FIJI | KUATA ISLAND, Yasawa islands

Fiji was the THIRD COUNTRY on our almost 2 months long trip around SOUTH PACIFIC. One mom and one 6 year old. After visiting friends and family in SINGAPORE and RAROTONGA, Cook islands, we were truly on our own in Fiji. After a couple of days in busy NADI, we sailed over to the YASAWA ISLANDS and chose KUATA island as our last stop, after Drawaqa and Matacawalevu islands.

WE VISITED KUATA ISLAND WHEN LU WAS 6 YEARS OLD. MORE ABOUT FIJI WITH KIDS IS COMING UP SOON ON THE BLOG.

This time the trip with the fast YASAWA FLYER boat was looong. After a short sail north from MATACAWALEVU ISLAND, we passed the northern most island of the Yasawas where it was possible for tourists to stay. There are some islands up north but they are protected from tourism. Then it was all the way south to KUATA ISLAND. Our LAST ISLAND here. But, hey, we were not going home yet after Fiji. Still, it was so easy to travel here and everyone was welcoming us, so we just hoped it would be the same in VANUATU later on. This time the boat ride was a bit more adventurous. High waves, wind, rain. The boat was rocking, but we made it safely.

Kuata island, Yasawa islands, Fiji map

And look look, there was a POOL in our BAREFOOT KUATA RESORT! And a cocktail bar! And hammocks on the palm trees by the beach! I knew all that of course, but Lu went totally crazy to see the pool. And then even the sun came out again. Perfect time to end the day with swimming.

In the MORNING, I was abruptly awakened by Lu jumping up the bed almost screaming “pool, pool, let´s go to the pool!”. Oh my child, look at the beautiful sea, why on earth would you want to go to the pool. Lt me sleep just a little bit more. But oh well, kids sometimes like the pool more. And that is ok. Sometimes. I think I might have lied a little bit when I told him we were not allowed to jump in the pool before 8 am though. But it did the trick and we had a peaceful BREAKFAST and a stroll on the BEACH.

KUATA is a SMALL ISLAND and it is easily to walk around it. We did such a ROUND ISLAND WALK on every island we visited, the day we came or the next morning. Just to see what there is and to get a better sense of the whole new place. This time it was no different. This part of the island was obviously more ROCKY. Still nice though and with SPECTACULAR VIEWS, but I think we will search for the SANDY BEACH somewhere else then. If I can get Lu out of the pool that is.

In the evenings we walked over to the OTHER SIDE OF THE ISLAND. We met a wonderful FAMILY FROM AUSTRIA with 2 kids here, the daughter was just a bit older than Lu. They immediately connected and were hanging out together during our whole stay here on Kuata. By coincidence they came and left on the same day as us as well. So we spoke GERMAN again. If you don´t know, we live in Germany and Lu has been growing up with 3 LANGUAGES. We speak Slovenian and English at home and German in school / work. This is great because he can communicate on his own on our travels since he was about 3 years old. He ahd to get used to the Austrian German a bit though :).

The Austrian girl was impressed by Lu WHISTLING TO THE CRABS in the seashells. They really do come out every time, it is really funny. In the SUNSET LIGHT this part was the place to chill before the dinner, but take care to go back before it is dark – there is a shorter part of jungle forest to cross in order to get back.

I believe it is possible to DIVE on pretty much every island on the Yasawas. Some of them also offer PADI CLASSES. Some islands are known for some of the best places to spot the MANTAS an other ones are famous for the SHARKS. We were visiting in the wrong month to see the mantas, so we were left with the sharks.

There are 2 OPTIONS. One is a bit less scary and one is ultra scary. I really wanted to the the ultra scary one, but then I thought gosh if something did happen to me, Lu would be all alone out here. Just the thought of that left me feeling too insecure to go through with it. So I choose SWIMMING WITH REEF SHARKS. They are much smaller and basically harmless. We sailed out to the OPEN SEA and stopped at a CORAL REEF. You can see our island in the back. Okay quickly into the water before I change my mind.

UNDERWATER, it took about 1 minute before the first shark came. WOW. They might be harmless, but they sure were bigger than I expected. And when they swim right at you, it is just scary. Well, that kind of adrenaline fear you know.

Awesome thing to do. Definitely. Lu was jumping in the pool with the Austrian girl the whole time I was away and did not even notice I was gone. You are probably wondering what was the other option, the ultra scary one? That was a DIVE with the big ones. The BULL SHARKS and the TIGER SHARKS. And not in a cage of some sort, no no. Just like that. For those who never dived before, there was an obligatory quick class in the pool. And after that they dived and waited behind a little wall made out of coral rocks. Seen the videos of some other guests who were brave enough to go down, that looked sooo scary. But so cool at the same time. Maybe next time then :).

Back in our bay, there were no sea monsters. Well, except for the human ones. Perfect for SNORKELLING and water fun in the shallow sea. Well, almost perfect. There was just one little thing that was disturbing our peace for a few hours every day. And that was the day tourists. Kuata island seems to be a popular spot for a DAY VISIT from the main VITI LEVU island. It is a bit strange to say that, after all we are all tourists and we all disturb the peace, but you know what I mean. The daily visitors could use our pool and eat lunch at the resort before and after they swam with the sharks.

Our LAST WEEK on Fiji. We made the best of it. And we really enjoyed ourselves to the fullest here. Our new Austrian friends contributed to that big time and Lu was really having fun. We seemed to have chosen a good time to leave though as there was a big storm coming up this way. The CYCLONE GITA just smashed Samoa earlier that week and seeing those images was really scary. We knew this could happen cause we were travelling during the wet season, known for cyclones at this time of the year. We just hoped it will not turn into the direction of VANUATU, where we were flying to next in just a couple of days time.

But until then, we enjoyed our time as much as we could. And that was not hard in this picture perfect place. KUATA ISLAND is a perfect paradise island get away even if you are limited with time as it is quite close to the main island.

READ MORE ABOUT OTHER YASAWA ISLANDS  WE VISITED ON THIS TRIP, DRAWAQA AND MATACAWALEVU UNDER “RELATED POSTS” BELOW

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