Fish swim past at the see side

GUESTS at Likuliku Lagoon can see fish while they answer nature's call with special underwater panels in the bathroom and living room of their accommodation.

Likuliku resort Fiji

I'VE just had a close shave with a school of Bleeker's parrotfish. Or was it Schlegel's parrotfish? Or perhaps a semicircle angelfish?

Anyway, whatever they are, they're brilliantly, stunningly blue, with the intensity of wet violet-tinged ink. And, when I say close shave, I mean the shave that I'm having with my electric razor during morning ablutions as I stand in the bathroom of my overwater bure, or villa, at Likuliku Lagoon, one of Fiji's most luxurious and distinctive resorts.

Running nearly the length of the spacious bathroom, you see, above the requisite his and hers basins, is a long transparent glass strip that allows fortunate guests like me to view the exotic tropical fish swimming in the pristine waters below as you go about, well, your business.

Elsewhere, in the living room of the bure (a traditional timber and straw Fijian hut) there are a further two panels, embedded in the timber flooring next to a sofa, where you can relax and watch the most amazing fish swim unmolested literally beneath your feet.

Back on land, at the boutique next to the reception at Likuliku Lagoon  -  notably the only resort in Fiji with overwater bures  -  they sell a two-sided illustrated guide to "common fishes of the lagoon and their Fijian names".

The chart is helpful and, while I'm never quite precisely sure of what fish I'm seeing though the glass, I'm happy to just have a rough idea of the identities of these contestants in Likuliku's underwater beauty parade.

I only have one night in my overwater bure -  one of 10 at the resort  - and the day before I was determined to spend a full quality afternoon extracting the maximum enjoyment from it.

They would have needed to send chunky Fijian rugby front-rowers to extricate me before dinner as I reclined on the deck, watching the float-planes on their shuttles to and from Nadi, taking off and landing on the Likuliku Lagoon.

Before dinner at Likuliku's Fijiana restaurant, where New Zealand-born chef Ihaka Peri, who has cooked at some of Sydney's leading restaurants, serves excellent modern, Fijian-inspired Australasian cuisine, I relax on the deck of my overwater bure watching a sunset so perfect it seems preordained.

Likuliku Lagoon is on Malolo Island (referred to locally as "the island where the sun comes to rest"). It's under an hour's boat ride from Viti Levu, Fiji's main island.

Apart from the overwater bures, the other villas on the island proper aren't too shabby either, though being on land they don't come with peek-a-boo glass panels in the floor.

During my stay I also spend one night in one of the 14 deluxe beachfront bures, just a few steps from the beach, where the water is as wonderfully, invitingly warm as tepid herbal tea.

If you momentarily tire of the sea, or crave privacy, you can simply stagger back across the sand to the private plunge pool-cum-spa which awaits you, al fresco, at your deluxe beachfront villa.

Fijian reefs support nearly 400 species of coral, which takes decades to grow, and 1200 varieties of fish. "Likuliku"  - try saying that after a few cocktails at the chic Masima Bar on the "arrival island" next to the jetty  -  in the local Malolo dialect literally means "calm or sheltered lagoons or waters" with the lagoon declared a marine reserve in 2005 by the paramount chief of the Mamanuca Islands group, of which Malolo is part. This means that no form of fishing or shellfish collection is permitted by locals or visitors.

The only trifling downside of staying in one of the overwater bures at Likuliku is that there are sensible and understandable restrictions in terms of what you can and can't do. Likuliku Lagoon, after all, is nowadays a sensitive marine environment and a concerted effort is under way to regenerate the coral reef below the already invasive bures and throughout the lagoon itself.

At low tide it's possible for the reef to be exposed or for the water to become extremely shallow, with guests forbidden to access the sea from their "swimming platforms", lest they trample on the fragile coral.

Even though the in-floor and bathroom see-through glass panels are a novelty, the fact is you can spot tropical fish in abundance, day and night, just as easily over the side of the generously sized outdoor deck of the bure, the jetty walkway leading to and from the overwater bures, and elsewhere around the resort.

This place is teeming with marine life. The easy visibility of the fish nearly negates any need to go to the trouble of donning a snorkel, even though snorkelling trips are offered twice a day at the resort.

If your possibly stretched budget doesn't allow for a glamorous float-plane or helicopter exit, don't worry, because Likuliku is just 45 minutes away from Port Denarau in Nadi on a South Sea Cruises catamaran.

On my reluctant departure I take the boat, and it's a real shame it doesn't have a glass bottom.

But it's probably just as well since my "common fishes of the lagoon and their Fijian names" chart is stuffed somewhere deep inside my backpack.

 The writer was a guest of Likuliku Lagoon, Holiday Specialists and Tourism Fiji.

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Go2

- FIJI

- Getting there

Air Pacific (airpacific.com) operates regular direct flights to Nadi from Sydney. South Sea Cruises (ssc.com.fj) operates boat transfers between Port Denarau and Likuliku, with the trip taking about 45 minutes.

- Staying there

Rates for Likuliku Lagoon resort (likulikulagoon.com) start from $896 a night for a garden beachfront bure, including breakfast, lunch and dinner (food only), complimentary use of non-motorised water sports, daily special amenities and more. Book five nights' accommodation and receive a $500 resort credit.

To book a holiday to Fiji, including accommodation at Likuliku Lagoon resort contact Holiday Specialists (holidayspecialists.com.au/fiji) on 13 13 81.

More: See fijime.com