23

January
2009

Qamea, Fiji

category: travelling
by Yun,

Qamea Resort, located in Qamea Island, was one of our stops in Fiji. Qamea is a small island just three kilometers east of Taveuni. The perimeter of the island is only ten kilometers, with some lovely bays, lush green vegetation, mountains, and secluded white sandy beaches. Qamea is rich in birdlife. It is also noteable for the Lairo crab, a very special land crab species that live in the hills and mountains of the island. In their breeding season (from late November to early December), Lairo crabs gather in abundance during their migration from the mud flats towards the sea.

At first, a driver from the resort picked us up at Taveuni’s airport. It took twenty minutes to drive to a secluded beach where a small boat from Qamea had been waiting for us. For another ten-minute boat ride, we arrived at the resort and greeted by the staffs and the owners. After receiving an orientation about the resort, we were guided towards our bure. I was surprised to see that the bure was nicely decorated with furniture, artwork, and craft originally from Bali and Irian Jaya, Indonesia.

Food served at Qamea was delicious and presented beautifully. Considering that the chefs never went to a culinary school but only read books to learn cooking Western food, I gave them two thumbs up. I had to admit that the chefs were very talented. Almost every meal that we had was excellent. They provided about ten selections for breakfast menu, in addition organic fruits, cereal, home-made bread, and freshly baked muffin. In one morning, I had chocolate pancakes and it tasted heavenly. They added chocolate to the pancake generously. I just loved my breakfast in that particular day. A loved their salmon brucheta so much that he orderred it almost everyday. The next morning, I ordered the same pancake again. However, I was upset because the chocolate added to the pancakes was much less than before. It was totally different and disappointing. Oh well, maybe it was prepared by a different chef.

Lunch and dinner options were written on the daily bulletin that was delivered to our room the night before. If at any chance the daily menu selections did not fit for us, they would prepare something else per our request, as Fijians often said Seqa na Leqa (pronounce: senga na lenga, meaning “no problem”). For both lunch and dinner, they offers several choices for the starter, the main entree, and the dessert. During cocktail hour, we occasionally had a glass of wine (alcohol is not complimentary) accompanied with some snacks provided by the chef.

A new spa was just built at the resort. They named it “Jungle Spa”. Indeed, it was truly in a jungle. Each treatment room was just perched on a cliff in the jungle. With the sound of the waves and native birds, having a spa there will lull you into a complete relaxation. I was uncertain if I want to have a spa there, since my previous massage experience at Yasawa was not good. But since many guests said that Qamea’s spa (especially the massage) was wonderful, I finally made an appointment to have a massage with Mita. And you know what… Her massage was fabulous. I had one of the best massages I’ve ever had. She looked like she was dancing when giving me a massage. Her body followed the rhythms of the massage… It just felt wonderful and relaxing. So, if you plan to go to Qamea, have a spa there and you won’t regret it!

Snorkeling right in front of the resort was one of the best we have ever had. They have amazing coral reefs right off the beach. You can see a lot of fish there. Even A went for snorkeling for hours every afternoon. We saw a giant grouper and a white tipped reef shark that both live around the reef.  In fact, Qamea was nominated as one of the ten best snorkeling reefs in the world by Rodale`s Scuba Dive Magazine! We also went kayaking to a nearby secluded beach. We parked our kayak and then went snorkeling around the beach. I screamed when I saw a pretty-looking banded sea snake on that beach. But the sea snake was also scared of us and ran away. Hehehe… Beside water activities, we also had a chance to learn how to cook a Fijian traditional dish Kokoda. It was very tasty and extremely easy to make. No need fire to cook it. Just mix the fish with some seasonings and coconut milk. Thanks to Maraia for this wonderful cooking class.

After returning from Fiji, many of our friends asked us. Which one is better, Tahiti or Fiji? It’s hard to tell… Tahiti, especially Bora Bora, has a spectacular view, stunning blue lagoon, and dramatic island. Fiji offers one of the best dive spots in the world and particularly the nice, kind, friendly, and laid back Fijian people… We were treated like a family. Everyone welcomed and greeted us by our name. It made our experience memorable and very personal. We cherished our friendships that we had during our stay. So, it really depends on what you seek. For us, Tahiti was a perfect destination for our honeymoon a couple years back and we would go back to Bora Bora for its beautiful lagoon and turquoise water. And we would return to Fiji mainly for the people and the dive spots. It’s simply different reasons for different places.


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11 Comments so far

  1. Im3th | 23 January 2009, 01:33

    wahh mao donk ke fiji kapan2 …keren banget yun cerita loh dan foto2 lo (seperti biasanya..stunning beauty)
    abis liat2 angka2 yg bikin gw mabok, liat blog lo ini bener2 nyegerin mata gw :)

    iya met, cocok buat melepas stress, waktunya untuk menyendiri dan menikmati alam kalo disana hehe…Thank you for your compliment:))

  2. veny | 23 January 2009, 09:26

    YUN , speechless g baca n liat gambar2 nya .. biar lom pernah kesana tapi serasa g ikut kebawa kesana .
    you ‘re good writer ..also good photographer , he222 outstanding deh !

    Thanks Ven for your nice comment…

  3. veny | 23 January 2009, 09:29

    Yun ,
    Gong Xi fat Chai !!!
    wishing you happiness, good fortune & healthy & prospertiy ..in New Year
    Jgn sedih Yun , biar disana ga ada suasana Imlek , mkn enak snd aja .. & mengenang masa kecil dapet angpau . he222

    Gong Xi fat chai, wan she ru yi…. haha mkn enak sendiri ya ven sambil membayangkan yg di indo mkn enak rame2 hihihi…

  4. edy | 23 January 2009, 10:19

    Again, very well written…. Thanks for writing such a nice and insightful blog.. I was day dreaming for a while that i’m in Fiji… too bad when i opened my eyes, i found my self still here working in the office :D

    Thank you, I am happy if you like it too so that my writing is not useless :)) At least somebody reads my blog *wink*

  5. rina | 23 January 2009, 12:14

    Yun, bener-bener beautiful pics you’ve uploaded here. Gue jadi pinginnnn banget pergi kesana. Cross my finger ;-) thanks ya Yun, dengan ngelihat ini, view gue bisa bertambah

    Thanks Rin… semoga someday elo beneran bisa kesana ya…

  6. arman | 23 January 2009, 14:24

    wah both pemandangan dan makanannya mantab banget ya yun… jadi laper. hahaha

    have a great weekend man!

  7. V | 23 January 2009, 15:43

    Collage elo bagus Yun. Pas sama foto2nya :D

    Thank you V, gue masi harus belajar banyak jg nih, probably musti belajar ama elo juga :)

  8. ariany | 26 January 2009, 08:32

    waduh keren banget nih… cocok banget jadi reporter yun.. apa jangan2 emang elo reporter yah..? :) it’s a compliment loh… gua aja gak bakalan bisa bikin tulisan kaya gini ehehee… :P
    moga2 suatu saat nanti gua bisa ke Fiji Island deh.. bener2 serasa di dunia laen :)

    Btw.. Gong Xi Fa Cay, xi nian Kuai Le ….
    :)

    ar, aduh thanks banget for your compliment lho ^^ hehe, engga lah gue ga reporter, ngaco aja elo :)) iya moga2 elo juga bisa ya ngeliat tempat ini…
    Gong Xi Fa Cay too! May this ox year bring happiness, prosperity and health for you and your family.

  9. Im3th | 26 January 2009, 23:42

    Yun, do u mind if your blog I inform to my colleague? Her name is Petty SF, she is an editor-in-chief of Femina Magazine (one of the most popular woman magazine in Indonesia), I think she’d interested at your blog.
    Btw, Kiong hee fat choi Yun, xin nien kuai le, semoga lo dan family tambah hepi, banyak rejeki dan selalu sehat :)

    Meth.. sure, I don’t mind at all… Blog gue emang tujuannya buat dibaca orang sebanyak2nya kok meth… biar gue juga sekalian bisa sharing ke other people through my experience. Thanks anyway mo refer blog gue ke temen lo :))
    Gong Xi Fa Cay juga ya meth… Amin. May you and your family get happiness, prosperity and health in this ox year.

  10. Im3th | 27 January 2009, 20:45

    Yun, gw dah sms mbak Petty (nama lengkap: Petty S. Fatimah). Niy isi sms gw:
    “Mbak Petty pagi! mb, sy cuma mau ks info, ada blog orang Indonesia yang bagus banget, namanya Yunike, sekarang tinggal di Ohio, USA. Blognya bener2 menarik,cerita ttg travelling dia di berbagai negara plus foto2 jepretan dia hasil travelling yg asli keren banget. Nama blognya http://www.foodtravelblog.com Ayo mbak kalo sempat tolong diliat blog talented Yunike itu. Tq Mbak, have a nice day :)

    Thanks met :)))

  11. Im3th | 27 January 2009, 21:21

    Yun, nambah komen lagi niy heheeh sorry ya.
    Mb Petty udah bales sms gw :
    “Morning! wah infonya keren. Makasih ya langsung ku browse. Aku koq familiar sm namanya ya jgn2 kenal.

    Wah Yun jangan2 lo beken Yun dikalangan para jurnalis dan reporter ? :)

    enggalah, beken darimana coba, tinggal aja ga di indo gmn kenal ama merekanya hehe