Holidays With Heart

Teaching your kids the value of volunteering and helping others is a great way to expand their horizons. One family went beyond the pool in Fiji.

- Debbie Neilson-Hunter

On arrival at the Outrigger Fiji Beach Resort, I’m left in no doubt that this idyllic Pacific Island nation invented the smile. From the arrivals hall at Nadi International Airport to the fruity welcome drink at the deluxe resort on Viti Levu’s sundrenched Coral Coast (and everywhere I go afterwards), countless rows of white teeth beam my way.

Their smiles are contagious. I’m soon smiling eagerly back, the trials and tribulations of my life back home fading with each cheerful greeting of “Bula!”

What’s truly remarkable is that these iconic smiles haven’t faded, not even after recent floods and the destructive impact of Cyclone Winston – the worst in Fiji’s modern history. Just weeks before my arrival, more than 108 villages in the north of the country had been completely flattened by Winston’s ferocious winds. Across the nation, schools lost roofs and tens of thousands of people were left homeless. Damage to infrastructure and crops was estimated at more than FJD$1 billion (AU$640 million).

With the help of communities that were unaffected and international aid, including Australia’s, the people of Fiji quickly got on with rebuilding and welcoming tourists back.

“What can people do to assist Fiji? Choose Fiji as your next holiday destination,” urges Peter Hopgood, general manager at the Outrigger Fiji Beach Resort.