I'm putting this post on this thread in addition to to the thread about Nananu Beach and Dive, as this thread was very helpful to us in our decision making process, and thought that this may be helpful for others.
Just returned from Nananu Beach and Dive resort less than 6 hours ago. Technically, due the the international date line, I just left there 1 hour ago and here I sit in California....
NBDR was fabulous, we loved every minute of our stay there. I also posted some questions on Scubaboard prior to us booking our trip, and had some very positive responses. Having not been to Beqa, I have no idea how it would compare, but our group (2 couples, early 40's and early 50's) loved it.
Kai Viti was great, our first day with them was less than impressive, but I made my feelings known and we did not see that DM again and everything seemed to change for the better immediately. Kai Viti is the only land-based op that will take you out to the Bligh Water, and our visit to the Bligh on Monday was truly amazing. We had no idea that diving could be that good! Our benchmark was Cozumel, where we have dived quite often, and now the Bligh has become the place to beat for us. The package deal you can book with Kai Viti for prepaid dives and an all-inclusive stay at NBDR is unbeatable, but try to prepay for all of the dives you need if you can, it is a bit pricey to pay for dives after your stay. (I was happy to pay, as my wife decided to dive 4 days with me after seeing Fiji, but I was shocked at the cost) I would recommend Kai Viti without hesitation. A big draw for us to Kai Viti, in addition to their great rep, was the opportunity to dive the Bligh, if we were going to come all the way from the US to dive in Fiji, we wanted to dive the Bligh. Our wives would not have been happy with a liveaboard for a week! Their dive boat was custom built just for divers, so it has an extremely easy exit/entry, plenty of dry storage areas, room to move around, and zippered windows to keep the spray out on rocky days. It is also a jet boat, so no pesky propeller to ruin your day.
NBDR is a very laid back, VERY friendly place to completely relax. We were directed to bures 11 and 12, as they are on the very top of the ridge and have amazing views of the sunsets, Nananu island and the NBDR bay. Bure 11 is the most private, our friends were in that one, and we were in Bure 12. They share a common wall, like a duplex, but they are very private. They also have an outdoor shower in a private patio, and be warned that there is not an inside shower if that is important to you. We loved the outdoor shower, sharing it with the geckos running up the wall. We did hear one guest a little concerned that there was not also an indoor shower. Bures 11/12 are the highest and furthest from everything, another reason we liked them . The dining room is on the ridge also, so you don't have to negotiate the hillside for meals either. We found that we spent most of our time in and around the bure, relaxing after morning dives and enjoying the A/C. The hillside was not a problem for our group, but could be a hassle if you planned on going back and forth from the bure to the beach/pool/tennis court/pier, etc. We looked at it like we do the stairs on cruise ships, a necessary bit of exercise while you gorge yourself on tasty food.
Let me try to address your questions, as it drives me nuts to ask a specific question and not get attempts at answers:
The terrain for us was not a factor. If you had an hour before dinner and wanted to jump in the pool, then it may be a factor. The pool seems to not be 100% fresh water, but it is not also 100% salt water.....hmmm. Our wives often went on hikes on the trails to other parts of the island and found them to be sufficiently challenging to work up a sweat, but the breezes and vistas made it very enjoyable.
Off the end of the pier the snorkeling is reported to be excellent. You can easily see an interesting reef from just standing on the pier, and many fish cruising around. There are anenomes under the pier also. I don't think the diving is that good right off the pier, but the manager of the resort told us that if we wanted to, Kai Viti would leave us tanks on the pier if we asked and then NBDR would boat us out a few hundred yards to a scuttled boat/ship to explore if we liked. We didn't take them up on that, but it sounded interesting to us.
When we were there, there was a family of 4 visiting from NZ that was staying at another resort on Nananu. After visiting NBDR for dinner one evening, they canceled their second week at the first resort and moved to NBDR. Their boys were busy every day on sea kayaks, snorkeling and messing around on the beach and in the pool. We saw them one day playing doubles tennis with their parents. Additionally, if you walk down the path to the other side of the island to Lomanisue beach, there are places there to take windsurfing and kitesurfing lessons, among other activities. If we had brought our 4 kids with us, there would not have been a lack of things to keep them interested. There is also a gorgeous beach there called One Beach (pronounced onay), you can hike to it and have it all to yourself or the NBDR management would be happy to take you in their 4wd vehicle and pick you back up at a predetermined time. If you do go to One beach, try to plan a visit when the tide is down, we were there at high tide and the beach is pretty short between the rain forest and water's edge.
I guess that is a key factor to NBDR, they are just plain happy to do anything for you, we can't praise their staff enough. Genuinely happy people that are happy to make your stay as enjoyable as possible. Although we have stayed in nicer accommodations, eaten at nicer restaurants, enjoyed nicer facilities, we have NEVER been treated as well as we were at NBDR, and for us that made all the difference.
If I was forced to name one thing that was a negative, it would be the mosquitos down near the beach in the afternoons and evenings. Since you've been to Fiji, you know that they are just part of the Fiji experience. Take some repellent and that's that. We had a nice breeze every day during our visit, so the mosquitos at the bure on the ridge were never a problem for us. We found that we would use our patio and deck to read in the sunshine without any mosquito problems at all, we think due to the breezes.
--24 hour power
--no TV's
--no phones
--great cell phone coverage through Vodaphone
--.75FJ per minute internet access in the office if you need it
--small refrigerators in the rooms stocked with sodas, water and candy bars
--large picture windows facing the sunset in the bures, probably 7'x7' (you should see some of my sunset pictures literally taken while lying with my head on my pillow)
--45 minute massages available in your bure for $50FJ
--the staff learned our names immediately, and we were addressed by our first names from that point on, that really made us feel part of a family
yeah, we'll go back
it looks fantastic. Thanks for the web address. We aren't going until October so hopefully the renos may be finished by then. If not I guess its Wananavu or even maybe look at a different area altogether....
