I say yes when invited to go to “the most beautiful beach in the pacific."

We drove an hour along the coral coast, winding our way through the greenest, lushest countryside I have ever seen. Upon arrival to Natadola beach, there was stark contrast between resort and open beach. The mega resort had a pristine path with manicured palms & big sweet smelling blossoms. Where the fence stopped, the rubbish began. A stretch of gold sand beach lined by a thick strip of green trees. A few flashes of colour amongst the green, unmistakably plastic, caught my interest.

The most beautiful beach in the pacific is full of trash. Litter smashed into the road by vehicles, abandoned and scattered in the sand, and piling up thick in the bushes where no one seems to care to collect.

There were red fire ants EVERYWHERE. Crawling on my hands, feet, up my legs. Trash was stuck deep within bushes and buried under sand and earth. I only found two plastic bags still in tact enough to use for the cleanup, so started skipping the paper that will break down and focusing on the plastics...that never break down.

A few shoes were buried deep in the earth. The cloth exterior having worn away, the last remaining shreds caked in years worth of dirt, exposing bleach white plastic soles. Every piece of plastic ever made still exists. Especially the cheaply made things that break & get discarded. These things pile up on the beaches of paradise.

I collected many plastic straws. A diaper. Too many cigarette butts to count. Most disappointing, bottles & bottles of Fiji brand water. Bottled on the island, used once, left on the island forever. How ironic that this is a high-end product now polluting the most beautiful beach in the pacific. Ruining exactly the image the bottled water brand is aiming to portray. If the company came here now to take marketing photos they would have to first clean up their own product’s trash or photoshop old Fiji water bottles out!

I filled the bags. I snorkelled out to an island and saw zero fish. I went to the mega resort and had a coconut. Without a straw.

How did Fijians drink coconuts before we brought over the plastic straw? Can we do things their way again? Or are we really so concerned with our lipstick?

The Most Beautiful Beach In The Pacific