10th August 2025
Hello and greetings from the Fijian island of Taveuni, third largest in the Fijian archipelago, and nicknamed “The Garden of Fiji” for its lush forests and greenery. It is said to be how the rest of Fiji was around 50 years ago before tourism and development took off here, and hence the main reason why I decided to visit.
Most island nations of the South Pacific are actually not just one island, but rather an archipelago of them. Fiji has over 330 islands in its archipelago, with around 100 being inhabited. As well as visiting the main, largest and most populous island of Viti Levu, I also wanted to take in one of its other islands, and being known for its lush beauty, slower pace of life, and low visitor numbers, I chose Taveuni. It really was beautiful here, and while the pace back in Nadi was already slower than what I’m used to, it nearly slowed down to a standstill here, and I seriously enjoyed the chilling.
I took a flight on a 19-seater dual-propellered plane – a small one indeed, which bounced about in the air quite a lot. They even weighed each of us as we checked in, and I was relieved after talking to a number of passengers later that I wasn’t the only one who weighed in around seven kilos more than expected. I imagine they overcompensated the weight just in case, so I quickly dismissed the plan to go on a diet when I got home again, lol!
Upon arrival, I was met at the tiny airport by the owner of a lovely local homestay there, whose accommodation backs right up onto the runway strip – one of my favourite pastimes there was to watch the little planes take off and land from the back of my room! I had enough time that evening before sundown to walk around the village of Matei by the airport. After stocking up with a few rather basic supplies at the local shop, I enjoyed a lovely sundowner beer at a local café overlooking the sea, with the second largest Fijian island in the distance called Vanua Levu, and watched the sun go down in this beautiful little corner of the country. Ah, this is the life! (Although the 15-minute walk back to my lodging again in the dark along a lonely road with barking dogs all around wasn’t too much fun…)
The morning tour involved doing the west coast of the island, and we started off by stopping by at the Holy Cross Catholic Church in the small settlement of Wairiki, 12 miles to the south of Matei. This Church was built as part of a French Catholic Mission on the island in the 19th century, the oldest in Fiji, and is named for a cross that’s on display inside. It is believed that this cross holds fragments of the original cross used in the crucifixion of Jesus, and its miraculous powers were apparently demonstrated for all to see in 1852 when an invasion from nearby Tonga was successfully repelled by the local island population who had faith that this cross would protect them! It seems wondrous what faith can often do!
On this Sunday morning we had arrived during mass which proved to be very popular. In fact, driving round much of the island on this day it seemed that everyone was going to some sort of church or another, be it Catholic, Protestant, Mormon or otherwise. The people were out in their Sunday best, and we regularly passed buildings of varying shapes and sizes, often with beautiful singing emanating from within. In the Catholic Church there were no pews and everyone was sitting on the floor, with the congregation being so large that they were spilling out through all of the many entrances. I was fortunate enough to find a decent spot on the floor inside and near the front, and absolutely love the Catholic Church in knowing that wherever you go in the world, you can still find a mass which pretty much follows exactly the same format. I find this very comforting, particularly when I’m as far away from home as this. This mass was added to by the beautiful singing and harmonies that pretty much the whole congregation was creating, not just the choir. It was a lovely service.
Speaking of being so far from home, the next place we stopped off after mass was the International Date Line! This is the line exactly 180° both east and west from the Greenwich Meridian Line in London where I live in the UK, so I couldn’t possible go any further east or west from my home than being there! It is one of only three places in the world where the 180° Meridian Line actually crosses over land, and with the other two being Russia and Antarctica, this could well have been my only chance to straddle such an important line. There was a surprisingly small and humble marker there in which to do so, despite the significance of the place, and I naturally had to have my photo taken with one foot in each hemisphere, and even in different days! My left foot was thus in Saturday 9th August while my right foot was in Sunday 10th August, and I’m still trying to get my head around that one, lol!
Finally for the morning, we headed on to the nearby Waitavala Natural Rock Waterslide, a naturally smooth slide and series of waterfalls which the locals and a few tourists like me enjoy sliding down! One may grow up and look like an adult, but there’s always a child still within all of us. I enjoyed the slide, and my guide for the day seemed to enjoy it even more! Scenes from the end of one of my favourite ever childhood films “The Goonies” sprung to mind!
For lunch I headed to the café-bar I’d been to for my sundowner the evening before, and enjoyed a delicious lunch of chicken curry and roti bread, followed by a lie-down back in my guesthouse, before the afternoon tour was to begin. This time we were heading down the east side of the island, and not long after leaving the settlement of Matei we were driving along a dirt road. The east side was less built up, more rural, and thus even more natural and original than the west side. We passed plenty of small rural shacks, little villages with a church or two, friendly locals, and lots of chickens roaming around.
We were heading to the Bouma National Park and its popular Tavoro Waterfall and local swim spot. Being a Sunday afternoon, every local villager seemed to have arrived after their church services to enjoy a cool dip, with entertainment provided by the beat box of a group of cool-looking guys, and the most popular attraction there – a five-metre jump next to the waterfall and into the pool. I enjoyed the first two (the cool dip and the funky music), but not the latter – it just looked a bit too high for me. I also had the feeling I would feel really pressured into jumping, being the only tourist there, had I just gone up to take a look. I was glad I didn’t, and instead enjoyed seeing the brave villagers do it from afar.
That evening I joined my host, his son who had been my guide for the day, and their family for one of the most delicious meals I have ever had in my life. I also had an amazing, life-affirming conversation with the host himself, which I feel was definitely an encounter cooked up by the Divine, as was the meal! Two quotes that stick in my mind from this conversation are “tough times never last, but tough people do”, and “do not be afraid when you reach rock bottom, because that is the strongest foundation on which to build”. I’m not saying this as I feel I’m going through a tough time in life, but rather to repeat and record the inspirational words my host was sharing with me. What felt particularly amazing was being so very far away from home, but still finding other, similar, life-affirming and life-experiencing souls who despite being so different, were still so very comfortingly similar.
I could literally wave goodbye to my accommodation, seen here, as we took off from the runway!
And so came the end of my lovely time in the Garden Island of Fiji, Taveuni. The place felt so local, so natural, and so real, with super-friendly people, gorgeous water-filled forests, and stunning natural beauty – it felt like a veritable little paradise on earth. The next morning I would be returning to the tiny little airport out behind my room, to take another little plane back to civilization again – that is, back to Nadi first, and then on to Suva. But of course, more on that in my next!
Goodbye Taveuni Island, and thank you so much for having me!
Alex Waring's Travel Blog 