Biologist Keli walks around with a 16-year-old iguana perched on his shoulder, showing visitors around the Liluliku Lagoon resort. They marvel at the Fiji crested iguanas which are distinguished by three narrow, cream to white-coloured bands on the males. They sit complacently in their cages, munching on locally grown vegetation. “Once they mature, they will be released into the wild,” says Keli. The resort is located on the Malolo island in the Mamanucas in Fiji. Its iguana breeding programme works closely with partners such as Sydney’s Taronga Zoo and the San Diego Zoo for research, breeding, and regeneration of the rare island lizard.
Many Fijian resorts have similar programmes to conserve threatened native species such as manta rays and sea turtles. Most travellers head to the archipelago of over 300 islands and 540 islets for its cerulean waters, coral reefs, palm-fringed beaches and lagoons. While it is possible to visit a country without engaging in its conservation efforts, most resorts across Fiji give every guest an opportunity to contribute and participate in its sustainability ventures.
Coral Fish Homes
The South Pacific nation boasts 4 percent of the world’s coral reefs, covering 10,000 sq km, containing 42 percent of the world’s coral species. At Shangri La’s Fijian Resort & Spa, Coral Coast, 60 km from Nadi airport, marine life trainer Moses teaches guests how to construct fish houses from dead coral, broken up into pieces and assembled like Lego blocks reinforced with concrete, with gaps for windows and marine life. Guests sit on the beach in the shade of trees in the afternoons to mould the coral into a shelter and then decorate it with shells. They are placed in the lagoon after they are dry, with GPS coordinates, to act as houses for fish to propagate.
“Children love our marine activities like fish house building and mangrove tours. Guests come back on subsequent visits, to see how their fish house has grown,” says Moses. The resort’s Marine Education Centre, set up in 2009, has colourful and interactive displays made from discarded paper and plastic.
On the Captain Cook cruises through the Tivua and Yasawa Islands, fringed with coral reefs, about 90 minutes from the Denerau Marina, marine biologist Abraham Waqairoba engages guests in coral replanting, by teaching them to string small pieces on a rope and attach them to metal frames in the ocean. It’s a deeply immersive experience that stays with guests long after it’s over.
Eco Products
Surrounded by 35 acres of tropical garden, the luxurious Intercontinental Fiji Golf Resort & Spa, on Natadola Bay, on Fiji’s main island, Viti Levu, has partnered with an NGO called Rise Beyond the Reef. Together, they work with remote communities, government and private sectors to create a better world for women and children by harnessing the talents of artisans to create colourful coasters, table cloths, bags, baskets and a variety of products with local motifs, marketed all over the island and online. At the resort’s signature Navo restaurant over a candlelit dinner of local delicacies like fish and coconut-based curries, one can see table décor and centrepieces crafted by the NGO, as well as hand-carved shell knives from their collection.
Around 100 km away from Intercontinental is the Pearl South Pacific Resort at Pacific harbour, set by the beach with lush tropical landscapes, which gives guests an opportunity to engage in traditional arts like palm or pandanus leaf-weaving, creating small hats or baskets. It also arranges cultural activities like fire-walking on the beach, with local tribes from Beqa island. Like most resorts, it has a torch-lighting ceremony at sunset, when staff dressed as warriors carry on the age-old custom of lighting bamboo torches, dotting the shoreline to the sound of drums and a horn blowing. The staff at most resorts and cruises are locals who bring their culture and history to their jobs and offer ‘meke’ performances, where song and dance combined with storytelling engages visitors to the islands in an immersive manner.
Farm to Fork
Many resorts also serve creative menus based on local ingredients like taro leaves, cassava and
a seaweed called Nama, and fresh produce from farms and kitchen gardens. Fiji Marriot Resort at Momi Bay, a 45-minute drive from Nadi Airport, offers a farm-to-fork tour to explore its vegetable patches, which harvests as much as 150 kg of produce every week. The resort also offers mangrove-planting and bird-watching tours as well as teaches guests to make bird nests using just coconut husk and grass, which can be placed on trees or along the ground.