Just back from my first Fiji (Coral Coast) trip and thought I'd post some thoughts from a kiter/surfer's perspective.
Before heading over I did a fair amount of research, trawling through this site and anywhere else on the web to get an idea of kiting options. Pretty much all the advice was if you're staying on the Coral Coast then don't bother taking any gear as launch/land/spots/wind along that stretch of the island are sketchy year-round, and trade winds don't kick in until late June.
Based on this advice I took two surfboards and no kite gear.
Faaaarrrk .. wish I took kite gear.
We arrived Nadi International Airport 30th May 2014, staying in the middle of the Coral Coast at a resort called 'The Warwick'. Airport to resort transfer took just under two hours and we were about 30 minutes beyond the infamous Sigatoka.
Before sharing kiting/surfing thoughts .. if you're heading to the Coral Coast do check out The Warwick, two thumbs up from this kook, the resort is beautifully maintained, well appointned, and with so much BULA!! you bring it home and share it with your friends!
Kiting .... no launch or land? bull****.
Checked-in and headed down to the beach, mid-tide and there were plenty of launch/land options a few hundred metres either side of the resort.
As previous posters have noted .. it's called the Coral Coast for a reason, yep there's coral, and yep, about 500 metres off-shore the ocean was smashing up against a reef, but the mid-tide water between me and the reef was relatively obsticle free and totally kiteable. The beach was sandy and whilst there was coral bombies scattered around the moat between the shore and the reef the area was totally rippable.
Heck, if you're concerned about scratches don't take your $800 fave twinnie .. buy a $200 throw-away and chuckle when you hear the grind ;)
Wind .... *sigh* was blowing around 20kts.
Kicking in around 1pm the trade winds were in full force, a strong and consistent easterly cross/on, a 10 and an 8 would have been the go. Winds were consistant for the majority of the nine days we were there .. 5kts up to 20kts within half an hour .. every day I was cursing, NO F@%KING KITE GEAR??!
Spots .... I could have happily kited a couple of hours either side of high tide right out front of The Warwick. the same being true all the way to Mango Bay resort (which is as far east as I got). Between where I was staying at The Warwick and Mango Bay there were some bombie free patches of water, so jumps/tricks could be thrown without having to worry about plowing into coral.
There's also a couple of surf breaks in the area, a right hander out front of The Beachhouse resort, and a left/right hand setup out front of Mango Bay resort. Both these spots would've been awesome for either flat water and wave sessions.
Surfing .... not knowing anything about the area I took two boards, a 5'10 Lost fish and a 6'6 Lost semi-gun. Surfed the right-hand break out front of the Beachouse resort twice on the 5'10, didn't score the wave at its best, actually is was pretty ****, but at least I was in the water. Oh, the paddle out and back is a cracker! the reef's about 500m off-shore, so you're nice and warm when you get to the wave, and looking forward to a well earned beer when you head back.
The surfing highlight of the trip was taking a boat to Frigates reef. After some serious sniffing around for info on local breaks and options I was put in contact with Nick at Surfari Fiji (http://surfarifiji.com/).
Nick's based out of Mango Bay resort and runs day trips to various spots, Frigates being the premo .. this reef break is an absolute corker of a wave. A Long, walling, multi-sectioned left-hander. The first day I went out with the Surfari guys it was a fun 3-4ft, the second trip out was mind blowing .. 7-8ft of unforgettable magic, just me and five other blokes surfed for about 5 hours .. if you're in the Mango Bay resort area and you get the chance to head out to that reef jump onto it.
Hope these notes help someone headed to that part of Fiji. Crew rave about the north-east and I hope to get up there for a kite trip, but the family orientated Coral Coast is where we chose to head and I'm kicking myself for not taking any kite gear.
One last thing ... if you are taking gear, be sure to check your luggage allowance before getting to the airport. We arrived to discover Virgin had a 1 check-in and 1 carry-on allowance, I had two surfboards and between the girlfriend and I we each had a carry-on, weight issues resolved I dodged a $150 each way addtional luggage fee, would've sucked if I took surf and kiting gear ;)
Bugger pity you didn't know about Warwick stayed here in 2008, wind everyday, kiting everyday best flat water, waves out back.
Wife happy kids looked after Been saying going back for years.
Posted this spot up in wannakite.com best access on this part of coast.
I think wannakite.com is dead. Been trying to look at it for a few weeks and no luck with Google finding it.
Thanks kiterkook for the heads up, was perfectly timed, we flew into Nadi on 5th July. We spent the first few days a bit further around the coral coast at 'Wellesley Resort'. Perfect spot, sand beach for launching without too much coral or overhanging trees. Bit more runway between the beach and outer reef than at the warwick. No issues kiting at any tide, no coral heads etc sticking out of the water. Only problem was we got skunked for wind, but still got out 2/4 days. If you are a mad-man then the reef break is kitesurfable especially on the higher tide. Wellesley was fantastic, comfortable rooms and good food. we thought reasonably priced.
We then headed out to Beqa Island, staying at Lawaki Beach House. Not a great spot for kiting, but still had a great session just cruising around the island a bit and checking things out. There isn't much room to rig and launch at high tide i.e. you will have to water launch. At low tide their is plenty of exposed coral around that area. Once out on the water, it was pretty lumpy (i suspect wind on tide, similar to Dolls with a NE and run out tide). Also not much as far as bail out options. Gear failure would have resulted in a long swim or the need for the resort boat to run out. Lawaki was fantasic. Pretty basic, but very quiet/secluded, great snorkeling, awesome food, friendly staff. Option to organize a boat out to frigates etc.
Next on the list was back round to Sigatoka for the last couple of days. Unfortunately, got skunked again and no breeze but got a few waves to settle the jitters. Note: Club Masa is shut indefinitely. The guys across the road have set up a home stay and will hassle/hustle you as soon as you arrive. We ended up crossing back across the road to the Sand Dunes Inn. This is a backpacker dorm type set up, but the host Mary is very homely and her mothers cooking was fantastic. Sigatoka looked like it had a fair bit of potential for those want to play in the surf.
Anyone thinking of hitting that part of the world, happy to elaborate on any details. And yes, Virgin allows 1 checked item which can be oversized/sport equipment, but can not exceed 23kg otherwise will cost extra. Also, the hostie on the way back from Fiji had a go at us about our carry on, i won't argue it was not under the 7kg, but it was the same size or smaller than every other carry on, on the flight. Never had an issue with that bag before, but just a heads up...
