Hiapo Cockett's 2009 Fiji Trip
Namale Resort

Namale holds a very special place in my heart. I was raised in Southern California and that side of me is prone to this little devil that sits on my shoulder and screams “GO-GO-GO, aren’t you bored with ANOTHER perfect sunset, ANOTHER perfect meal, ANOTHER beautiful location?” I have since learned that he is completely insane. If you believe you have an undocumented case of ADHD, Namale is your tropical cure. Less than 20 bures and villas comprise the resort, sitting on 500 acres of cliff top ocean front views, this piece of Heaven has more activities than any of the other resorts in Fiji. They have an 18 hole golf course (9 holes with 2 approaches per hole), horseback riding, their own waterfall, 2 pools, 2 Jacuzzis (one overlooking an ocean blowhole), a putting course, volleyball, an indoor basketball court, tennis court, ping pong, mountain biking, kayaks, sailboats, water skiing/wakeboarding, water trampoline, banana boat, and air conditioned gym, and my personal favorite: “the Kava bowl”. Here is a 2 lane bowling alley, a virtual golf room, self serve bar, internet café, pool table, air hockey, foosball, darts, even a video game machine, and a projection screen theatre supplied by an Apple TV loaded with what seems to be hundreds of movies.

The most important feature is, of course, the Spa. Sitting on an ocean cliff overlooking their own ocean blowhole, 4 treatment rooms flank their hydrotherapy room. This piece of Nirvana is a large room with a glass wall (so as not to obscure your perfect view of the ocean), 4 different aromatherapy tubs, a HUGE Jacuzzi tub (for you and about 10 of your friends, maybe 20 if intimate!), a refrigerated plunge pool, sauna, and an indoor waterfall to take care of those tension filled shoulders and neck.

To begin your trip to massage heaven, each treatment is begun by giving your feet and calves a hand wash and scrub, finishing off with a wonderful coconut lotion rub. The treatment we had was the couples “Ultimate Fusion Treatment” (ask for it by name!). Hot (and I do mean HOT) oil is poured generously all over you and massaged, accupressured, deep-tissued,and even rubbed in with hot smooth stones! I reached another plane of existence repeatedly (my wife, on the other hand, said I drifted off several times).

All of their bures offer traditional Fijian thatched roofs, lots of ventilation, Asian themed décor, indoor and outdoor showers, and the fluffiest towels in all of creation. Their Honeymoon Bures offer oceanfront views, and Jacuzzi tubs as well as being larger with more private locations. For those of you with a bit more in your budget, you need to pick one of the villas. Listed as “the Sexiest rooms in the South Pacific” they feature air conditioning, 2 person Jacuzzi tubs, private plunge pools, projector TVs supplied with hundreds of movies on an Apple TV, WiFi, and several other features. Each unit is unique but our unit “Civa” (pronounced THEE-va, meaning “pearl” in Fijian) was hidden in it’s own magical piece of forest near the Spa. The bedroom had A/C, a comfy seating area, projector TV with Apple TV, WiFi and a Bose CD player with hidden speakers throughout the room. Opposite from the entryway was a formaldining room with wet-bar and it’s own open air, private bathroom with outdoor shower. On the other side of the bedroom, separated by a protected, open-air walkway was a walk-THROUGH closet with powder room. Another walkway takes you to the master bath: Large open shower with ginormous showerhead, Jacuzzi tub for 2 with an ocean view, large bowl twin sinks, a double seating deck overlooking a sweeping view, and another outdoor shower. There are few private decks to compare with the one we experienced at Namale: a free form pool swept about 40 feet from one side to the other, horizon edged on the cliff’s edge, lit a magical blue at night, with 3 sets of lounges, just in case you need to invite a bunch of new friends to your room, and another lounge in an elevated lover’s lookout, like your own personal tree house of romance.

The people are the special treat and the true heart of Namale. This is a place where everybody knows your name within a day or two of arrival. From the wait-staff at the restaurant to the “bula cart” driver (how else do you expect to get around a resort where the main grounds are over 300 acres, but by golf cart!) everyone shows a level of caring you would only find at a family reunion. Even the “bula boys” (the nightly entertainment band) do more than just sing and supply kava, they joke, they chat, they bring a level of joy beyond what can be reasonably expected from a house band. Our first night we were surprised to find that TWO HOURS had passed chatting and laughing, exchanging stories, sing-along songs, and meeting other guests. They have mastered the art of infectious happiness.

Hiapo Cockett

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