A week at Malolo Island Resort, Fiji

Welcome to our new favourite island!

Last October, we spent a week at Malolo Island Resort, in the Mamanuca Islands of Fiji. It was our first trip out of New Zealand since 2019 – which is unbelievable, looking back on it! We were very ready to leave New Zealand and Fiji was the perfect place to go. It’s only a few hours on a plane to get there from Auckland, and when you get there, it’s virtually the same time zone (usually we’re there in winter and it’s exactly the same time as New Zealand – in October it was one hour difference).

Malolo Island Resort could not have been a better choice. This almost instantly went up into one of our top three holidays. It’s a small resort, and everything – the rooms, the people, the food, the kid’s club, the activities – was just so incredibly lovely. It wasn’t glossy, if you know what I mean, but everything was done with such love and care, and it was just so, so beautiful.

We arrived the day before Fiji Day, which – as we were soon to learn – is a big deal in Fiji! It celebrates Fiji’s independence, and everyone seems to celebrate in a big way. We were tired and had honestly been looking forward to availing ourselves of the poolside and beachside loungers and doing very little else. However, there were games all day and we were part of the green team…we initially said we probably wouldn’t participate, then after about ten seconds we had our green bandannas on and we were signing up for everything. Big Judd Crew energy right there. It was such an incredibly fun day and an excellent way to make friends with some of the other families there!

Because Malolo is small, you see the same people all over – which was just lovely. We became friendly with a couple of other families and Amelie became very good friends with the two children staying in the bure next door. At the end of our holiday, they gave her a card saying they would miss her terribly, which warms my heart every time I think of it. It’s still pinned up in her room!

The people who work there also are never too busy to help – there are a lot of people working there and I loved that. Amelie found a coconut on the beach and very confidently strolled up to someone – who, if I remember properly, worked at the boat shed! – to ask him to open it for her. He did it without even blinking. It was heartwarming (yes, again. That’s just how Malolo is).

We did a lot while we were there – paddle boarding; kayaking; snorkelling (Malolo is a protected marine reserve and the sealife was just incredible); a village visit to Shell Village, further around the island, where a lot of the people who work at Malolo live; swimming; eating of course (did I say how amazing the food was?!) and we rounded it out with a good amount of relaxing (there are hammocks everywhere!) and simply staring out at our surroundings, musing on how lucky we were to be there. The Kids Club at Malolo was a lot of fun for Amelie and freed up a couple of afternoons for Hayden and I to really settle in with our books – and even a couple of evenings so we could have some dinner dates! Mind-blowing. We really hadn’t enjoyed that for ages and it was actually a revelation – such a luxury!

Malolo Island was the absolutely best place I can think of to reconnect with the world of international travel. I wouldn’t be surprised if we ended up back there this year – watch this space! It is for sure our new favourite. We still talk about it all. the. time. It made such an impact on us, and I swear, never has a trip been so needed.