Welcome to out last day in Fiji, dear reader. We have been checking the weather at home intermittently and have been unsurprised to see little change. Sydney has now become the rainy city and the forecast for arrival tonight is 90% chance of rain. Fortunately, I purchased weatherproof luggage while I was travelling with work (seems like a lifetime ago) so our belongings shall at least arrive home dry.
The arrival of our new ferry transfer time last evening put a dampener on things and overshadowed a glorious morning and our breakfast. We do have a new breakfast sport: bulbul watching. On the quieter mornings, the bulbuls fly in and perch on the top of the pillars, just below the roof line. When the coast is clear, they swoop in and grab some breakfast too. It’s not just for humans. One morning, granola was the target. The next day, there was no granola on offer and he opted for the sunflower kernels. Today, after a long wait on the pillar top, he opted for the closest of the foods, bircher muesli. Down he swooped, up high on his legs, surveyed the bowls, hopped up onto the muesli bowl and tucked in. The guests always seem amused. Not so the staff.
 |
| Island Bar - wide angle |
We chatted with another couple at breakfast, also from Sydney, lamenting the abysmal weather at home. Also we quickly learnt they are Bunnies supporters and she grew up near Redfern and now works there. Small world. This once again adds weight to Jayne’s hypothesis that, if you are visibly a Bunnies supporter, you will never be alone – someone always wants to talk about the players, the latest game, the points table, the upcoming game, Latrell’s hamstring…
We were just delaying the inevitable and finally dragged ourselves down to reception to discuss the ferry back to the mainland. You want to catch the later ferry, of course, no problem. Late check out, of course. How about 2pm? While this was all welcome news, some things have already been set on an irreversible course. I didn’t swim laps this morning because of the tight time frame for getting out of the buré. Jayne opted to shower before breakfast because we wouldn’t be swimming in the lagoon, again because of the time frame. Now, we have an extra 4 hours to relax and enjoy the vista and complete the immigration information on the Australian government Digital Passenger Declaration (DPD) app.
Every review I read about Musket Cove rated it 5 stars. Except one, and she rated it 1 star because she was goading them into answering her email enquiry – she hadn’t even been here yet. There are many aspects of the resort that are excellent and worthy of 5 stars. The natural environment is an absolute winner and the sunsets here are better than Cable Beach, better than Santorini, better than anywhere I can recall (except maybe Redfern). I have posted at least one sunset with every post.
The people, absolutely everyone, are friendly and helpful and lovely. The beach front accommodation, OK I could nit-pick, but sitting on the verandah looking across the lagoon; I could do that every day forever and not tire of it. Activities? There were activities enough if that’s what you wanted, or not, if that was your expectation. It’s not a party island and doesn’t pretend to be.
First world problems
On the not-so-5-star side is a lack of eye for detail, the maintenance of facilities and communication. We have already mentioned that it would be very helpful to advertise the dinner menu each day so people can decide if they want to have lunch as the main meal (unless you are one of those people who wants 3 main meals a day and then advanced warning is irrelevant).
Then there is the wine list. That is pretty much what it was, a list. Much of it was out of stock for half of our visit. The list itself was not something to excite any wine lover. Three or four NZ sav blancs from the old school, high acid with in-your-face herbaceous fruit. They were interesting in the ‘80s but the world has moved on. There was a chardonnay, recognisable by the label, not the taste and a pinot gris that was out of stock for the first four days. As mentioned, the red wine list suffered a similar fate in terms of availability, but then, it's not really a red wine climate. Unless you like drinking blood. Of the three rosés there was only one available and it was too sweet to become a mainstay for us.
As with many ‘all meals included’ resorts, the cream of the profit is skimmed from alcohol purchases. Price-wise, even in Fiji dollars, they weren’t bottle shop prices, not outrageous, but not cheap. One couple asked if we’d won lotto because we’d ordered a bottle of wine with dinner. While we did have a bottle of wine with our meal each night, there were occasions where we could have ordered another bottle to sip slowly on our verandah as the night came down but this was not on offer. Given the number of guests they can accommodate and the passing yachties, stopping in for a feed and a drink, they have missed a significant opportunity to improve their bottom line.
As to facilities, well the lovely sun lounges out the front of the buré are homemade and not quite as solid as they should be. Should one attempt to sit on them, the fabric comes away from the side revealing several very long sharp screws. Each day someone comes along and re-screws them, for them to come loose again as soon as anyone should sit on the lounge. It may provide work, but it is neither safe nor sensible. It is a design fault that should be rectified.
| The offending sun lounges |
Then there is the air conditioning. It is essential to have it on at night. Ours works effectively enough, but it drips condensation onto the beautiful polished timber floor. There it pools and seeps through one particular board which is slowly rotting through. This is not obvious at first glance and at some point, someone, guest or staff, or is going to put a foot through the floor. My short-term solution was to position the bath mat underneath the drip each night to soak up the water.
 |
| The timber floors behind the lamp are a bit soggy. |
It has also become apparent that it depends to whom you speak, as to the level of information you obtain about arrangements and activities. An example of this is the Cloud Nine offer we had as part of our stay package – our first inquiry led us to believe this was a snorkelling opportunity, off a platform in the middle of the ocean. We were interested in this, until we then found out, by chance, from the water activities guy, with whom we were about to book a Cloud Nine time, that we needed to “Take your card.” Why, we asked? Because it is actually a floating pizza and cocktail bar - you can jump in the water if you like, but that is not the main game. Our package included the return boat trip out there, but not what we might consume while marooned there, presumably with a lot of music and people outside our demographic. Not sure how it would have been received if we had arrived at the platform and jumped into the water for the entirety of our time there, without using “the card”.
 |
| Cloud 9 or hell on water? |
Up to this point, the post has actually been written on our verandah. Bags almost packed, but now with time to enjoy … Once again, the bird song and lapping of the waves is interrupted, read shattered or destroyed, by what sounds like a leaf blower. We all know it is ‘smoking man’, not the one from the X Files, but the guy here who sprays the undergrowth with chemicals every day. It doesn’t smell organic or natural. He sprays every day and wanders around in a cloud of insecticide, wearing little more than a disposable surgical mask for protection. Very safe for him and the guests. Just a question - is Dieldrin banned in Fiji?
I know this is all being very picky, but this hasn’t been the cheap Fiji holiday I read about in the media. And none of it was a deal breaker. It was, as pointed out since we arrived, the little things that matter – and they shouldn’t, because they shouldn’t be noticed. It’s in the not noticing that makes a 5 star establishment.
Paradise Lost
And before I sign off dear reader I’m sure you are speculating on the title. Is there a song called Paradise Lost? I was actually referring to Milton’s epic poem Paradise Lost because it is relevant here in so many ways. Not in the religious sense. In a snarky moment, it can refer to the things that the Resort didn’t get quite right. In a broader sense it is about what human kind has done in the destruction of natural habitat and our inability to recognise or attempt to repair it. Then of course there is the historic “white man’s burden” destructive invasion of the islands in the name of their Christian god. Let’s move on, this could spawn a novel, not a blog post.
The Department of Home Affairs
Just when I thought we’d finished writing for this trip, we experienced something incredible. Something amazing. Something unbelievable. A Federal Government app that worked easily and smoothly, the way it should have. Yeah nah. The DPD app – it’s free because nobody would pay for it. However, it is currently essential to complete it before Australians can return to Australia. And who would take returning to Australia as a given, under the current (now former - ed.) government, even if you are Australian and a resident? Remember when they locked the borders to everyone at the start of COVID?
Mr Potato Head’s department has excelled this time in that it works better than any other government app I’ve attempted to use. They also win because if you don’t use their app, you can’t come home – sort of like buying into big tech. 45 minutes later … we had completed the simple questions, many of which could have been pre-filled by the government who know who I am, where I am and what I think. It was, however, not the clusterfuck that was the Census before last, or the attempt at COVID tracing, but it still wasn’t smooth sailing.
Today is May 11, hopefully the current bunch of incompetents will be dispatched in 10 days’ time. Don’t @me, I don’t care if you vote LNP. You have my most sincere sympathy and disgust, in equal parts. If you haven't realised yet, dear reader, this post is exactly 2 weeks after the listed date the result of lack of wifi access and a missing camera cable. (And I'm still celebrating the LNP loss of power).
And that is a wrap. We have a couple of weekend expeditions planned which may or may not rate a mention on this blog. It may well be our next communication will be in August when we venture off for the twice-postponed European river cruise. Unless, of course … but let’s not go there.
Until then.
No comments:
Post a Comment