Castaways for the Day on Monuriki Island

Over the last seven years our wedding anniversaries have centered around the ocean — sailing in St. John, cruising the fjords of Norway, sailing in Kauai, snorkeling in Thailand, getting sharky in Mo’orea, and island hopping in Turks & Caicos — and this year we kept the tradition going. After all, we were in Fiji! To celebrate our special day, Cody and I decided to channel our inner ‘castaway’ and spend the day exploring an uninhabited island in the South Pacific.

Although, it wasn’t just any island.

Home to a thick coconut grove, soft white sand, sparkling blue waters, and an infamous volleyball named Wilson — “Willllllllsssooooonnnn!” — Monuriki is as beautiful as it is famous; and just happens to be where the movie ‘Cast Away’ was filmed. Interestingly enough, ‘Cast Away’ was not filmed on Castaway Island, which is another Fijian island just southeast of Monuriki. 🙂

We booked our Monuriki adventure through our resort’s activities desk — which offered a plethora of excursions from jet-skiing, to scuba diving, to island hopping, and more — and after departing our lovely home base at Tokoriki, we took a fifteen-minute boat-ride south and began our day at Matamanoa Island.

The secluded island of Matamanoa is so small that resort guests can walk all the way around the island in minutes; and as we admired it from our boat we couldn’t resist the pull of the ocean. Our group of six agreed on a quick snorkel, and soon after jumping in we saw a skittish reef shark and schools of colorful tropical fish.

Snorkels thoroughly saturated, it was time for the highlight of our day at the island next door.

As we arrived at Monuriki I first noticed the clarity of the water; the water was so clear — dare I say, “Krystle” clear. 🙂 Our boat pulled up just offshore and I looked up towards the dense coconut grove and towering cliffs and the beauty was unreal.

We wandered down the beach and through the coconut grove as we explored the island on foot, and we stopped to take pictures of the tiki hut on the beach and the “Help Me” sign made from coconuts. Eventually we made our way over to the eastern side of the island where we stayed for the remainder of our time as we had ample shade and the beach to ourselves.

Cody fired up the drone while I went for a swim, and afterwards we both sat in the sand and sipped the Fiji Golds that we brought along for our adventure. Sadly, all too soon it was time to leave our beloved island paradise of Monuriki.

Monuriki is the epitome of tropical islands. The soft sand, chiseled mountain peaks, coconut trees, and crystal-clear turquoise water beckon adventurers to stay awhile. If we could have set up a tent, shipped in our booze and food, and had our puppies to join in on the adventure, we could have stayed for a few weeks (or months). 🙂

Another successful anniversary adventure in the books — this time on our own deserted island. I want to send a huge ‘Vinaka’ (thank you) to my sweet husband for always being up for these adventures. 🙂 Cheers to many more years of happiness, love, and adventure!