Exploring Fijian Village Life At Nabila

Words and photos by Josh Bystrom

There are over 1,000 villages in Fiji but none is as connected to surfing and surf culture as Nabila.

Nabila is located on the water in Fiji's Momi Bay - it's a short twenty minute boat ride to Cloudbreak, Restaurants, and surrounding waves. Stickered up surf boats litter the lagoon, surfboards are strewn everywhere and surf branded clothing is donned by the locals.

It's a place I've come to love.

If I’m doing a bit of photography around the islands and see a swell due before or after my contract I’ll aways change my flight and stay in the village. I’ve spent lots of time there. The food is great and there’s always generous serving sizes, which is awesome as you really need it after being on the water all day.

The villagers are my friends who I also know through their work at surrounding surf resorts, and it’s great catching up with them at their homes and spending time with their families and kids.

This time around was no exception. A swell popped up and a few mates from home - Josh Glennon and Bronson Wallace - were interested, so they headed over with me too.

We heard on the grapevine a scrum of local pros were staying in a homestay right near us so we went over to say g’day. Ryan Callinan, Liam O'Brien, Creed McTaggart, and Toby Mossop greeted us.

LOB, being the carefree person he is, was happy to answer a few questions about village life.

Josh Bystrom: How did you find out about the homestay in the village?
LOB: A friend told me about it a while ago, it sounded like a really cool experience so I made a point of it on my next trip to give it a try.

Do you think surfers who visit Fiji could benefit from staying in a village?
Yeah, I mean it’s how the locals live in Fiji. The families are so welcoming and lovely taking us into their home - we had a sick time staying there.

With the guillotine on his neck, LOB eyes a distant Shishkabob section and puts the hammer down

Any tips for those coming to the village to stay?
Bring some extra things as gifts to give to them. Clothes, a legrope, deck grip, even a surfboard at the end of the stay if you can afford it. You’ll also need to bring some drinking water with you and some snacks for the boat once you are out there as there’s no shops close by.

Tell us about the food.
It was great, they served us some local dishes. Lots of fresh fish and vegetables cooked in a variety of different curries. They even brought out some food for us to have on the boat which was great.

Josh Glennon, first trip to Fiji and mesmerised by the magic hour light

Your homestay put on a cava ceremony for you, what did you find the difference between the big resorts and the village ceremonies were?
The cava ceremony in the village was a lot less structured, more of an informal hangout and was very social with all the families and kids around.

Resorts like Namotu do it really well too, keeping more with tradition and rituals. Both were incredible in different ways I think.

Ease of transport out to the breaks..?
It was really straightforward. Most of the people in the village have their own boats which are either for fishing or to run transfers out to the waves. It was really easy to organize and they were happy to hang out there all day with us and take us to different waves.

Anthony Poirier, in sequence, with a classic example of speed management: slowing the board through the bottom turn to let the wave catch up, then back on the front foot as the bowl unloads - with some theatrics to boot

What was the vibe in the village like?
Everyone is so welcoming; their hospitality is second to none. They are just such happy friendly people who are always up for a chat. Sometimes in Australia you say hello to people walking down the street and get nothing (laughs).

In Fiji, whether you are in the village or out in the resorts, everyone is just super happy. It’s pretty cool like that.

Would you recommend staying in the village to others?
Yeah for sure. I mean it’s not for everyone. It’s pretty basic but if you are coming to surf and are able to keep an open mind and stay in a local environment it’s epic. If you are looking for luxury, the islands like Namotu, Tavarua or the Marriott on the mainland are great and also cater for the surf.

Would you take your girlfriend there?
(Laughs) I think my girlfriend would happily stay here, though a few of the boys said theirs would be tripping out a little bit. But we were stoked, we ended up having the sickest time staying there and I can’t wait to go back.

R'Cal deep and relaxed

Ulai Niunitoga is a character and is no stranger to surfing Fiji’s waves - he’s been doing it for over thirty years.

If Ulai's name rings a bell, perhaps it's because of his cameo appearance in 'The Endless Summer 2'. Ulai currently runs a homestay in the village and surfs frequently. Now in his late-forties, Ulai is still showing no signs of slowing down.

I asked him a few questions about village life.

Suns out, guns out - Ulai displays his armory

Josh Bystrom: When did people first start visiting the village?
Ulai: They first started coming in 2019. A couple surfers came out and mentioned that we should set up a homestay. We thought it was a good idea so my family and I decided to save up some money and make our house bigger for surfers to stay.

For the last swell there were many pros staying in the village. Do you think the villagers like the extra notoriety of having high profile people stay?
They love it! The guys who come for the big waves, they hire their own boat and they all rip. They are great with the kids and are usually very generous.

Luke Chaffer winging it from way back. Despite making all the right moves, the foam got under Luke's board quickly ending both this wave and his session as he came up coughing blood. An urgent trip to hospital - more thanks to the Nabila crew! - and he was checked out with a bruised lung.

How long have you been running your homestay in Nabila Village?
I started it five years ago.

Where do you currently work?
I work on Namotu Island as a surf guide, I’m also a boat captain when I’m home with my brother.

Clap your hands say yeah.

Do most of the people that come to your homestay surf?
They come to surf, because it’s close to the waves and it’s not very expensive. Sometimes they come last minute too for a swell and we usually have space for them when many resorts don’t.

What do you think someone who usually stays at a surf resort can gain from staying in the village?
A lot of people stay at the resorts don’t know about the village. When they find out and come stay - a lot of them really enjoy it.

Tell us about the food in the village.
We do food the Fijian way, with local ingredients. A lot of the ingredients are grown in the village too so you are supporting local farmers.

When did you first start getting into surfing?
I first started surfing in the very early-nineties, my first pro contest was at Teahupoo in 1995.

How did you go in the contest?
I won, bro! Trophy is in the pool room next to my sunglass cabinet. (laughs and shakes head).

Tell us about your role in 'The Endless Summer 2'. How did it come about?
Around 1994 some people visited and mentioned they are shooting a surf film around the world. When they came to Fiji, they stayed at Tavarua. They approached me and Eddie – the best fisherman at the time. I was surfing a lot so they came and shot me. I climbed the coconut tree and I dropped the coconut at them for a joke.

I didn’t know much about the movie or if it would become big, but the next thing I was paddling out at Restaurants, talking to people and they’d say: ‘We know you – you are Endless Summer Ulai’.

Then I do the laugh I did in the movie and the whole lineup starts cracking up (laughs).

More shakas than Sally Fitzgibbon's Instagram feed. The good times flow with the Nabila crew.

Tell us about the boat service that you run?
I run a boat called 'Cost Money Mate'. People come and they see the boat. They know they are going to pay money, nothing is free on this island and especially not my boat (laughs).

I do a half-day or full-day tour. We run them around to all the good breaks. We know all the good spots and make sure when the wind changes the guests are in the best spot.

Do you have future plans for your homestay or boat?
My plan is to renovate the homestay, make it bigger, have a ping pong table and billiards table.

I also just bought another boat as a backup when 'Cost Money Mate' gets serviced. It’s called 'Cost Money Brah'. Same idea as before, it all costs money (laughs).

Anything else you’d like to say about people coming to visit the homestay?
I can’t say if the homestay is good or bad, you need to just come out here and experience it for yourself. If you are unsure, just book one night.

What I will say is a lot of people that come, end up staying longer. Everyone is always welcome in the village, especially my homestay.

// JOSH BYSTROM

We couldn't leave this shot out. Namotu's Caleb Pont on a late afternoon special at Cloudbreak.