Taveuni
Fiji Islands
Taveuni is a priceless gem in Fiji’s crown. A tribute to Mother Nature and her unique skill of creating perfection in the form of an island that is aptly named “The Garden Island of Fiji.”
Taveuni is the fourth largest island in Fiji stretching for 42 kilometres in length and is 15 kilometres wide. The island is smothered in prolific tropical rainforest and girthed by beautiful and bountiful tropical reefs harboring some of the world’s best dive sites.
Taveuni has an abundance of indigenous flora and fauna which flourishes due to the absence of the mongoose, a non-indigenous animal imported from India that has no natural predators.
The birdlife is prolific from your average wild chickens to the more exotic kula lorikeets, red breasted musk parrots, honeyeaters, silktails goshawks, ferntails and orange-breasted doves, making the island a bird-watchers paradise.
Due to its 1000 metre high volcanic ridge the prevailing trade winds ensure that rainfall is prevalent and often torrential, in turn ensuring that this Garden Island receives the rainfall required to maintain her cloak of vivid green.
Taveuni has a volcano called Vuna which is dormant however after erupting around 350 years ago it is considered the island’s most active volcano.
The island is blessed with flora that is both exotic and indigenous. The rare Tagimaucia grows only around Taveuni’s 900-metre high crater lake. It cannot be transplanted and blooms only in October – January.
Due to the abundance of rich flora and fauna and nature reserves, eco-tourism is in full flight and naturalists will find themselves in an environmental paradise unsurpassed anywhere.
