'Bula!' It’s the Fijian greeting which also means 'good'.

'Bula!', the locals say, always with a smile, when they meet you. They smile easily. They smile all the time, it seems. That’s the hook that catches visitors – the warmth of their welcome. 

With lots of sunshine, fruit that seems to grow as you watch it, and surf or gentle lagoon waters close by almost anywhere you go, let’s face it – it would be hard not to be happy on these islands.

Many visitors believe Fiji is the ideal place for a holiday. It's an active place with every water sport imaginable, but it's also laid-back. No one hurries here. The women who clean your beachside villa wear flowers in their hair and sing softly as they work. And in the villages in the evening,  you may even get to try the ultimate chill-out brew.

Kava, a drink made from the powdered root of an unattractive bush from the pepper family is a national calmative. One drink, offered in welcome at almost any social gathering – a visit to a village, a chance meeting, a formal meal – will probably do little more than gently numb your tongue, and make you wonder what on earth the locals see in this slightly bitter, mainly medicinal-tasting brew that looks like dirty dishwater. But the intrinsic value is much more:  it is a sign of acceptance and camaraderie.

By 1643, when Abel Tasman’s sailing vessels hove into view on the permanently storm-clouded horizon beyond the reefs and their frill of waves, the locals had been well established for around three thousand years. Where they had come from is lost in tribal histories, but most Fijians today seem to believe that their ancestors voyaged from mid-eastern Africa. Skirting Australia (too barren, too forbidding?) sidestepping the spice islands, and then carried past New Guinea on strong currents and they were eventually deposited in a land they could not resist.

Today, most visitors fly to Nadi on Fiji's main island of Viti Levu. Here there are resorts and hotels, backpacker accommodation and bed and breakfast accommodation and many find this an ideal place to relax before exploring further. But with over 300 islands, some with several resorts, there is plenty more to check out.

Viti Levu , home to Nadi and Suva, is large and carpeted with sugar cane plantations, but others scarcely raise their rocky knobs above the ocean. With such a range, you can see why Fiji markets itself as having something for everyone - glamorous resorts, cruises, idyllic hideaways, action, water sports, romance and family style holidays are all accounted for.

And because you can almost cut the romance in the air in the South Pacific, many couples plan a wedding in Fiji, followed of course by a honeymoon in paradise. Turtle Island in the Yasawa group is a popular choice. With fifteen bures, matched by as many private beaches which may be booked for the day by a couple, little wonder it’s in demand.

Yet it was not always so peaceful in times past. There are stories of warring tribes, terrible battles and, yes, cooking pots to thoroughly prove the victory. Murderous ebony clubs hang in pride of place in most cultural displays. One look at the size and strength of today’s Fijian people  – who tell you their ancestors were really big – makes most people shiver to think of warriors armed and intent on proving their point with those weapons.

Fiji, like any country has its political ups and downs even now, but the silky sands stay the same. A whiff of the tropic air, the warm breezes and warmer waters, a taste of the sweetly abundant fruits and seafood, and visitors are as easily hooked as the massive walu, a local spanish mackerel that will almost certainly end up on their plates at some point in a visit.

Fijian people love to sing too. Their natural harmonies and sense of rhythm pervade everything. On a cruise, your breakfast will be eaten to a gentle serenade backed by strummed guitars; by night, a restaurant may celebrate a diner’s birthday (with a second verse of ‘Happy long life to you...’) or feature a sing-along of  local ballads with refrains that will follow you home, murmuring in your head. Make sure you attend a village church on a Sunday, and revel in the harmonious hymn singing. You will be welcomed warmly (‘bula’ again!) - and that’s music to anyone's ears.

When I finally – reluctantly ­ – return home, a friend regards me inquisitively. “You look great,” she says. “Did you fall in love?”

“Oh, yes, I did,” I reply immediately. “With Fiji. It's ‘Bula!”