Dolphin Island Fiji

Small, intimate and totally unique – deliberately designed to be like no other. Dolphin Island offers a style of hospitality created around a deeply held personal ethos. When Alex van Heeren founded The Huka Retreats he brought his own, very particular needs as a discerning traveller, to the creation of an iconic brand.

Widely travelled, sophisticated yet never pretentious, he was intuitively drawn to create the style of experience that he would like to enjoy, and share with family and friends. The founder effectively became his own guest and in doing so brought about a style of property rarely encountered in the world we find ourselves in today.

A concept of luxury defined by deliberate isolation, complemented by unspoiled natural beauty and true privacy. Creating freedom to completely relax in real style and comfort, with personal service from great staff, delicious food and generosity of spirit.

At Dolphin Island guests will encounter all this in abundance, with Manager, Dawn Simpson, and her team embodying the founder’s unique philosophy beautifully.

Guests can be as active or as relaxed as they like, their time is truly their own, Dolphin Island is where guests can step off the real world for awhile, and regain true balance and their equilibrium.

Guests never share Dolphin Island with anyone they don’t know, they can connect with nature and with themselves, enjoying a truly immersive style of holiday while every day becomes their own, in a myriad number of ways they never dreamt was possible.

Guests enjoy the attentions of warm and friendly Fijian staff looking after them beautifully, without being intrusive – with Dawn’s love of her guests being the heart and soul of Dolphin Island.

She, and her staff, care for their guests during the time they spend on Dolphin Island in their very genuine and nurturing way, with much laughter and a innate feeling of kindness very rarely encountered in most of our daily lives.

It is probably best described by these words written in our guest book “we leave Dolphin Island feeling like brighter, better versions of our former selves”

Dolphin Island offers access to a genuine and authentic relationship with Fijian culture, making it possible for guests to immerse themselves in the kava ceremony, tapa cloth making, listen to all the amazing legends and stories passed down the generations from the village elders, enjoy the beautiful voices raised in song and join the rhythm of the drums accompanying the traditional dances.

At Dolphin Island guests will discover a very real Pacific paradise, where the people are as authentic as the world they live in. They are willing to share this with our guests in their generous and loving way. It comes straight from the heart and this is what guests leave with – a place in their hearts for Dolphin Island.

THE MAIN BURE
The main bure holds centre court, enjoying an elevated position above the infinity pool and a series of poolside areas perfectly designated for relaxation. Perfect for time spent lying on day beds (either pre or post a dip in the infinity pool), or for alfresco dining.

Casual groups of plantation-style chairs, and soft feather-filled sofas beckon, as one day draws seamlessly into the next. As the last rays of the sun catch on the tips of the palm trees and sink into the ocean, the open verandah, with its banks of bi-fold doors offers the perfect venue for a tropical cocktail, or a glass or two of chilled wine.

GUEST BURE SUITES
Dolphin Island guest bure suites are perfect for a Pacific Island lifestyle – featuring heart timber floors, plaster walls, stone tiles, wooden shutters, high ceilings and the latest in air conditioned comfort.

The dressing rooms are large and generous and these are further complemented by well-appointed bathrooms, twin hand basins, shower, sculptural free-standing bath and outdoor shower, within a private garden courtyard.

Fine pure cotton bed linen and soft feather pillows are perfectly suited to the climate and The Huka Retreats famed attention to detail is strongly evident within this haven of relaxation and romance.

HILLTOP SLEEP-OUT BURE
This utterly divine, thatched open-air bedroom, is both rustic and refined – perfect for a tryst or for an overnight stay! It faces the sea and is flooded by the first rays of the sun come daybreak. Lighting is provided by lanterns and candles, a simple bathroom and shower and toilet are located to one side of the sleep-out.

FAMILIES
Family time in tropical paradise
With your own private island, you and your family have the freedom to create your very own bespoke family experiences and operate to your own schedule. Manager, Dawn and her team are only too happy to make sure you have everything you need to have an absolutely amazing time on Dolphin Island.

Our warm and friendly Fijian staff adore children and will ensure the younger members of your family have a wonderful stay on Dolphin Island. They are also available for babysitting, should this be required.

Children’s menus can be created especially to ensure lots of delicious treats are always on hand. Our days have not been measured by clocks but by swimming, delicious meals, snoozing, reading and being together on this beautiful Island. There is lots of interest for children to engage with, and experience, on the island itself.

Circumnavigating the island at low tide with rock pools to explore, playing on the white coral sand and paddling and swimming in the warm, safe crystal clear waters surrounding the island provides endless hours of fun. There is also snorkelling gear, sea kayaks and a Hobie catamaran provided for guest use.

There are many experiences that the whole family can enjoy on shore – adventures like Nara Waterslide Tour and cultural exploration with the Suncoast Tour, and Tapa-making Class.

Aquatic experiences are amazing in the Fiji islands and Dolphin Island is located in the midst of the very best diving and fishing, with lots of potential for water sports.

Children can have snorkelling instruction and older children who are confident in the water can have scuba training with an accredited dive master, should you want this to be part of their holiday experience.

DESIGN
New Zealand-born interior designer Virginia Fisher drew the public’s attention with her very first project, Huka Lodge, Taupo, New Zealand. When Alex van Heeren purchased the property in 1984, he commissioned Virginia Fisher to create an interior to complement and enhance this extraordinarily beautiful location.

Fisher rose magnificently to the task. Drawing on the property’s heritage, she created an interior and ambience considered unrivalled to this day. Building on, and adding additional layers to the Lodge continues, with attention to detail and awareness of guest experience being the driving force.

Other projects with Alex van Heeren, have included the significant heritage wine estate Grande Provence, Franschhoek, South Africa. Founded by French Huguenots in 1694, the Estate – along with its rich and colourful historic past – provided yet another superb project.

Once again Virginia Fisher’s great eye for exactly what a property needs to offer its guests came into play. Her innate understanding and vision for the estate’s visual design, both in terms of texture and ambiance, were brought to bear and the end result is truly magnificent.

In late 2008, Fisher completed the exclusive Alan Pye Cottage, for Huka Lodge and this is also considered to be a triumph. A contemporary version of an Arts and Crafts cottage within a magnificent location, with superb colour palette and a fabulously eclectic and wonderful interior.

Named after the charming Irishman who founded Huka Lodge in 1924, the Alan Pye Cottage provides a fitting tribute to the original owner’s generous spirit of hospitality and his style.

The most recent project, having opened in 2011, is the Pacific retreat Dolphin Island, Fiji. Here, Fisher has created a haven of relaxation and comfort while celebrating Pacific style in her own unique way.

Strongly referencing Polynesian pattern and lifestyle, Fisher brings together a fabulous look for Dolphin Island that reflects tropical living at its very best.

Virginia Fisher’s collaboration with Alex van Heeren has resulted in some of the finest retreats in the world, which has seen the emergence of a group of sister properties known as The Huka Retreats.

Landscape Design
Suzanne Turley came to a relatively recent new career as a landscape designer following many successful years in the world of fashion. This possibly accounts for her exceptional eye for colour and her intrinsic understanding of the importance of texture. Both these highly refined skills are strongly evident within the context of Suzanne’s garden design work.

Suzanne’s consultancy work eventually brought her in contact with, and drew together, the complementary talents of architect Pascal Tibbets, and landscape architect Aaron Bell Booth. All three now work together as a team.

Suzanne’s work came to the attention of highly renowned interior designer Virginia Fisher who chose Suzanne to work with her on a series of major projects. The first of these was the ongoing development of the gardens at Huka Lodge, the success of which culminated in another collaboration at Grande Provence Estate in South Africa.

They also worked together on the beautiful landscape and gardens created for the Alan Pye Cottage at Huka Lodge. The extensive grounds at Huka Lodge have been listed as a ‘Garden of National Significance’, by the New Zealand Gardens Trust since 2011.

Suzanne’s latest project for The Huka Retreats has been on Dolphin Island, Fiji, with a significant re-working and re-planting of the tropical landscape to showcase the mature palm trees boldly, while introducing still more fragrant frangipani, exotic hibiscus and many other exotic plantings.

DINING AND CUISINE
Food on Dolphin island often can be best described as Fijian fusion in style – a unique blend of traditional Fijian flavours and ingredients combined with elements of Indo-Fijian cuisine creates a fabulous array of taste sensations.

Spices, chillies, coconut, seafood, fresh fish, limes, indigenous vegetables and exotic tropical fruits all feature on the menu. Guests enjoy the best Fiji has to offer when Manager, Dawn Simpson, is preparing dishes for their enjoyment.

Dawn is also happy to generously share the secrets of her kitchen with guests during their stay and to take them to the local market where she goes to carefully select her produce. Guests on Dolphin Island can choose what they would like to eat and menus will be created to suit the style of food that is their personal preference.

Every day, as one of the local fishermen returns to port with his catch, he calls into Dolphin Island where the guests are encouraged to select fish and seafood to eat later that day. Eating fish that fresh is truly a memorable experience as is the traditional lovo prepared as a farewell dinner for guests.

Delicious parcels of food are lovingly prepared and carefully wrapped in banana leaves before resting on hot stones under the earth, where they will slowly cook for several hours before the lovo feast is ready to be served. Dolphin Island has many fabulous dining venues and guests are encouraged to enjoy as many of them as possible during their stay.

The elevated wide wooden plantation style verandahs catch a gentle breeze, while overlooking the infinity pool. The floating pontoon has a table in readiness for breakfast or a candlelit dinner and tables can be set up at very short notice beside the pool, on the beach, or wherever guests feel they would like to dine.

WEDDINGS
Recently Dolphin Island was the chosen venue for a very intimate ceremony attended by the bride and groom’s closest family members, who all stayed with them over the celebration.

With the beautiful voices of a Fijian choir, fire dancers, and a pyrotechnic display, the happy occasion included a Champagne tower and Dawn’s delicious food.

Like all destination weddings it all took a lot of planning however the Bride did a magnificent job, with support as required by Katherine and the Huka Lodge team and Dawn and the Dolphin Island team.

After farewelling their families the bride and groom enjoyed the island in total seclusion, as they honeymooned in their very own tropical paradise – Dolphin Island.

HONEYMOONS
Dolphin Island provides the most extraordinary romantic place to honeymoon. The level of privacy offered is unrivalled and everything is designed to meet your needs and your daily schedule. Meals will be prepared and served when and where you want them and each day is utterly your own.

Escape to Dolphin Island for massages on the beach, a candlelit dinner for two in the Hilltop Sleep-out bure, a midnight swim in your own infinity pool, cocktails on the floating pontoon, and savour tropical days and sensuous nights that you will remember forever.

Located just 20 minutes by boat from shore, on the tip of Viti Levu, Fiji, Dolphin Island nestles like a precious jewel, surrounded by crystal-clear waters.

Following arrival at Nadi International Airport, you can travel for 2.5 hours by private car (included within tariff), or choose to transfer by float plane or helicopter to Dolphin Island.

The island’s own private boat will then transfer to your own private island retreat where on arrival, you will be immediately enveloped by the beauty and luxurious accommodation that awaits.

Narara Waterslide Tour (approx. 4 hours)
A half-hour drive from Rakiraki brings you to a small inland village where guests will be warmly welcomed in the traditional way with a kava ceremony, voices raised in harmonious song, accompanied by dancing.

The villagers will then take you on a short tour of their home then you will be guided on a gentle 15-minute walk (or horse-ride) to a beautiful waterfall nearby. This natural waterslide descends 20-feet in gentle cascades to a naturally-formed heart-shaped pool below.

Handicrafts made by villagers will be on display and available for purchase back at the village prior to your departure.

Sightseeing
A variety of trips to visit local sights can be arranged to suit your particular interests.

Suncoast Tour
A guided tour around the area including a village visit, the famed Church of the Black Christ, the township of Rakiraki, the sugar mill and the tomb of the last cannibal chief Udreudre.

Diving
World-class diving experiences await in the pristine Bligh Waters surrounding Dolphin Island. Both snorkelling and tank diving trips can be arranged for guests with carefully selected, specialised local operators.

Water temperatures are very warm, visibility underwater is extremely high, with the soft coral and schools of fish abundant in terms of both quality and variety. The beauty and diversity of this marine paradise is breathtaking and our dive team has all the local knowledge to ensure you enjoy every minute of it.

Four reef systems, with 25 dive sites are readily accessible, with a range of 20-minute (to Hailstone Reef), to just under one-hour boat journey (to the Vatu-i-Ra Passage).

The dive sites of Rakiraki are such that beginners can feel relaxed and enthralled, while experienced divers can enjoy the diversity of the topography and marine life.

While staying at Dolphin Island there is also easy access to the highly-rated sites of the Vatu-i-Ra Passage in Bligh Water (the waters between the two main islands of Fiji), which are considered among Fiji’s best diving destinations.

Local sites offer a wide range of variation with tunnels, swim-throughs and canyons provide an ever-changing vista, to life-filled walls, reef flats and impressive pinnacles. Many sites feature the signature soft corals that make Fiji diving so famous. You can expect to see a lot of vibrant colours and large numbers of fish.

Clown Fish
Diving in Rakiraki is characterised by swarms of brightly coloured tropical reef fish including Moorish idols, damsels, butterflyfish and red emperors. However there are also larger more impressive fish that can be sighted in the region.

These include schools of barracuda, trevally, rock cod and more. You are also likely to encounter sharks such as black tip, white tip, bronze whalers and grey reef sharks as well as turtles.

If you are seeking the ultimate Fiji dive experience then take a full tank and dive Breathtaker. Three coral heads sit at around 25 to 30m from a base of around 100m, meaning plenty of nutrients and a resultant throng of marine activity.

Divers will almost certainly encounter sharks here in impressive numbers, including blacktip, grey reef sharks and whalers. Keep an eye out for mantas, barracuda and Spanish mackerel at this breathtaking Viti Levu dive site.

Some of the Rakiraki dive sites are named after their remarkable topography as is the case with Amazing Maze, featuring channels, swim-throughs and canyons to explore. Fans, coral trees and soft corals line many of the walls and provide a haven for the innumerable smaller reef fish that live here, close to Nananu-i-Ra Island.

The famed Vatu-i-Ra passage boasts deeper, more exposed dive sites such as Mellow Yellow, famed for its profusion of soft yellow corals, and Wheatfield where twin towers rise from a depth of 45m, surrounded by an abundance of marine life.

Other diving sites worthy of note include Black Magic Mountain, Mary’s Maytag, Pandora’s Box and Pot Luck.

KAYAKING
Dolphin Island is within easy kayaking distance of many other nearby islands, so there is much to explore on your very doorstep.

Take a delicious picnic with you and set off for some adventurous exploration of your very own, while enjoying the warmth of the water and the unspoiled beauty of the golden sand and the palm fringed shores, you will pass by.

FISHING
Guests can go on two-hour hand-line fishing trips to sheltered reefs to fish for magnificent coral cod, sea trout and snapper.

Great fun as a family activity, with plenty of fish to be caught and much excitement every time one is safely landed on board. All fishing gear provided.

Trawling trips (3 or 4 hours)
Fish the outer reefs for all the adventure of sporting fish, your catch may include coral cod, trevally, tuna, barracuda, walu and mahimahi. Rods and lures provided.

Hand-line fishing (2 hours)
Guests can take fishing trips to sheltered reefs to fish for coral trout, cod, and snapper. All transfers by private boat and fishing gear/equipment and refreshments are provided.

WELLBEING
Facials
All our facial treatments also include neck, shoulders, arm and hand massage, with a choice of scalp or a foot massage.

Dolphin Island Deep Cleanse Facial (60 mins)
Rebalances and purifies the skin using natural cleansing elements such as algae, seaweed and marine extracts to leave the skin looking fresh, clear and radiant.

Dolphin Island Papaya Facial (60 mins)
Papaya’s anti-aging enzymes are known to enhance call regeneration and this treatment is deeply moisturising while richly nourishing. Promotes a more radiant and youthful skin and includes an infusion of serum for an optimum moisture boost.

Relaxing massage
A variety of relaxing treatments are available for guests to enjoy without leaving the peace, quiet and privacy of Dolphin Island.

Dolphin Island De-stress Massage (60 mins)
A soothing and nurturing treatment using a blend of lavender, chamomile and geranium essential oils and the skills of a trained masseuse.

Dolphin Island Reviving Massage (90 mins)
Uplifting, detoxifying and renewing – with an invigorating blend of lemon, lime and eucalyptus oils and specialist massage techniques.

Dolphin Island Traditional Fijian Massage (60 mins)
Using special oils this traditional Fijian style of massage utilises techniques handed down over generations to enhance deep relaxation, harmony and rejuvenation.

LOCATION
Located just 20 minutes by boat from shore, on the tip of Viti Levu, Fiji, Dolphin Island nestles like a precious jewel, surrounded by crystal-clear waters.

Following arrival at Nadi International Airport, guests can travel for 2.5 hours by private car (included within rate), or choose to transfer by float plane or helicopter to Dolphin Island.

The island’s own private boat will then transfer guests to their own private island retreat where on arrival, they will be immediately enveloped by the beauty and luxurious accommodation that awaits.

Website: www.dolphinislandfiji.com

Rooms: 4

Price: from 2.418 EUR per night