To the Moon Reef and Back

8 hours. That’s how long we drove in total to go see dolphins. Four there and four back. 8 whole hours driving down Fiji’s main highway, which at a certain point stops being a paved road. But was it worth it you may ask? You bet your ass it was!

We both consider ourselves pretty big animal lovers, so when we were given the opportunity to go see dolphins we jumped all over it. What we didn’t do was research how long of a drive it was to Moon Reef (clear rookie mistake). Typically we try to keep our average day trips to two hours and under, but we’re talking about an opportunity to see 80+ dolphins!

When we first arrived at the Dolphin Watch there were torrential downpours. We were getting nervous we had driven all this way for nothing, but we were soon welcomed and invited to a delicious Fijian lunch. Luckily while we were eating our host explained to us that the weather was not a problem and we were still able to head out to Moon Reef. Yahtzee!

After lunch we hopped in the speed boat and were on our way. When we first left it was still raining pretty hard and it felt like we were getting whipped in the face. But again, we’re talking about seeing dolphins! Halfway to Moon Reef the rain stopped and the skies cleared up. By the time we got there the weather couldn’t have been more perfect.

So just some quick background on Moon Reef: Located about a 15 minute boat ride off the east coast of Fiji near Nayavutoka, it’s called moon reef because when you look at it from above it looks like a crescent moon. Makes sense, right? It’s also home to over 80 dolphins and tons of other marine life.

Now that we cleared that up… Almost as soon as we got to the reef we started to see the dolphins jumping. It seemed like they were everywhere! We spent most of our time holding our GoPro underwater trying to get a good shot. After about 30 minutes of riding around with our new friends we headed back to shore. This time without the rain whipping us in the face.

Overall we had a flippin’ good time ;-)! We drove across nearly half of Fiji, saw a ton of dolphins, and still made it home for a late dinner. Not a bad day if you ask us. For those looking to experience the Dolphin Watch at Moon Reef, it’s owned and operated by Takalana Bay Retreat.

Thank you Tourism Fiji and Takalana Bay Retreat for showing us such a great time!

As always, our opinions are our own as we Talk Travel.

What’s the furthest you’ve ever travelled in a day to see something incredible?