Peri Roberts heads to Fiji in search of perfect conditions, what she finds is very different.

Fiji is world-renowned for its outstanding waves and consistent wind. Australian foil, kite, & wing extraordinaire Peri Roberts heads there in search of the perfect wind sports destination. Unfortunately, this time round, she wasn’t so lucky. However, what she did find may be far more valuable.

One will find beauty in the simple moments, but it cannot be sought, only found. It’s a small principle you can apply in many aspects of life, be it in the pursuit of freedom; in search of love; a chase for happiness, or the divine longing for purpose. Beauty doesn’t come to those who seek it, rather, beauty itself, has its own reluctant way of appearing in hidden places; moments that sometimes, we didn’t know existed. 

I went to Fiji seeking many things, as all avid water sports enthusiasts do. Those things on the surface were wind and waves and a constant state of action. I was so eager to prove that this trip was worth every ounce of energy. I placed a lot of pressure on myself to perform and to show that taking a chance on a project was definitive of the money and effort it would take to get there. After all, most people in the world that have a passion for anything to do with the ocean; know that Fiji is one of the most prestigious destinations for water sports. 

I guess that’s the thing about seeking something that doesn’t want to be found. It just didn’t line up for us. It could’ve been bad luck, bad energy or simply just being in the right place at the wrong time. However, whichever way you choose to look at it, in terms of being a successful project, Fiji missed the mark by a mile. 

The universe has a funny way of teaching you things. My mum taught me from a young age that there is always a lesson, but you don’t hear it until you’re ready to listen. Before I left to go to Fiji I was having a particularly hard time within myself. I was at a loss for motivation, inspiration, and passion. My regular go-getter drive was at a standstill, and when you mix that with a nasty case of heartbreak blues, you’ve got the perfect recipe for disaster. I was lost, and I didn’t really know how to handle it other than shove it under the rug and continue to go a million miles an hour to just keep my head above water.

To say I wasn’t disappointed when our predicted gun of a forecast just disappeared out of thin air; would be a lie. I was disappointed, how could I not be? So much planning had gone into the proposal of this project, time, effort and not to mention money. It felt like the universe just wanted to have one more laugh in my face. Everyone says that bad luck comes in threes, but if I calculated my l bad luck strike, this would be number “becoming a joke”. 

So… what do you do in times of disaster (or at least what felt like one)… when all else fails, you have a few drinks. So that’s exactly what we did. It might not be the most honourable way to go about things, but hey, sometimes everything doesn’t need to be by the book.

The best thing about being spontaneous is that you never know where the adventure could take you. In this instance, my brother Sandon and our very talented photographer Marie took the day to enjoy a cold Vonu on the boat. Each day we’d be getting up at the crack of dawn, packing quite literally 100kgs of foils, kites, boards, and surf equipment and hauling it down the coast from our little Air BNB on the mainland, to our boat launch before sunrise. Each day, we got skunked and ended up surfing Cloudbreak, which honestly is a dream, but not when you’ve got obligations as a windsports athlete. 

These boats are small, too, to the point where you can’t see the floor of the boat because of the sheer amount of equipment piled up. When the time came to boat launch, it was no easy feat. 

On this particular morning, the forecast was shaping up to be an absolute pearler. Perfect cross-off wind up to 25kts, peeling 4ft left-handers, and a full day of sun. Turns out, forecasts in the midst of a 3rd year La Niña can’t be trusted. We got well and truly skunked again, and our plan completely failed. So we decided to have a few more drinks, release our frustrations and just fly by the seat of our pants and go with what the day had to offer. 

Just past Fiji’s famous Cloudbreak is a little floating bar called Cloud Nine, famous in its own respect for overpriced drinks and getting tourists absolutely white girl wasted. Sounds fun, right? Not my usual cup of tea, but at this point, our whole crew was in a mindset of “fk it”. We hit up the drunken pontoon and continued down the rabbit hole of partying our sorrows away. Soon enough we met a cool bunch of chicks from Melbourne who were hell-bent on having a good time. They offered us a random adventure to a nearby island called Mana- super localised and beautiful. Why not? 

We took the boat on a 30-minute journey across the channel with nothing but a spare t-shirt and our phones. Riding into the sunset, as mysterious as it was, I started to have second thoughts, but there wasn’t really any turning back at this point, so we continued on our way. We arrived on shore, tipped our driver, and headed to the only hostel on the island, slightly tipsy. Completely ghosted by the likes of covid over the past two years, our hostel owners were quite literally ecstatic to see us. We were the first customers they’d had in such a long time, so they welcomed us with huge smiles and open arms. 

I wasn’t really sure what to expect coming to Mana on a whim, but the simplicity in the way these people live their lives made my heart flutter. The whole community came together for a huge fish fry, caught and cooked by the Elders. Children from the entire island turned up on their floral shirts to dance and play with us. 5-year-olds holding our hands, playing chasies around the kitchen, 12-year-olds twirling us around on the dance floor. All of their parents sipping kava and enjoying the sweet serenity of their Saturday night, unbothered by the fact 6 Aussies interrupted their usual weekend flow. 

Somehow, the way these Fijians carried themselves made me want to be a better person. To give back. To appreciate the small things and the pure essence of beauty in life itself. There was beauty in the way they laughed, beauty in the way they danced. Beauty in how they cared and how just one, spontaneous night, encouraged by a few too many beers and a “who cares” attitude turned out to be just what we needed. There was that universal lesson I was finally ready to listen to: Slow down. Enjoy the simple moments.

That one night changed my whole outlook on our Fiji filming trip. There was no more pressure, no more worries about budget or the lack of conditions. It was now about enjoying paradise. From that day forward, we ebbed and flowed with the changes of the condition (or lack of) and we made it work. We foiled, we got a sneaky wing session in and I even got the kite out for a spin.

In the end, we created a beautiful project. I named it Parataisi, which in the local Fijian language translates to “paradise”. I think the pictures next to this story explain exactly what that means and why Parataisi was such a special lesson. Not only for me but for the industry… at least that’s what I hoped was understood.

These days, everything is so fast-paced. The way we interpret the world, the way we consume media and knowledge. The way we judge our movement and success. Our relationships are fast, our mind runs at a million miles an hour. We’re constantly go-go-go. Learning to let go of the outcome and go with the flow of life is something I believe we can all work on. 

I was soul-searching in Fiji, and found it here; in the Ocean, in the People. Parataisi is the way Fiji captures your heart. So if you’re looking, stop right there. Take a breath, somewhere paradise awaits… you just have to slow down. Beauty lies in the simple moments, but it cannot be sought, only found. 

Videos

PARATAISI - Peri Roberts
By Peri Roberts

Comments