — his favourite thing. She wanted to know about our daughters and what our lives in Brisbane were like.
At night she would join us at the giant kava bowl and sing songs. When we visited the local village she was there, camera at the ready to record the adventure.

Private beach for the day

When we were dropped off at a private beach for a picnic, it was Bulou who helped us set everything up, took our picture, and then waved goodbye as she headed back to the bure to clean it up.
It was her job to make sure our holiday ran smoothly — and she did her job well.
This is all a part of the philosophy that island owner Richard Evanson is hoping to achieve.Rooms_by_Azzura_05
He says that while Turtle Island has five-star service, it is the seven-star emotional experience that makes it special.
And he’s right. Well, almost right.
Turtle Island at times fails to reach what guests, especially those used to international five-star service, might expect from a resort that charges more than $2000 a night.
Some people on the island with us commented that they were surprised that there were plastic chairs around the communal dinner table.
They also thought the bures should have been airconditioned. And while it’s only a small thing, wine glasses were not always filled during meals.
Scuba diving, which is listed on Turtle’s website as part of the experience, is actually run by an outside company and participation is never guaranteed. It depends on the numbers from other resorts. Another reason to be disappointed.
All worth mentioning, but not worth dwelling on because the Turtle Island experience is more than material.

Read up before you go

Before going to the island I’d spent time reading Turtle Tales (a book about the island’s development), flicked through travel brochures and explored www.turtlefiji.combeach_lilo
Magnificent images. Beautiful words. But to me, they all miss the real magic of this island paradise — the people.
There are about 150 staff on Turtle Island and it’s their job to make guests feel at ease. And there’s no doubt that if you ever spend any time on this island, you will leave feeling at ease. You can’t help but relax in this environment.
The island is a magnet for honeymooners. So much so, Turtle Island management is now putting together a honeymoon-now, pay-later scheme which allows couples to pay off their first holiday as man and wife.
During our stay there were four other couples on the island. Three were honeymooners. One couple took their vows on the island in a private ceremony the night they arrived.
It is hard to imagine a better place to spend a honeymoon. The way the island is set up, you can be as private or as involved as you like.
On some days, you just don’t see the other guests. On others, you have breakfast, lunch and dinner with them. It’s your choice.
Barefoot and bare-backed was how we chose to spend our time on Turtle Island.
The land breeze was warm. The water slightly warmer. Once submerged, we would swim into the darker lines of the lagoon to enjoy the parade of colourful fish.
At night, with lightning striking in the distance, it was if the angels were taking photographs of us in paradise. And it could be true, because this is the closest thing I’ve ever seen to heaven on Earth.
In fact, if I die tomorrow I hope heaven looks just like Turtle Island.

Food and wine

fishing1
HERE’S a free tip. Go on a diet before you go to Turtle Island. I did and lost 4kg. Not that anyone around the office noticed, but I did it to make sure I didn’t have to watch what I ate while on holiday.
This place is heaven for anyone who likes to indulge in fine food and sample some pleasant plonk.
The island chefs use local produce and design dishes in respect to their local culture. Guests who venture out for deep-sea fishing often contribute to the local produce.
I ventured out, but didn’t contribute. You know the story. Wet bum . . . no fish.
Just to give you an idea of what you can expect, here’s the menu from our first night on Turtle Island, served at CC’s Beach.
Entree: Combination of local slipper lobsters on a bed of buckwheat noodles topped with an Asian-style dressing with a green paw-paw salad.
Wine: Piper’s Brook chardonnay.
Main: Fillet of fresh tuna on a bed of wasabi-dressed potatoes topped with fresh garden vegetables.
Dessert: Passionfruit creme brulee with banana ice-cream.

Perfect match of wines and food

Wines are always matched with meals, but you can visit the island cellar and choose whatever you want. In fact, even before you get to Turtle Island you are asked what wines and beers you would like in your bure fridge.
At each meal, you have the option either to eat as a group or slip off to a secret hideaway. There are private beach picnics for which you go by boat to a deserted section of the island, sit under a palm tree and eat from fully laden coolers. Meals also are served on pontoons in the lagoon.
Staff travel by boat to bring food and wine for what must be said is a truly romantic evening.
Another free tip: You’ll need to go on a another diet when you get home.

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