DOOR TO SHORE

Your Fiji island awaits just a few hours away

- By Danika Porter

Board your flight in Brisbane and in just four hours you could be brunching on your own private Fijian island. Your toughest decision? Whether you should enjoy some champagne and grilled local lobster before or after a snorkel.

Mociu Island sits within the Mamanuca Islands, approximately 25km west of Nadi International Airport. Encircled by fringing reef, the minuscule island juts dramatically from the sea like a scene from Jurassic Park. Our piece of paradise sat at the foot of its cliffs, a coral-strewn crescent of beach with a thatched cabana for shade. Unlike Tom Hanks in Castaway - which was filmed on a neighbouring island - you won't want to leave.

The island is exclusively ours for three hours of bucket-list bliss, as one of the bookable experiences for guests staying at nearby Malolo Island Resort. Greeted at the resort jetty with a Fijian choral welcome, the staff's beaming smiles mimic the resort's logo - a radiant sun symbolising the legend of Malolo, the island where the sun comes to rest.

Fiji has a deserved reputation as the ultimate family destination. The nerves of undertaking my first international trip with baby in tow vanished the moment two hands whisked him safely from the boat. Malolo feels like returning home for the holidays to your extended family - where everyone clambers over first cuddles with the baby. Over the next few days, my baby enjoyed royal treatment, being passed from one friendly face to another: bartenders, musicians, the chef - even the maintenance crew knew him by name.

BURE BLISS