Off the Map – Octopus Resort, Waya Island, Yasawa Chain, Fiji

No news from King Street this week. But instead we bring you the first Off the Map report from Feej. Typed on the ipad, on the veranda looking out through the palm trees, past the Stropolina reading on the sun lounge, over the white sand and the lazy flopping waves to the smattering of snorkellers cruising up and down the coral reef about 50m off the beach. Hard to take.
We are here at Octopus Resort for a family holiday to celebrate the memory of the Stropmother who is now gone but whose memory lives on in a plethora of family legends, jokes, sayings and children’s songs. Having booked the trip on the interweb we were pleasantly surprised as we stepped out of our long boat, to find that it is even better than the photos. We are staying in a kind of 3 bedroom villa right on the beach. It is really 3 separate rooms connected by a long veranda. Perfect for the Pancetta to run up and down on her stiff stumpy legs. She steadfastly refuses to say bula, despite a hell of a lot of prompting from family and the locals.
The dining room here has a sand floor which feels nice on your bare feet but takes a little getting used to, as your chair sinks into the ground while you are settling yourself in front of the food. The food is charged at a fixed rate and there is a choice for breakfast and lunch, but dinner is a set menu. Which is fine by me, it is a relief not to have to make any decisions. Last night was a kind of seafood feast with prawns, fish with coconut 2 ways, ceviche, calamari, potato gratin, rainforest greens (I know, but it tasted fantastic) and a lobster bisque. We are busily exploring the drinks list too. Favourites so far are Fiji Premium on the beer front, and the local rum with coke (what coke should taste like according to Strop).
We are here all week so the investigations will continue, in between cooking lessons, fishing trips, manta ray viewing, and just sitting on the veranda watching all the boats that are constantly coming and going, ferrying people and things around the island.
So far Octopus is proving to be pretty damn good.