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On a recent trip to Nadi, Fiji my companion and I decided to get off the beaten track and hire a car for a few days to explore the Island. We asked some locals where the best beach to go to was and they pointed us in the direction of Natadola. A famous Fijian resort beach with white sandy shorelines and pristine aqua water filled with an array of exotic tropical fish. While I'll admit the car cost us a small fortune to hire, the experience was priceless. We headed South on the main road, noting there really is only one road around the whole Island. We kept going until we came across a sign to Natadola. The map we were handed at the car hire place was basic and the signs to destinations sparse. Luckily, locals are unbelievably hospitable and warm to interact with. We turn right towards our destination and keep following the road along... as we travel the road seems to get more and more rustic and gravelled. I turn to my companion "could this really be the road to Fiji's most famous beach?" I query. We shrug our shoulders and keep going. We spot some resident goats in the bushes along the way, they stare out at us vacantly, there is a serenity and freedom that engulfs each and every moment along the journey. Eventually our car arrives in a small village. "Could this possibly be our beach?" we both ponder. A friendly local comes up to our car, "are you lost?" he asks in pidgeon English. We ask him for directions to Natadola. He gets us to park the car and we follow him over a hill to a beautiful beach in front of his Village... It doesn't seem like the location we were told about but we decide to jump in nonetheless. We wonder down the shoreline until we come across another village on the foreshore. Sure enough, a local resident approaches us and invites us in for fish and cassava soup. The fish had been freshly caught off the reef that morning. The soup is amazing and the people authentically kind. We meet the whole family, grandad, wife, sister, brother, nephew.. and we are soon greeted by neighbours too. The locals are lovely. They invite us to stay. We politely decline. They give us a tour of their village and gently point us in the direction of Natadola beach, a few kilometers back up the road in front of a resort. We thank them for their hospitality and exchange email addresses promising to stay in touch. They make a profound and touching comment "We don't understand why people come to Fiji to stay in resorts. This is Fiji. We have such a good life here, we are happy to welcome people to see the real Fiji". We were thrilled to hang with locals and have exposure to life in Fiji. We set off and head up to Natadola. The cost is $40 Fijian to enter the resort and gain access to the beach front. The $40 included a meal at the resort. Natadola was magical and the food at the resort divine, with breathtaking Insta views every which way you looked. Despite its beauty, I couldn't help but feel that the experience and beach that would stay imprinted in my mind and on my soul was back at the village of Malo Malo with our new friend Ip.