After an exhausting three years, a resort holiday was in order – that is, paying to be fed and watered in comfort, along with having my bed made.

Researching options across Bali and Fiji, I leaned towards the latter because of the shorter flight. A friend who returned from Fiji recommended the Intercontinental Fiji on the Coral Coast and this was the confirmation I needed to finalise a booking.

Train travel and transit through Sydney and Nadi airports were full of smooth moving queues. The one-hour cab drive from Nadi airport had me arriving in the early evening, just in time to witness the spectacular sunsets that the Coral Coast is so well known for.

The hotel welcomed me with a hearty ‘Bula’, multi-strand necklace, a brief hug and a reminder that it was a homecoming. After checking in, I was shuttled to my room – and what a delight! The generous space opened to a large balcony, offering panoramic views of the sea and an atoll less than 200 metres offshore. And six more nights of those spectacular sunsets.

Quickly hooking my Wi-Fi and emptying my suitcase, I then headed out into the night-time gardens to find a meal, grinning from ear to ear and feeling enormous gratitude for my good fortune. The smile and the gratitude remained with me for the entire trip.

If it was another holiday, I might regale you with descriptions of all the activities available to a visitor to Fiji – water sports, island hopping, horse-riding on the beach, outdoor massages, forest hikes, mountain climbing, mud baths, golf. Perhaps I might also tell you about the hotel facilities such as evening cocktails, spas, shopping, kid’s activities, cultural events and daily fitness.

But I wasn’t on that holiday – so I did none of these things.

Instead, I surrendered to the warmth and genuine friendliness of the Fijians, I surrendered to the tranquillity, privacy and comfort. I swam, slept, read, relaxed and came back to myself.

George Elliot wrote, ‘adventure is not outside man: it is within’ – and those quiet, reflective, peaceful seven days in paradise cleared the way for a small but perfectly formed adventure.

Tracey Henderson, Kiama

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