Underwater Photography

Pro Photographer Comes Snorkeling

30 September 2011

As cameras get better and better, lots of people now come armed with digital cameras that can be used underwater; others have small waterproof casings that they can load their camera into. As a result, we all have much better photos. But when you go out with a pro with all the gear – well!! [...]

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Nia Dance Retreat with Sophie Marsh - Fiji

Nia: The Moving Meditation of Dance

26 September 2011

It’s 10.00 am and the girls are dancing. It’s 9.30 pm and the girls are dancing. It’s 7.00 am and the girls are dancing. Admittedly they’ve been to bed in between but still – the ENERGY!!!! Nia must harness something in them because they are unstoppable. They dance. They sing. They laugh. They cry. They [...]

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Dolphin Dreaming - Daku Resort

Dolphin Dreaming

21 September 2011

A trip to see dolphins with a couple of guests – and we could not have been more blessed. The weather was beautiful – warm sun, blue skies with a scattering of clouds, a light breeze. Our boatman Joe was a warm, confident young man who had spent his life growing up around the waters [...]

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Flowering Talent : Botanical Art Retreat

Flowering Talent : Botanical Artists

15 September 2011

The delicacy and detail of botanical paintings is astonishing. With six days at their disposal, the artists still claimed they were pressed to finish by the end of the week – but their artwork was of a very high standard. Delicate heliconia, robust ginger, and the intricate lacy petals of a hibiscus were all on [...]

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Lotus Sanderson - Yoga Retreat Fiji

Yoga mandalas and general bliss

4 September 2011

The latest yoga retreat was led by Lotus Sanderson, and was a week of great serenity and focus. Lotus brings an extraordinary calm and seriousness of purpose to her practice – and we all came away with a sense of lightness and joy. We learnt that seriousness of purpose doesn’t mean dullness – rather the [...]

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Nakabolou Hot Springs

Journey up the Jungle

29 August 2011

Savusavu is known for its geothermal hot springs, and many more are to be found scattered around the island of Vanua Levu. There’s a particularly notable outcrop in the remote village of Nakabolou, where a series of specially constructed stone pools were once built for the use of the village’s chiefly rulers. Much of the [...]

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Fiji Dive Conservation Volunteers

Dive Conservation Volunteers

23 August 2011

The latest group of kids from FDVC (Fiji Diving, Volunteering and Conservation) have just left. They are always a blast of energy and fun. They are mostly in their late teens / early twenties although there’s nearly always one or two who are a bit older. They come to Fiji for 6 weeks, spending a [...]

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Creative Writing Retreat with Rosie Scott

Rosie Scott Looks Forward to September

17 July 2011

Rosie Scott writes: I’m looking forward to the next Daku mentorship in September. Last year’s class was a unique experience for me as a teacher. I’ve been mentoring and teaching writing for many years now but this was something quite new. I was trying to work out the other day why it was so inspiring [...]

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Watercolour Painting Holiday - Malcolm Carver

All-Weather Watercolours

14 July 2011

It was a definite irony that the watercolour painting group (24 June – 1 July) spent their first two days surrounded by more rain than we had seen for a month. However, they hardly seemed to notice; instead, they applied themselves vigorously to their palettes and spent long laughter-filled days sketching, sloshing water onto paper, [...]

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Donna and the Snorkeling Yoginis

So Much More Than Sanskrit and Lentils

11 July 2011

Actually, Donna Gianniotis doesn’t use the Sanskrit names for the asanas in her teaching. She reckons that when people recognise the name they automatically drop into the pose without checking if they are doing it correctly, whereas when she describes the action, they are more likely to get the correct alignment. Hers is a gentle, [...]

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