Small is big in Fiji

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THE LEGENDARY PACIFIC COAST ISLAND HOPPING IN SCOTLAND FIJI’S FRIENDLY OUTER ISLANDS

Cruising FIJI

Small is

BIG in Fiji’s sprawling islands

When you think of Fiji cruising, the all-too-common image of cruise liners disgorging their cargo of flip-flop wearing tourists onto buses for shopping, choreographed dancing and well-rehearsed shore excursions comes to mind. Roderick Eime reveals a ‘new’ side of Fiji cruising.

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hile that dated image may still be the one you remember from your first cruise, like mine 40 years ago, a whole new genre of cruising has emerged in Fiji that has helped me balance those fond, if anachronistic recollections.

Small, intimate boutique vessels are now making their mark with varied and exciting cruises into the seldom visited reaches of the Fiji Islands’ vast (almost 20,000sq.km) ocean field. Forget for a moment the mighty islands of Viti Levu and Vanau Levu where almost 90 per cent of the population reside, and instead cast your eyes out toward lush Taveuni, little Rabi and Kioa with their transplanted populations, the romantic Yasawa chain, the mysterious and reclusive Northern Lau group and historic Ovalua where the first rough-and-tumble capital was established in 1874.

I’ve been fortunate to travel these waters several times, and each journey yields something new. Colourful characters and memorable individuals

photoS: RodericK Eime

appear on each occasion whether they are local community leaders, old timers, bright and exuberant children, lonely drifters or burned out corporate escapees. There’s always a new story, a hidden gem or some long-forgotten tale to be dug out of these islands.

Levuka, on the island of Ovalua, was Fiji’s first capital and is looking for UNESCO World Heritage recognition.

Its historic, verandah-lined main street is straight out of a story book and instantly transports the visitor back 100 years. In the quaint Ovalua Club, next door to the burned out Masonic Lodge, you can have a beer and toast the portrait of Felix Graf von Luckner, a German gentleman naval raider from WWI who was captured nearby by a posse of motley militia raised from the local lads. Still thirsty? Drop by the oldest continuously run hotel in the South Pacific, The Royal.

Across the Koro Sea is Taveuni, known locally as the ‘Garden Island’ and everything you could imagine any mythical tropical island paradise to

be. Sparsely populated, intensely green and dissected by streams of liquid silk, narrow paths guide you through the undergrowth to the next waterfall, and then the next. Every so often a cranky, bright red land crab will throw up a challenge. If you allow time, trek all the way to the volcanic crater at 800m where Lake Tagimaucia nurtures its legendary namesake bloom.

The little islands of Kioa and Rabi have their own unusual stories.

Each is the site of a transplanted population. The former supports a Polynesian community that moved en mass from Tuvalu, the second is home to a Micronesian group who left their island of Banaba in Kiribati under controversial circumstances after WWII. Each island now plays host to visits by three cruise operators, turning on a mini-festival of song and dance for guests.

Lately the little ships have made their way out to the Northern Lau group, previously off limits to all but the most independent of travellers

and the Yanuyanu Island resort development just off the landing point at Lomaloma on Vanua Balavu failed almost as soon as it was built.

With its strong Tongan influence, the islanders trace their heritage back to the days when they were at war with the Fijians some 150 years ago. The Lau Islands are the birthplace of the late Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara (the first Prime Minister, founding father of the modern nation of Fiji) and are held in high esteem as a result.

For those looking to step outside the typical cloistered resort experience, get aboard one of Fiji’s divine small ships for a totally big adventure. • For more information on Fiji specialist cruise operators visit: www.tuitai.com and www.bluelagooncruises.com

Clockwise from opposite page: Levuka, on the island of Ovalya; let the dancing begin; Church on Levuka and island boys.

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