To keep a long story short,can anyone reccomend a great resort where i can hire quality equipment & have all the things required to keep Wife & 2 children happy.I know it sounds a lot, but local travel agents are giving me a blank stare when I ask about equipment hire.I don't want the hassle of transporting my gear . By the way does the wind blow in mid-late July in Fiji.Any feed back would be appreciated.
Regards, Jasen.

theres a thread someone recently started in the "NSW" section, re. fiji

Hi jasen
we just spent 2 weeks in fiji with our 2 kids on a windsurfing break. We stayed at safari lodge, nananu i ra . There seems to be alot of controversy surrounding the place and the owner , Warren but we had an excellent time. There are cheaper places to stay near by but warrens place was great for us as both my husband and I could get out on the water together- warren and partner Steph have a 3 year old- so loads of toys and a tramp etc- they were happy to look after our kids while we were out on the water.- he has a pretty good selection of gear but can also advise on transporting your own gear. Also- he is the best intructor - I had a few lessons which were great.
I dont know how much your wife will enjoy it if she doesnt windsurf- we also stayed at malolo resort which was beautiful and great for kids as was plantation and castaway but only basic begginer gear available-july august are the windiest times apparantly - our ist week it was dead calm the 2nd it was great so-?- that was end of july. hope this helps

Hi FBRoy- yes we stayed at malolo this trip - it was very pricey (- especially the food) but really nice. you could take your own gear although there is a bit of travel involved - from airport to Denarau marina, ferry to the island - a lot of transfers which could be hard work with lots of gear - the best place to stay in that area for wind would be plantation resort - I think its cheaper too - not as small and friendly as malolo but still seemed nice. Apparantly Virgin Blue allow golfing gear on for free so that would be worth checking out and then somehow disguising your gear!
At safari lodge we stayed on a part instuction basis and that included all use of gear plus instruction from Warren everyday - if you didnt have kids I think it would be cheaper to stay at one of the other places near by like Bethams and ...can't remember the other place - might be charlies - and just hire Warrens gear. or even ask if you could stash your own gear there- some of the other places are on the non windy side of the island- a 2 minute walk away from the windy side.
Safari lodge- the controversy as far as I can work out seems partly to do with people being disapointed in the accomodation - its been under construction for a few years but it seems pretty well sorted now - although construction is still on going. If you were expecting 4 or 5 star resort it would be a disapointment but we had a great time - stayed in a really nice house, food was good , Warren went out of his way to look after us. I have been trying to find a good family windsurfing spot for a while and this was it for us- it did end up costing us a small fortune - between Malolo and safari lodge- it seemed cheaper than cocos initially but I reckon it was more expensive for us in the end - we are in W.A- from the east coast it is probably a good option. There were a couple of kitesurfers there from melbourne who had got tickets with virgin for $50!-
check out warrens website- www.safarilodge.com.fj- it has all the prices.