Anyone actually been kiting from the beach at malolo island resort or do you need to go out to the sandbar? Family holiday and was keen to take the kites with me. Any info appreciated.

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KBKiting said...

Anyone actually been kiting from the beach at malolo island resort or do you need to go out to the sandbar? Family holiday and was keen to take the kites with me. Any info appreciated.

You can but you would need someone to launch and land you. Tide comes right up to the coconut trees and sharp coral on beach. Bit of a wind shadow in close. Has to be strong enough to get upwind, otherwise it gets rocky.

you can launch from the golf course on the windward side of the island. self-launch off the grass, then put your kite at 12 and walk through the trees to get to the beach. but only ride from mid to high tide- there is a lot of shallow reef at low tide on that side of the island

Yep I did in April this year. I took a 21 and 12 plus TT and kited maybe 3 out of 14 days ? The windy season is from May / June so we were a bit early. I found it straightforward to launch and land from the beach but it is a bit narrow. Low tide has heaps of room but you need to be careful of the coral. You can also arrange a boat to take you to Malolo Sandbar which is 5 minutes away and is a popular spot. From memory it's something like 90 fjd for 2 hours. Anywhere inside the reef is flat water, so unless you plan on getting boats to take you out to the reef breaks I wouldn't bother with a surfboard.

any thoughts on mana island launch and landability?

Thanks all. Maybe should have explained location better. Am staying on the bigger Malolo Island, at the Malolo Island Resort in the NW side of the island. I think the golf course is on Malolo Lailai Island, which is the smaller island where Plantation resort is. That's my understanding from google searches, etc???

Jamesperth - am planning to take an 8m and 11m kite with TT and going in July, so hopefully winds will have picked up quite a bit since April. Like your idea of a boat to the sandbar too.

I'm sure you'll have a great trip. I'd go back in a heartbeat ! My wife and 2 yo would agree.

Malolo is a great family spot, lots for the kids to do etc. Not really suited for kiting, but definitely take some kit, you can get a boat out to the sandbar no problem and kite back to the resort.
I was there in Sept 2011 for a week with the family. Winds weren't great at that time of year, but I knew that and took gear anyway.
Got out for 4 sessions on Malolo and a couple on Denarue.
As mentioned, the beach is very narrow at high tide, sharp rocks, shells and coral to trash your gear.
I self landed / launched by tethering on the other side of the jetty in front of the staff quarters, away from the guests.
Be careful if the wind is on the lighter side and you head offshore a bit (depending on wind direction / tide flow), as the current is quite strong and you can easily find yourself downwind of the northern tip of the island. I headed offshore a fair way on my Zephyr and due to the current, before I knew it was a long way downwind and almost never made it back . Ask the water sport guys to keep an eye on you, I guess they would come rescue you if needed.

boat to sandbar or up to namotu for a boat launch a better idea.. mana has more space and great beaches for kiting in the lagoon.. in front of the hotel - yasawas is better more wind through the passages and more exposure. kadavu is better again and the coral coast is also excellent all on mid tide cross the reef into deep water