Whatever your passion might be – art, writing, singing, yoga….and lots besides – imagine the joy of developing it in the beautiful setting of a small, friendly resort in Fiji alongside a group of others who share that passion.

Paradise Courses offer exciting week-long holiday retreats focussed on a number of subjects. Our teachers are well-established in their fields; they’ll inspire you afresh in the course you choose, show you new ways to look at old techniques or teach you things you never knew in the first place.

Every morning starts with breakfast beside the pool before a daily morning workshops. The workshops fit the pace of each teacher’s programme – it might be a three hour writing session around a table near the pool, morning’s singing in the big bure, an intensive tutorial bent over your drawing pad, or perhaps a dawn start to catch the early morning bird chorus for the birdwatchers. Have a look at each course – and my thanks to all past course participants who have sent me their photos, particularly Julie Rickwood (all sorts of lovely images) and Jenny Carmichael (who has excelled in the quilting photos).

The afternoons are free for you to relax by the pool, have a massage, snorkel on the reef or wander into Savusavu. Or maybe you just want to keep going with your writing or painting or quilting, enjoying the tranquillity of the place and the companionship of the other people with you. And then in the evenings we gather together for a buffet dinner, and there’s time to exchange stories, listen to some Fijian singing and drink a bowl of kava.

During the week we organise a couple of local excursions so you see some Fijian life – we visit a village and watch a meke (dance), spend an afternoon on a beach and have a drink at the Savusavu Yacht Club. And of course you’re free to take your own expeditions as well – a walk through town to buy a souvenir, a boat across the bay to Mutuku Beach, a visit to the J.Hunter Pearls farm where they harvest magnificent black pearls, a steep walk through the bush to a lovely waterfall where you can jump into the deep water pools if you’re brave enough, or lounge in the shallow pools if you’re not.

Our accommodation is at Daku Resort in a range of single and double bures, cottages and villas. It’s a comfortable mid-range resort set in lovely tropical gardens, with a staff who will welcome you like family. Have a look at www.dakuresort.com