Fiji

[kib]

I am planning a trip to New Zealand for November. It came to my attention that Fiji is a stop-over and basically free as far as air cost is concerned. I was excited about taking a few days there, it sounds so exotic, but a lot of what I'm seeing makes it look like somewhere you'd go for Spring Break. Not really into lying around drinking fruity booze on the beach looking at a lot of pretty drunk people. Have you been, and is it worth it, or should I stay extra time in NZ instead? This will be 3 weeks total, I was going to give Fiji 3-4 days.

[Bartleby]

I have been there once, also on a brief stop on my way to NZ. I thought it was an interesting country and marvelous marine wilderness.

To get past the “spring break” vibe would take a bit of effort,depending on how far past it you want to get. There are a lot of kiwis and aussies up for a few days of partying.

The natives are generally nice and friendly -- and very very very BIG!

If you do some research, you might find something that suits you for a short visit. It might capture your imagination and make you want to come back. It might even open up a whole new world, who knows.

I spent a couple nights in the Yasawa Islands, which were at least more low-key than the resorts near Nadi. A wilderness really. My daughter will always remember the Cessna flight going back to the Intl Airport, and all the marine life we saw … I would love to delve deeper into the place someday.

[Bartleby]

When I was in New Zealand 25 years ago on my honeymoon, we stumbled across a place in the wild rainforest of the South Island between Christchurch and Queenstown called the Lake Moeraki Wilderness Lodge.

It was run by a well-known conservationist and early proponent of eco-tourism -- providing an economic incentive for wilderness preservation.

I have always wanted to go back, and have just looked them up. They appear to be doing well ….

http://www.wildernesslodge.co.nz/new-zealand/lake-moeraki-wilderness-lodge/