Until recently, a resort holiday was not something I thought I would enjoy. I’ve never been a fan of “activities” or organised fun. I crave the anonymity that travelling to a big city often allows. I didn’t think I was suited to staying within the confines of a hotel for an extended period.
But when someone asks if you want to stay at a resort in Fiji for a week, you say yes. So I packed my bag and took an easy four-and-a-bit-hour flight to Nadi (“nahn-di”), a city on Fiji’s main island, Viti Levu.
There’s something special about landing somewhere where the landscape and foliage are completely different to what you see every day. It reminds you that there’s a world outside your daily life and helps your brain disconnect from the usual routine.
On the way to the resort, we drove past coconut trees, street-side stands selling tropical fruit and Sri Siva Subramaniya Temple – a Hindu place of worship known for its brightly coloured Dravidian architecture. I typically have trouble logging off from work, but opening Slack or Gmail on my phone felt wrong in these surroundings. I decided to be my most woo-woo self and surrender to the experience.
I assumed being at a resort would mean feeling like I could be at almost any sunny place around the world. What’s the point of going to Fiji if I could feasibly be anywhere? But on arrival we were greeted by two locals playing the lali, a hollowed-out Fijian drum. “Bula!” they bellowed by way of hello. We couldn’t have been anywhere else.
Momi Bay is a Fijian-owned Marriott resort built around a man-made blue lagoon that guests can swim in and explore via rented kayak, jetski or stand-up paddleboard. Every room has either a lagoon or ocean view. There are also those overwater bungalows with ladders that lead directly into the water – the kind I’d previously only seen in influencer posts.
I started my mornings by jumping headfirst into the lagoon and, as someone who grew up in Melbourne, finally understood the smugness of Sydney colleagues who pop onto morning Zooms and proclaim they just “went for a quick swim in the ocean”.
The sprawling property made me feel like I was in a resort edition of Sim City – in a fun way. I discovered new things each time I took a walk, including a soccer field, tennis courts and a quiet beachy area that other guests didn’t seem to have found yet. But the most unexpected thing to come out of the trip was my new appreciation for pro surfing.
Before leaving Melbourne, my knowledge of surfing started and ended with the 1991 film Point Break – and I fell asleep while watching it. But my stay coincided with the World Surf League Fiji Pro competition, and I was temporarily flung into the world of professional surfing.
The World Surf League is the governing body for professional surfers, and hosts competitions around the world. It hadn’t held a competition in Fiji for seven years, so its return in 2024 was the source of great excitement. The then president of Fiji, Wiliame Katonivere, attended the opening ceremony held at the resort.
Because the competition takes place at a reef break (as opposed to a beach break), you can only watch it from a boat. On two of the planned competition days, I joined a group of guests as we charted the hotel’s catamaran to a viewing point near Cloudbreak – a wave off Tavarua Island, that 11-time world champion Kelly Slater once called the world’s best.
Cloudbreak waves typically range between two and 20 feet, but on the first planned competition day, the waves weren’t big enough to surf. In place of cheering for pro surfers we dropped anchor, enjoyed an open bar and swam in the ocean. But on day two, the swell picked up and we watched from the yacht as Slater, Paris Olympic gold medalist Gabriel Medina (who starred in one of the 2024 games’ most iconic photos, and current women’s world number one Caitlin Simmers, all competed.
Watching from the boat gave us a side-on view of the surfers. The perspective gives you a better sense of the unpredictability of the waves compared to watching from the beach. It’s wild. What struck me as one of the most interesting parts of the sport is how uncontrolled it is and how dependent each score is on both the surfer’s abilities and on his or her luck when it comes to what wave nature serves.
Throughout my stay I also stargazed, took a cocktail class, had a deep-tissue Fijian bobo massage at the resort spa and was mesmerised by a fire show on the beach. But the thing that’s stuck in my mind is the image of those professional surfers appearing to walk on the waves.
The writer travelled as a guest of Fiji Marriott Resort Momi Bay.
