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Bibi's Hideaway - Matei, Taveuni Island, Fiji
Pictures, a review and visitor information from a stay at Bibi's Hideaway located in Matei on Taveuni Island, Fiji.

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Bibi's Hideaway Entrance
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Colorful Sign On Fence
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Palm Lined Path To House
For our second trip to Fiji, we decided to visit Taveuni Island where the major attractions include Bouma National Park and the Rainbow Reef.

After plenty of online research, we chose to make a reservation at Bibi's Hideaway for 10 nights in their "Honeymoon Cottage".

The total cost of the stay was $974.20 FJD or about $527.72 USD, which is only $52.77 USD per night.

In comparison, the cottages at nearby Coconut Grove Resort range from $175 USD to $225 USD per night and the luxury villas at Taveuni Palms Resort start at $1195 USD per night.

Bibi's Hideaway is a family run plantation style accommodation with six guest cottages on five acres of land.

It is located in the town of Matei just down the street from the island's tiny airport.



 
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Inside of Family Bure
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Family Bure Shower
We arrived early in the morning at the Matei airport after taking a short flight from Nadi International Airport (NAN) on the main island of Viti Levu.

The taxi ride from the airport to Bibi's only took a minute and cost $2 FJD ($1 USD).

We were taken to the main house where we met the owner named James or "Jim" Bibi and his daughter Paulina.

Our room wasn't ready yet, so she invited us to relax and temporarily make ourselves at home in the large Family Bure.

She chatted with us for awhile and lamented that the recent cyclone (hurricane) had blown away most of the fruit on the property that Bibi's prides itself in being able to offer guests free of charge.

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Propane Burners
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Food Prep Area
I was immediately pleased to see that several friendly dogs lived on the property and enjoyed petting them and having them escort us around the plantation.

If you don't like dogs, just tell them to "go home" and they will usually leave you alone.

I walked around the family bure to take pictures and noticed that there was a propane powered two burner portable stove, a propane powered full size refrigerator, several comfortable beds, plenty of places to sit, a variety of cooking utensils, and many screen covered windows to let the breeze in but keep the mosquitoes out.

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24/7 Propane Fridge
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Family Sitting Area
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Family Bure Living Room
We then went to go explore the property and see if any fruit had survived the cyclone or grown in the short time since it ravaged the island.

There were several downed palm trees and a few toppled citrus trees with fruit still growing on them.

We discovered that some of the green citrus fruit, such as the oval tangerines, were sweet and delicious even though they didn't look ripe.

We also walked past some juvenile pineapples and tiny bunches of banana buds.

Other fruits that are usually available include mango, papaya, and coconut.

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Family Bure Master Bedroom
To buy some food, we walked over to the small convenience store located just down the street from the Bibi's.

Turn left as you walk out of the front gate and look for the small building with a pool table on the front patio.

The store is run by an Indian family, just like most retail shops in Nadi Town (pronounced "Nandi"), and there were almost always young guys playing billiards on the pool table.

It seemed like the woman running the store was never in a pleasant mood, but we still visited the store several times to buy bread, peanut butter, jelly, water, peanuts, chips and other snacks.

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Honeymoon Bure
The nearest public beach is also to the left as you exit Bibi's Hideaway and about a five minute walk down the road.

Look for the small red bridge that crosses over a shallow ditch or storm water canal to a golden sand beach sandwiched in between a small resort to the right and Beverly's Campground to the left.

Just before the convienence store there is a small blue house where Krish and his family live.

He offers authentic Indian meals to guests of Bibi's Hideaway for $10 FJD or $15 FJD for traditional Fijian Lovo food which takes much longer to cook.

I highly recommend having Krish bring you his food to your cottage at least a few nights during your stay.

My favorites were the pork and chicken curry dishes.

If you want to choose from a wider variety of basic food items, take a short taxi ride for $3 FJD down the street past Coconut Grove to the grocery store. If you'd like some beer, just ask your driver to stop at the "beer store" on the way back from the grocery store where you can buy massive liter bottle of Fiji Bitter.

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Honeymoon Kitchen
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Honeymoon Bathroom
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Shower & Sink Area
The nicest public beach in the area is further down the road to the left past the convienence store and the small beach with the red bridge. It's named "Prince Charles" beach since the member of the British Royalty of the same name visited the beach in the past. To reach Prince Charles beach, keep walking past Beverly's Campground, up the hill to Tramontos Restaurant, and down the hill to the beach on the right. Tramontos is a great place to go for some pizza and a few Fiji Gold or Fiji Bitter beers after a few hours at the beach.

Bring your snorkel gear since the snorkeling at Prince Charles Beach is good with a wide variety of colorful fish and some coral. To see even more, book a snorkel or scuba diving trip with Jewel Bubble Divers located on the same part of the road as the beachfront campground.

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Propane Burners & Fridge
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Dresser & Mirror
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Comfy Full Size Bed


 
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Honeymoon Front Patio
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Although you can use the propane powered refrigerator and stove top 24/7, electricity is only provided for a few hours each evening from about 5-6 PM to 9-10 PM. Be sure to charge your camera batteries, laptop, phone, MP3 player or other small electronics during this time. We quickly learned to eat dinner early, go to sleep just after lights out, and get up early to enjoy the sunrise.
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Bibi's Front Lawn
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Full Size Refrigerator
Overall, we really enjoyed our time at Bibi's Hideaway and would recommend it to others as a great budget place to stay while visiting Taveuni Island. We'd love to go back some day and hopefully get to enjoy the bounty of fresh fruit that the cyclone right before our visit had swept away.
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Friendly Dog On Patio
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Cooking Rice & Curry
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First Homemade Meal
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Juvenile Pineapple Growing
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Banana Bunch Growing
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Cyclone Damage
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Bure At Rear of Property
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