Visiting Vanua Levu, Fiji Islands

Fiji Islands, defintely one of the paradises on earth!  It is actually a collection of around 330 islands, Viti Levu being the largest and Vanua Levu being the next.  Majority of the population lives in Viti Levu with Suva as its political capital and Nadi in the west of island, the commercial capital and the international airport.

Vanua Levu is very different from Viti Levu and we made a trip to this quaint and peaceful island. We also visited the smaller island Taveuni, close by.

You have option of flying by Air Fiji or go by a ferry. We decided to go by ferry Suilven. That was the only ferry which was operating at that time.

The ferry started in the evening around 6 but if you get sea sick, like I do, then it might not be a good idea to travel by water.

Loading luggage in ferry

The baggage is being collected and kept along with other stuff at the entrance. You are of course given a baggage tag.

Enjoying tea in the cabin porch

The view of Walu Bay was beautiful. I had never seen it from a tourist's perspective. You realise the beauty of a place only after you leave it. Other chores become your priority when living there.

Walu bay in the background

Inside President's Cabin

My family enjoyed the big cabin which we had booked with a private view to ourselves. They ate a hearty meal, had coffee but for me? It was no to everything.
Walu bay is the harbour in Suva and it looked so different from here.
The overnight journey over the Pacific waters can some times be very turbulent. Sailing over Marina Trench, the ferry reached Taveuni around 5 am. There is no rush, people get out at their own pace. Once the baggage was claimed, we went to the hotel to check-in.

Taveuni attracts tourists for its beautiful endangered birds, flowers and has truely been named as the Garden Island. You see nothing but trees and plants. I heard many ornithologists spent plenty of time to study the birds. It also has the International Date Line or 180 degree meridian crossing across it.

      soccer field through which  180 degree meridian crosses                              International  Date Line                                    

There were few things to see on our check list. We had set just two days in our itinerary for this island. One was of course the 180 degree meridian which was important. We were surprised when our driver took us to a soccer field near Waiyevo.  There on the side is a board with today and tomorrow written. Is this the International Date Line? My son asked, honestly it was a setback to see it. I don't know but had expected something fancier :)

Church near the Line

Somosomo is a small village and it was pleasant walking along the road with no traffic at all. A small stream interested my son who wanted to put his legs in the clear cold water.

The next day, we planned to go to Lavena beach which is at the end of the coastal road. Yes, the tarred road ends at the Lavena village, and if you want to proceed then you hike along the coastal walk.

Lavena beach

The golden sands were too inviting not to walk on them barefoot. The breeze, and looking at the crystal waters, was ethereal.

Lavena village in background

After spending some time there, we proceeded to Bouma waterfalls. My children had to take a dip in the water for this was the place where some scenes of "Return to the Blue Lagoon" were shot !

track leading to falls

Bouma or Tavoro waterfalls are in Bouma National Park. A narrow unpaved track leads you towards the falls. But, before that on the main road, a small fee needs to be paid by visitors. The money is later shared by the villagers. The walk is quite pleasant with thick growth of plants, ginger lily, coconut palms and taro growing on the sides. It tends to become slippery during rains so you need to be a little careful.

my mother poses in front of the waterfall

A little distance away from the falls, the sound of water can be heard and that makes ones pace faster. There, in front of you, is a lovely pool. The walk and the heat makes you plunge immediately in this cool water. Changing rooms on the side makes it more easy. There are 3 falls, so we decided to explore the higher ones.

Track leading to upper level waterfalls

waterfall below

hiking to upper waterfalls

It looked quite an easy walk to the upper falls in the beginning but soon it became slippery with loose stones. Obviously, it was hardly frequented by most people. Then, in front of us was a rope which would help us to cross the water. The stones were slippery and we decided against this move.

On the side, a private pool!  Off into the cool, clear water. The water was refreshing and made up for the climb.

View of ocean from above

There are wooden benches in between the climb and you can sit and enjoy the view.

Another view of ocean from above

Back enroute to hotel, a  wooden roadside restaurant caught our attention. We climbed up to refresh ourselves. The view welcomed us more than the drinks. Last day of Taveuni- so capture most of the fantastic views.

It was sad that we were leaving this island the next day.

View from ferry

The ferry makes a stop at Taveuni and then proceeds to Vanua Levu. So we were on the ferry to continue our journey to Vanua Levu.

Absorbing last of Taveuni

Savusavu is located at the foot of Vanua Levu peninsula.  We checked into Daku resort . The view outside was spectacular.

view across the road

Daku resort

What lush growth of trees!

Raining at night

This place with its pristine clear waters has now also become an attraction for divers. It rained heavily the night before. Down this road, is the Jacques Cousteau Resort. Jacques Cousteau is a world famous diver-explorer.

Copra shed which used to be a storage for coconut awaiting shipment from nearby places. It has now become a very important landmark in Savusavu with Yatch club bar. Many yatch can be seen parked a little distance away. The smell of food tickles your palate on entering. My son and I were more interested in watching a school of fish through crystal clear water from their deck at the back.

mound of coconut 

Savusavu is a center for coconut oil production and we visited one such oil processing plant.  But,
unfortunately, when we went there, the mill was shut down so we had to content ourselves by looking at the mound of coconut.  Soon, this mound would be pressed to collect coconut oil. The virgin unrefined oil would then be transported to other islands and further refined.

so quiet at low tide

How heavenly are such places? The tranquil beauty relieves you all the tensions in life.

At low tide

Koro sea at low tide

Something spectacular are the blow holes in Savusavu.  You need to drive about 45 minutes towards Namale Resort to see them.  Just beside this hotel you would see these blow holes. Our driver was persistent that we leave early to be on time to witness this phenomenon. That time I had no idea as to what  the reason was. I have cropped the pictures and made a collage to show the formation of blowholes.

Formation and receding away of blowholes

But what are blowholes? There are few conditions for a good blowhole. 

• sea needs to be rough, rougher the sea, better the spurt of water. 
• winds need to be strong. 
• the sea needs to be at low tide. 

So, during low tide, when the sea is rough, the water is pushed by the coming waves through crevices or small holes and this water comes out with a force with a gushing sound. When the activity begins, you hear a hissing sound which increases as the air trapped inside the crevices is trying to escape and then the water starts coming up slowly which suddenly turns into a massive spurt. It stays for a very short time and then starts to recede.

absolutely clear water collected in small areas at low tide

On observing closely, many sea creatures can be seen. We saw sea cucumbers, starfish.

Some sea animals visible during low tide

I looked on in amusement as my daughter put those slimy creatures on her hands! I tried with hermit crab, which came out and started tickling my palm :)

Another place worth a visit is the Waitavala waterslide. It is a natural waterslide and you see children sliding giggling and screaming down. It was fun watching their excitement.

Labasa, pronounced Lambasa in the north of island has a large Indian community. It is also one of the major centers for sugar production.  The Fiji Sugar Corporation is situated here.

About 45 minutes drive from Lambasa on the Nagigi road is the famous Naag temple.
Naag, the 7 headed snake on which Vishnu sleeps, is revered by Hindus. This 18 feet high, huge black monolith stone idol is in the shape of a cobra head.
It is said that it used to grow one inch every year and this became a problem for the management who could not cope with renovating the temple shed each time. A prayer was held to appease the Naag or snake god. Since that time it grows 1/2 inch every year.

Temple from outside

Naag Baba

You can imagine the height of Naag!

Gods placed at the base of Naag

On top of the stairs

The 108 stairs lead to a Shiv temple.

Shiv-Parvati

Next on our itinearary was a visit to the hot springs. It is just beside a local school and till our taxi driver had not parked and pointed out the place, we had no idea what the place was.

On going close, we noticed steam and gurggling hot water coming out.

The hot water got mixed with a small stream coming which was cold.

In one corner, is a area cordoned by stones and a thick cloth on top of it. We were told that there was food inside which is being cooked by the steam. What a perfect way to tap thermal energy?

It is time to go back to Suva now. Last leg of our vacation. We decided to fly back. It was terribly embarassing to be weighed on a weighing scale to get a seat number on flight. They needed to balance both sides ! That made me regret as to why did I gorge on the food all this while :(

I have lived my memories while writing all this.