Taveuni (pronounced Tah-vee-ew-nee), is the garden island of Fiji,
One can fly from Savusavu to Taveuni but we opted to go native by taking the local bus to the ferry and we are so glad we did. Not only did we save a lot of money, we had the pleasure to spend time with the kindest humans we have ever met, on the bus, at the pier – were the local woman sold breakfast sandwiches, awesome custard pie and coffee- and on the ferry.
Taveuni, smaller than the other two islands that we had visited ended up being our most favorite island. As we got off the taxi, two precious ladies greeted us with a song and BULA BULA (hello hello.) The small resort – coconut grove- with 3 bungalows and 4 fabulous Fijian ladies overseeing the place, serving us three delicious homemade food, felt like home. When we were out for the day they spoiled us with a fabulous carry out lunch!
We spent six days exploring the island of Taveuni. Every day was truly magical and the adventures were limitless.
Lucky Richard got to snorkel at Rainbow Reef, a part of the popular Great White Wall, just about 3 kilometers from Taveuni shores. This most famous and magnificent reef, named after the unusual soft coral reefs inhabiting the area, this section of the diving site is swarming with magical almost-luminescent white corals. Richard agreed. Unfortunately he did not have an underwater camera but this photo is a good representative of what he observed.
Our fabulous driver, and most informed guide, Sam, born and raised in Taveuni by a native Fijian mom and Chinese Dad, guided us on a drive around the island as well as the coastal walk.
Drive around the Island included:
– Visit to the International Date Line, where a huge map, split into two halves, indicate that the Garden Island of Fiji is intersected by the 180° or in other words, the International Date Line.
– The 100+ year old Catholic Church, the Wairiki Mission. Constructed in 1907, the Taveuni Catholic Church is dedicated to a French missionary who successfully helped the local warriors to defeat an army of thousands of Tongans during a major battle.
– Waitavala Waterslide. Yes, our Boy Scout Richard slid down a natural slipper rock ending in a refreshing pool at the bottom. He loved it.
As we drove Sam would share many local stories. The most fascinating – and heartbreaking- was the story of the Methodist minister, Thomas Baker and how he was killed, the curse that befell the village and the ultimate plea for forgiveness and reversal of the curse. You may wish to research and read this unusual story.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Baker_(missionary)
One evening we took a 20 minute safe walk to and from (in the dark) along the road to the Fijian Lovo night held at a roadside cafe. A lovo is an underground oven used as a traditional Fijian method of cooking food in large quantities to bring together communities or groups. It can be likened to a Fijian version of a barbecue or grilling, with somewhat more smoky flavors.
The food was ok but the community dancing and singing was GREAT.
The sunsets and sunrises in Taveuni are breathtaking and we got to see many of them.
Our favorite of all the activities was the Lavena Coastal Walk which took us by boat – through bright blue water – alongside a pod of joyful dolphins to Fiji’s most magnificent and iconic cascading waterfall, the Bouma Waterfalls, within the Bouma National Park. Here again Richard swam all the way to the pool under the water fall. And, amazingly, our local village guide, Sete, jumped the many meters down from the top of the water fall in the pool under.
We then walked 3 kilometers along the stretch of fine, white-sand of Lavena beach and breathtaking views of the jungle to Sete’s remote local village where we met several families, had our picnic lunch and rested at the seaside.
While on the walk I found an unusual flower on the ground. The flower, I was told is from the Vutu tree – also called Fish Poison Tree or Sea Poison Tree. It’s an evergreen tree that grows among the mangroves along the sandy coastline of Fiji. The tree is rather tall and has large 30-centimeter fleshy leaves. Vutu has very beautiful flowers: four white petals surround a plurality of long pinkish stamens, making the flower look like a large pompom. At noon the flower buds begin to slightly open, at sunset they extend a strong, rather heavy, unforgettable aroma. The next day the flowers fall and one can see a few pretty blossoms scattered along the sandy shorelines.
We did stop at another waterfall before heading back.
It was hard to leave Taveuni after just 5 night. Our flight back to Nadi, on an 18 seater plane was smooth and in good hands with a male and female captains.
We were in Nadi for the night and off to Port Vila, Vanuatu the next day.
Here is a link to more photos taken in Taveuni :
“The earth is but one country” 