kenword
Registered
Trip Report Lalati Resort on Beqa Island, Fiji
June 29 - July 7, 2009
Day 1 - We arrived in Fiji! After a 3-hour plane ride to LA followed by a 10-hour plane ride to Nadi, Fiji. We then took a 3-hour van ride to Pacific Harbor followed by a 1-hour boat ride to the Lalati Resort on Beqa Island. We picked up a bottle of the local Bounty over proof dark rum and a mixed case of Fiji Bitter and Fiji Gold beer on the way to Pacific Harbor. Upon arriving at the Lalati we were greeted with a welcoming song from the staff on the pier. We then were given a coconut drink followed by a relaxing foot massage. After a quick orientation we were shown to our bure (Beach front #2). We unpacked, set out my dive gear for the staff to take to the dive shop, changed clothes and went for a snorkel out front on the house reef. It was nice, sunny day and the water was very calm. The evening started with a fire walking ceremony followed by dinner and a kava drinking ceremony.
Day 2 - Woke up to a cool, cloudy, rainy day. I went on a noon 2-tank boat dive out to Frigates pass. My wife came along to snorkel and see the island and check out the surf. 75-minute boat ride out to Frigates for 2 dives and lunch. We did a drift dive at Frigates pass followed by lunch, and then we dove My Favorite. The diving was excellent! The day was cloudy and gray and seas were only 2-3 ft, but visibility was great. We consumed a couple of Fiji gold beers on the way back, upon returning, we were met by staff at the pier with hot towels and hot chocolate spiked with Baileys Irish cream, nice touch. The day finished with another excellent meal followed by a couple of Fiji Bitters.
Dives:
Frigates Pass - 47min 78 ft 79 degree. This was a drift dive down a wall. Greeted immediately by white tip shark. We saw more sharks, a turtle, and soft coral galore, huge clam.
My Favorite - 50 min 53 ft 79 degrees. We started with a nice swim-through, the reef was very healthy. We spotted more whitetips, very colorful soft and hard corals, moray eel, octopus, and my 1st lionfish.
Day 3 - We woke up to another mostly cloudy, overcast day. My wife went snorkeling with me on my 2-tank dive. We took the small skiff out to 3 Virgins for the 1st dive it was a 10 minute boat ride from the resorts dock, the surface interval was spent at the dock enjoying fresh banana bread and juice. The 2nd dive was a 10-minute ride out to Sea Fan. The visibility was excellent and the dives were exceptional, there was some current so snorkeling was a workout. The afternoon was spent drinking rum and wakeboarding.
Dives:
3 Virgins - 49min 65 ft 79degrees. We dropped in on 1 of 3 pinnacles, swam into the brisk current and hit the 2nd and down current to the 3rd very fun dive. I saw blue ribbon eel, lionfish, clown triggerfish. Very colorful fish and reef.
Sea Fan - 56min 46 ft 79 degrees. Nice shallow reef with lots of red soft coral, very colorful swarms of small orange and purple tropicals.
Day 4 - Woke up to slightly better weather still cloudy but much brighter. My wife went on a 2-reef snorkel trip in the morning and went kayaking to Bat Island in the afternoon. I went snorkeling on the house reef out front in the morning and went on a 2-tank dive in the afternoon. The wind switched direction and picked up, but the clouds started to break up.
Dives:
Million Dollar Point - 53min 67 ft 78 degrees. More excellence, more colors, sharks.
Nudibranch City - 55min 50 ft 79 degrees. Lived up to its name! Lionfish, shark, mantis shrimp.
Day 5 We woke up to partly sunny skies! The wind had switched and blew the clouds away, but also stirred up the water clarity. I went on a 2-tank morning dive to Carpet Cove and Soft Coral Plateau. My wife went for a morning snorkel and a massage from Rai. In the afternoon we went on a kayak trip to the mangroves by Bat Island.
Dives:
Carpet Cove - 48 min 105 ft 78 degrees. Nice wreck dive with some bigger fish. Excellent shallow reef to spend an extended safety stop. Carpet coral, lots of anemone fish, lionfish.
Soft Coral Plateau - 50min 55ft 79 degrees. The tide was coming in and brought in some good schools of bigger fish (barracuda, trevally, etc.) as well as white and black tip sharks, a coronet fish.
Day 6 - We woke up to clear sunny skies, decided to go on a morning hike up the peak behind the resort. Our guide Sisa cut some sugarcane samples up top. Excellent views from the top. We went for a boat snorkel after lunch. We ended the night with a kava session with a few of the staff.
Day 7 - Another sunny day in paradise. My wife went for a morning boat snorkel while I went for my last 2-tank boat dive. I went back to Soft Coral plateau for the 1st dive and it was quite sharky, I saw the biggest blacktip of the trip and about a dozen whitetips, of course I started having camera issues. We went to Best of Best for my last dive of the trip, lots of colors and huge swim throughs. We went kayaking to the beach across the bay and around the point, for a snorkel in the afternoon.
Dives:
Soft Coral Plateau - 44min 92 ft 77 degrees. Sharks, a dozen white tips and a few bigger black tips. Beqa lagoon was totally flat, perfect conditions. Camera issues.
Best of Best - 62min 58 ft 77degrees. Fun last dive with a couple swim throughs. We saw a clown triggerfish getting cleaned, blue ribbon eels, nudibranchs and batfish.
Day 8 - Our last full day at the Lalati, bummer. We both went on a 3-reef boat snorkel. The snorkeling was excellent and my wife saw her first shark of the trip. Spent the afternoon chillin, drinking rum. Spent our last night drinking kava and beer with some of the staff.
Day 9 - Last day on Fiji. We left the resort at 9:00 am to head to the mainland. We played golf at The Pearl course in Pacific Harbor. The previous night it rained a lot, so the course was sloppy but very green and scenic. We then caught the van for the 3-hour ride to the airport. At the airport we ate pizza and got some shirts, caps and rum at duty free. The airport is very nice for its size. Then we were off for the very long trip back home. A great time was had by all.
The Lalati resort sits at the entrance to Malumu Bay; it is an idyllic setting and feels very private. It is a small resort with only 8 or so bures and feels very secluded. It is not a dive resort but more of a private resort that offers diving. If you need 4+ dives a day you will be better served by the islands bigger dive resort Beqa Lagoon Resort (BLR). The maximum number of divers I had on my 5 days of diving was 5; on 1 dive it was just the dive master and I. We did see one of the BLR boats out a few times and counted between 15-20 people on their sleek, very nice boats. We did have some boat scheduling issues on a couple of the days, but this will soon be rectified when their 2nd dive boat is functional. I dove using both their dive boat as well as the smaller skiff. Most dive sites were 10 -15 minutes away except Frigates pass which was about 75 minute boat ride. The dive staff was very friendly and good about spotting out things of interest. They handled all of the dive equipment loading, unloading, rinsing, etc. They let you dive your computer as long as you got back on the boat with 500psi or more. The diving was phenomenal! This was my 1st time to Fiji (or the pacific) and my only comparisons are my previous trips to the Caribbean (Akumal, St.Croix, Roatan and Bonaire) and the difference was amazing. The vibrant colors of the fish, soft corals and even the hard corals were an eye opener. I saw white tip sharks, lionfish, giant clams and anemone fish on about every dive. I got a pretty good variety of diving on my 10 dives including drift, wall, wreck, pinnacles and shallow reef. I unfortunately did not do a shore dive due to other activities. The conditions and clarity were variable, due to tides, winds, etc. I had water temps of 77- 79 degrees and visibility of 50-90 feet and surface conditions from dead calm to about 3 feet of chop.
The Lalati staff was GREAT!! Special thanks to, Sisa, Boss the boat driver, Dick, Joe, Oly, Rai and the amazing chef. The food was outstanding! There was posted activities as well as on request activities. We took full advantage of these including: boat and shore snorkeling trips, hiking to a mountain ridge behind the resort, fire walking ceremony, kava ceremony (as well as a couple of kava sessions with the staff), wakeboarding, kayaking (to Bat island, private beaches, snorkeling spots), golfing at Pacific Harbor, some of the other guests took trips to the Shark dive, zip lining and river rafting. The owners Brad and Sue were very responsive to any needs or issues that arise, we especially enjoyed talking with them about the direction they are taking this amazing resort. We will be back. A few things of note: the resort doesnt have a big, white, sandy beach (although there is one to the right of the pier and another one a 5 minute kayak across the bay) also the bures dont have A/C (which was fine while we were there, but might be an issue for some). The Lalati is perfect for honeymooners, mixed diving/snorkeling couples (us!), a small dive group or anyone that enjoys a private, quiet, secluded tropical paradise. The people of Fiji are the most friendly, good-natured, beautiful people I have ever experienced on a vacation (we were always greeted with a heartfelt Bula!). The beauty of the land and undersea is truly matched by the beauty of the people. The only things we did not enjoy were the mosquitoes and leaving to come back to reality. Bula!
June 29 - July 7, 2009
Day 1 - We arrived in Fiji! After a 3-hour plane ride to LA followed by a 10-hour plane ride to Nadi, Fiji. We then took a 3-hour van ride to Pacific Harbor followed by a 1-hour boat ride to the Lalati Resort on Beqa Island. We picked up a bottle of the local Bounty over proof dark rum and a mixed case of Fiji Bitter and Fiji Gold beer on the way to Pacific Harbor. Upon arriving at the Lalati we were greeted with a welcoming song from the staff on the pier. We then were given a coconut drink followed by a relaxing foot massage. After a quick orientation we were shown to our bure (Beach front #2). We unpacked, set out my dive gear for the staff to take to the dive shop, changed clothes and went for a snorkel out front on the house reef. It was nice, sunny day and the water was very calm. The evening started with a fire walking ceremony followed by dinner and a kava drinking ceremony.
Day 2 - Woke up to a cool, cloudy, rainy day. I went on a noon 2-tank boat dive out to Frigates pass. My wife came along to snorkel and see the island and check out the surf. 75-minute boat ride out to Frigates for 2 dives and lunch. We did a drift dive at Frigates pass followed by lunch, and then we dove My Favorite. The diving was excellent! The day was cloudy and gray and seas were only 2-3 ft, but visibility was great. We consumed a couple of Fiji gold beers on the way back, upon returning, we were met by staff at the pier with hot towels and hot chocolate spiked with Baileys Irish cream, nice touch. The day finished with another excellent meal followed by a couple of Fiji Bitters.
Dives:
Frigates Pass - 47min 78 ft 79 degree. This was a drift dive down a wall. Greeted immediately by white tip shark. We saw more sharks, a turtle, and soft coral galore, huge clam.
My Favorite - 50 min 53 ft 79 degrees. We started with a nice swim-through, the reef was very healthy. We spotted more whitetips, very colorful soft and hard corals, moray eel, octopus, and my 1st lionfish.
Day 3 - We woke up to another mostly cloudy, overcast day. My wife went snorkeling with me on my 2-tank dive. We took the small skiff out to 3 Virgins for the 1st dive it was a 10 minute boat ride from the resorts dock, the surface interval was spent at the dock enjoying fresh banana bread and juice. The 2nd dive was a 10-minute ride out to Sea Fan. The visibility was excellent and the dives were exceptional, there was some current so snorkeling was a workout. The afternoon was spent drinking rum and wakeboarding.
Dives:
3 Virgins - 49min 65 ft 79degrees. We dropped in on 1 of 3 pinnacles, swam into the brisk current and hit the 2nd and down current to the 3rd very fun dive. I saw blue ribbon eel, lionfish, clown triggerfish. Very colorful fish and reef.
Sea Fan - 56min 46 ft 79 degrees. Nice shallow reef with lots of red soft coral, very colorful swarms of small orange and purple tropicals.
Day 4 - Woke up to slightly better weather still cloudy but much brighter. My wife went on a 2-reef snorkel trip in the morning and went kayaking to Bat Island in the afternoon. I went snorkeling on the house reef out front in the morning and went on a 2-tank dive in the afternoon. The wind switched direction and picked up, but the clouds started to break up.
Dives:
Million Dollar Point - 53min 67 ft 78 degrees. More excellence, more colors, sharks.
Nudibranch City - 55min 50 ft 79 degrees. Lived up to its name! Lionfish, shark, mantis shrimp.
Day 5 We woke up to partly sunny skies! The wind had switched and blew the clouds away, but also stirred up the water clarity. I went on a 2-tank morning dive to Carpet Cove and Soft Coral Plateau. My wife went for a morning snorkel and a massage from Rai. In the afternoon we went on a kayak trip to the mangroves by Bat Island.
Dives:
Carpet Cove - 48 min 105 ft 78 degrees. Nice wreck dive with some bigger fish. Excellent shallow reef to spend an extended safety stop. Carpet coral, lots of anemone fish, lionfish.
Soft Coral Plateau - 50min 55ft 79 degrees. The tide was coming in and brought in some good schools of bigger fish (barracuda, trevally, etc.) as well as white and black tip sharks, a coronet fish.
Day 6 - We woke up to clear sunny skies, decided to go on a morning hike up the peak behind the resort. Our guide Sisa cut some sugarcane samples up top. Excellent views from the top. We went for a boat snorkel after lunch. We ended the night with a kava session with a few of the staff.
Day 7 - Another sunny day in paradise. My wife went for a morning boat snorkel while I went for my last 2-tank boat dive. I went back to Soft Coral plateau for the 1st dive and it was quite sharky, I saw the biggest blacktip of the trip and about a dozen whitetips, of course I started having camera issues. We went to Best of Best for my last dive of the trip, lots of colors and huge swim throughs. We went kayaking to the beach across the bay and around the point, for a snorkel in the afternoon.
Dives:
Soft Coral Plateau - 44min 92 ft 77 degrees. Sharks, a dozen white tips and a few bigger black tips. Beqa lagoon was totally flat, perfect conditions. Camera issues.
Best of Best - 62min 58 ft 77degrees. Fun last dive with a couple swim throughs. We saw a clown triggerfish getting cleaned, blue ribbon eels, nudibranchs and batfish.
Day 8 - Our last full day at the Lalati, bummer. We both went on a 3-reef boat snorkel. The snorkeling was excellent and my wife saw her first shark of the trip. Spent the afternoon chillin, drinking rum. Spent our last night drinking kava and beer with some of the staff.
Day 9 - Last day on Fiji. We left the resort at 9:00 am to head to the mainland. We played golf at The Pearl course in Pacific Harbor. The previous night it rained a lot, so the course was sloppy but very green and scenic. We then caught the van for the 3-hour ride to the airport. At the airport we ate pizza and got some shirts, caps and rum at duty free. The airport is very nice for its size. Then we were off for the very long trip back home. A great time was had by all.
The Lalati resort sits at the entrance to Malumu Bay; it is an idyllic setting and feels very private. It is a small resort with only 8 or so bures and feels very secluded. It is not a dive resort but more of a private resort that offers diving. If you need 4+ dives a day you will be better served by the islands bigger dive resort Beqa Lagoon Resort (BLR). The maximum number of divers I had on my 5 days of diving was 5; on 1 dive it was just the dive master and I. We did see one of the BLR boats out a few times and counted between 15-20 people on their sleek, very nice boats. We did have some boat scheduling issues on a couple of the days, but this will soon be rectified when their 2nd dive boat is functional. I dove using both their dive boat as well as the smaller skiff. Most dive sites were 10 -15 minutes away except Frigates pass which was about 75 minute boat ride. The dive staff was very friendly and good about spotting out things of interest. They handled all of the dive equipment loading, unloading, rinsing, etc. They let you dive your computer as long as you got back on the boat with 500psi or more. The diving was phenomenal! This was my 1st time to Fiji (or the pacific) and my only comparisons are my previous trips to the Caribbean (Akumal, St.Croix, Roatan and Bonaire) and the difference was amazing. The vibrant colors of the fish, soft corals and even the hard corals were an eye opener. I saw white tip sharks, lionfish, giant clams and anemone fish on about every dive. I got a pretty good variety of diving on my 10 dives including drift, wall, wreck, pinnacles and shallow reef. I unfortunately did not do a shore dive due to other activities. The conditions and clarity were variable, due to tides, winds, etc. I had water temps of 77- 79 degrees and visibility of 50-90 feet and surface conditions from dead calm to about 3 feet of chop.
The Lalati staff was GREAT!! Special thanks to, Sisa, Boss the boat driver, Dick, Joe, Oly, Rai and the amazing chef. The food was outstanding! There was posted activities as well as on request activities. We took full advantage of these including: boat and shore snorkeling trips, hiking to a mountain ridge behind the resort, fire walking ceremony, kava ceremony (as well as a couple of kava sessions with the staff), wakeboarding, kayaking (to Bat island, private beaches, snorkeling spots), golfing at Pacific Harbor, some of the other guests took trips to the Shark dive, zip lining and river rafting. The owners Brad and Sue were very responsive to any needs or issues that arise, we especially enjoyed talking with them about the direction they are taking this amazing resort. We will be back. A few things of note: the resort doesnt have a big, white, sandy beach (although there is one to the right of the pier and another one a 5 minute kayak across the bay) also the bures dont have A/C (which was fine while we were there, but might be an issue for some). The Lalati is perfect for honeymooners, mixed diving/snorkeling couples (us!), a small dive group or anyone that enjoys a private, quiet, secluded tropical paradise. The people of Fiji are the most friendly, good-natured, beautiful people I have ever experienced on a vacation (we were always greeted with a heartfelt Bula!). The beauty of the land and undersea is truly matched by the beauty of the people. The only things we did not enjoy were the mosquitoes and leaving to come back to reality. Bula!
