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Fiji - October 2002Natadola Beach ResortClick on the images to see them enlarged. Images will open in new window, so just close it to return to this page. After an 11 hour flight on Air Fiji from Los Angeles at the top of a Boeing 747 jumbo jet, Jana and Marc arrived at Nadi airport. We located our taxi driver, Johnny, and set out on an hour-long drive to Natadola Beach Resort. At first the road took us through town, then through some cane fields, until Johnny turned left onto a dirt road. He mentioned that the road to Natadola was under construction, and we clearly felt it in the back of his taxi. After a little while, the road construction ended, but we continued on this dirt road. Jana and Marc looked at each other and we were praying that Johnny was an upright taxi driver, and not a highway robber who would take us to the next village to be robbed blind. But nothing like this happened. we passed over some mini railroad tracks (for the sugar cane train) and then Johnny pulled up to Natadola Beach Resort. At first, we were a little disappointed, as we had expected this grand building and all we got was this little doorway covered with bougainvillea. But once we stepped through it, we found that the place was very charming. The people were very friendly and extremely accommodating. Since we arrived early in the morning our room (the honeymoon suite) was not ready, so they put us into a day room. We slept for a couple of hours, but then were wide awake. So, we looked around the resort. The pool was nice and inviting, and we spread out there for a little while. Then, we were informed that our room had been serviced, and we went to take a look. The honeymoon suite was sitting by itself on the top of a little hill. We had this whole place to ourselves. The room was very spacious and we felt right at home. We had a private deck with lounge chairs and a great view of the ocean through some of the lush trees that surrounded the resort. So, we spent the next two days, relaxing by the pool, on the private deck and on the beach. Ahh, the beach. It is said that Natadola Beach is the prettiest beach on the main island of Viti Levu. And we believed it. The water was clear and warm, there were no corals in the water, the sand was white and fine. Even a train carried people from other parts of the island to Natadola, so that they can spend the day catching some sun on this magnificent beach . The service was fantastic. We had breakfast, lunch and dinner at Natadola Beach Resort (not that there are many other choices). The food was always good and plentiful. We sampled wines from Australia and beef from New Zealand. The fish was fresh and the vegetables plentiful. The dining area was kind of an indoor/outdoor setting, so that we were able to enjoy the best of both worlds. We can definitely recommend Natadola Beach Resort, even if it is just for spending a day on the beach there. After our 2 days here, we then hitched a ride with Johnny again to get on our next leg of the trip - the Fiji Aggressor II.
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