It was the 17th of January and our first full day on Mana Island. We’d arrived the previous afternoon, after a couple of days at Club Fiji, in Nadi. On our first day we had time for some swims at the beach near our villa and in the main pool, and plenty of food, plus some post-dinner crab racing.

Our afternoon swim on the South beach, near our villa, confirmed there were plenty of fish around, and even an impromptu snorkel with just goggles had been great. We were keen to get back in for better snorkel! Our morning views were not that hard to take 😉

We’d awoken to some rain, well a massive downpour, but as we fed ourselves on the breakfast buffet, it cleared. The restaurant is on the North side of the island and it was pretty windy over that side during breakfast, so the first activity for the day was some fish feeding at the main jetty.

Fish feeding and some distance swimming…..

The resort offered fish feeding most mornings. We made sure we were at the jetty at 10am and we could see plenty of fish in the crystal clear water, just waiting for that left-over breakfast bread!

Aside from some lingering stormy clouds, it was a beautiful day and it was hard to contain ourselves from wanting to jump in with all those fish! The kids had a great time throwing bread to the giant schools of fish and we had fun identifying some of our favourite tropical fish.

Already missing swimming training, Astrid and Anto thought they should do a warm-up swim by swimming back from the main jetty to the beach outside our villa. The water was warm and crystal clear so it seemed like a better alternative to laps in a pool!

Meanwhile I headed back to the South beach with Soren and Zinnia, while Astrid and Anto enjoyed their swim.

Cracking out the kayaks!

By the time we made it to the beach the previous afternoon, kayak hire had closed for the day. The kids were very determined to get plenty of kayaking time, so first on the agenda was a morning kayak. The water on this side of the island was beautiful and calm, so a great morning for kayaking.

The kayaks were free to use, they just needed an adult to sign them out on behalf of the kids. Although after a couple of days the staff seemed to recognise the kids and would let them just grab the kayaks whenever they wanted.

Astrid and Anto, fresh from their warm-up swim, were also keen on a kayak and we took it in turns accompanying Zinnia in the double kayak. Astrid and Soren managed to squabble constantly while kayaking, but were having a great time and the favourite game was paddling out and one jumping in and swimming back to shore.

North beach snorkeling and plenty of food…..

We’d checked the tides in the morning, and the North beach had a high tide before lunch. You need a fairly high tide on that side of the island to be able to snorkel safely. We’d heard it was great snorkeling over that side of the island, so geared up and walked over to the beach entry, not far from the restaurant. The wind on this side of the island was not fabulous, making for some choppy water. Undeterred we got everyone in and once we got 30m from the beach found some excellent fish and coral. We did not have our camera housing working for this snorkel, so there is no photographic evidence, but we all had a good time!

Zinnia who was only just 5 at the time, did really well keeping her face in the water and following fish, despite being bounced everywhere by the chop, and was already proving her snorkeling prowess. It was her first snorkel since our Rarotonga trip in the July and she hadn’t lost any confidence.

After 40 minutes our giant buffet breakfast had been well and truly burnt off by the kayaking, swimming and snorkeling so we thought it was time to attempt the second feeding for the day.

Keen to try the lunch buffet, rather than the a la carte, we’d had the previous day (which was great but very slow), we had quickly gotten changed and walked back over the the main restaurant only to find the buffet was closed today. We later found out it was the first day of the low season and they didn’t run the buffet when guest numbers were low.

We were happy to order off the a la carte menu again, but like the day before they moved on Fiji time! We had arrived a little after 1pm and didn’t manage to finish our lunch until after 2.30pm. Luckily we weren’t really in a rush and the kids amused themselves while waiting by checking out the meat and veggies being prepared in the fire pit for the traditional Fijian buffet that night.

South beach snorkels…..

With the calmer side of the island that day, being on the South beach, we were all keen to try a snorkel over there to work off the lunch. This time we had the camera housing cooperating so we even managed a couple of fish pictures!

This beach was about 30m from the back door of our villa so it was easy walking snorkeling gear (and buckets and spades) back and forth. The kids alternated snorkeling with playing on the beach……..

It was a beautiful clear afternoon, and it was a perfect temperature for hanging with the fish or playing on the beach. The beach bar was open so it was definitely time to engage ‘holiday mode’ and enjoy a drink on the beach, with a fabulous view!

There was a marked snorkel zone on this beach, but we quickly found that while the fish and coral in the snorkel zone were plentiful, they were much better outside the snorkel zone. The water was calm and the snorkeling easy so it wasn’t a problem venturing outside the snorkel zone. Zinnia had her first snorkel with fins and was impressed at how fast she could move!

After the kids tired of snorkeling they alternated playing on the pontoon and finding crabs (all named Crabbitty) that they would build houses for.

The only blip in an otherwise perfect afternoon was Astrid getting stung by something on her shoulder, while snorkeling. Some antihistamine and ice and it improved but she wasn’t particularly impressed!

We did eventually drag ourselves out of the beautiful water, all a little hot and a tad sunburnt, despite copious amounts of sunscreen.

Sunset dinners……

It was Fijian night at the buffet. The kids got to see the end product of the meat and vegies that been cooking all day in the fire pit. Soren declared the ‘lolo fish’ the best. Like the previous night, there was no shortage of either food, or vegetarian options. Plus a beautiful sunset to enjoy as we ate…….

After our first full day on Mana we were all pleased we had a week here to enjoy the swimming, snorkeling and food. It was lucky we hadn’t spent much of the day sitting still though as we were going to need to do plenty of activity to offset all the food!

Kids club and morning solitude…..

Again there was a very loud storm in the morning. We all woke up to the sound of a torrential downpour at about 6am and then managed to go back to sleep for a bit. By the time the kids decided they’d had enough sleep at 7am it was sunny and 30 degrees!

Mana Island offers a kids club for kids up to 13. Astrid, Soren and Zinnia, who are normally happy to hang out with us snorkeling and swimming rather than do organised activities, had checked the kids club schedule and were keen on the morning activity of coconut husking and lolly making.

After I filled in the required paperwork and the kids were duly issued with their kids clubs shirts, I dropped them down at the kids club to hang out with other kids for a bit. Anto had booked himself some dives for the morning. So, when the kids decided they’d rather husk coconuts than hang out with me, I took myself off to the adults only pool with my kindle and some sunscreen.

I was the only one in the adults only pool and had a wonderful time reading, admiring the view and cooling off in the pool when I got too hot.

A storm blew in and it got very wet for a bit, even under the umbrellas. It didn’t last long though and I had a great couple of hours. It turned out to be the only time I made it to the adults only pool on the whole trip, but it was nice while it lasted!

When I retrieved the kids from their kids club session they’d had a great time. Even Astrid who at 12.5 was the eldest in attendance, and by far the tallest, even taller than most of the adults! She had been helping with the younger kids and they had all learnt how to make coconut lollies and ate plenty, of course.

While we waited for Anto to return from his dive, where he saw a turtle (lucky duck!), we cooled off in the main pool. The resort was definitely emptier than the first day we arrived and we didn’t have too many people to fight off in the pool. It did mean many of the island restaurants weren’t open during our stay.

We had 3 meals a day included in our package, so while the adults could have happily skipped lunch most days, the kids were always keen to eat! We had now established that we were limited to the a la carte menu at the main restaurant, and the food was pretty good, but rather slow. After 2 days of sitting around for an hour waiting for our food to appear, we had learnt to order and then swim while waiting for it to be prepared. The restaurant has outdoor seating right next to the pool area and the staff seemingly find you when your food shows up. This became our plan every day so the time passed quickly as we hung out in the pool.

The kids also used this time to get slushies with their pocket money, and live their best tropical island holiday life!

Afternoon snorkeling on both sides of the island….

Keen to try the North beach for snorkeling again, we geared up head back to the North beach. We were working off our food by traipsing all our gear all over the island!

It was pretty windy and choppy, so Soren and Zinnia being rather light, were finding if very hard going. The rest of us were enjoying the fish and corals and managed to see an impressive array of fish in a small period of time.

Some of the best snorkelling was a good 200m off the beach on the North side. It was a bit of a swim out but worth it once you got out. Most of the other guests would hang right around the beach where there were far less interesting fish and coral. They probably wondered what all these weirdos were doing all the way out!

The kids were getting sick of the chop and were busting to go for a kayak, so we agreed we’d continue our water-based activities back on the South side of the island.

Anto was happy to kayak with the kids while took the camera out for snorkel up and down the South beach, where it was delightfully calm.

The water was clear and you could easily spot plenty of fish from the kayak, a game Zinnia enjoyed!

There was plenty to look at and I found a few great spots, and plenty of fishy friends while the kids kayaked, played on the pontoon, and hung out on the beach.

The kids all enjoy a good swim so continued to throw themselves off the kayak and swim back to shore. Even Zinnia, who was annoyed at the resorts requirements that kids wear life jackets while kayaking!

Meanwhile I found plenty of fish out in the deeper areas and snorkeled the afternoon away!

We dragged ourselves, rather water-logged, out of the ocean at 5.30pm, as it was time for yet more food!

Italian buffets and frog racing….

It was apparently Italian night at the buffet. There was plenty of pasta to pick from, and some great made to order options at the live cooking station, plus plenty of desserts to ensure we replaced any calories we’d burnt during the day.

The kids club activity for the night was frog racing. They kids had to rush through their calorie-fest to make it to the start of the kids-club session. Anto dropped them down and then returned so we could finish our dinner in kid-free peace while watching the sunset……

Apparently the frog racing session was rather popular and there were plenty of kids of all ages, so all three of our kids had a wonderful time. After they raced frogs (and then released them) they got to enjoy some Fijian dancing. Zinnia had refused to leave early (despite us trying) and was rather tired by the time the session ended at 9.30pm but had had a wonderful day!

Up next…..

Plenty more amazing snorkeling, sunset beaches, kayaking, a hike up the hill for awesome views and a bit of fire-dancing!