THE GUIDE - Rough Guide to Fiji - page 144

Nanuya Levu and Nanuya Lailai
Nanuya Levu (big Nanuya) is strictly off-limits unless staying at the ultra-exclusive Turtle
Island Resort . There's more down-to-earth accommodation on Nanuya Lailai (little
Nanuya), the northern of the two islands. The best beach on Nanuya Lailai is on the sheltered
west coast, and there's decent snorkelling a hundred metres offshore along a 30m coral wall
drop-off.
Tavewa
The island of Tavewa was originally owned by the people of neighbouring Nacula, but was
given as a dowry to William Dougherty, a Scottish copra planter who married a local girl of
status from the village. Over time, other Scots settled here, bringing with them the family
names of Bruce and Campbell. Today the island has been subdivided into many small parcels
of land distributed amongst Dougherty's descendants.
There's no village on Tavewa , but a couple of resorts and a handful of resident shacks and
holiday cottages line the eastern beachfront. The west coast, as with Matacawalevu, is rugged
and inaccessible. There's a fantastic coral wall around the northeastern point of Tavewa but
surface conditions can be windy. If you head a little further out, there's a good chance you'll
see reef sharks and sometimes tons of harmless jellyfish. The nicest swimming beach is
around the sheltered Savutu Point , at the southern tip of Tavewa facing both Matacawalevu
and Nanuya.
Nacula
Hilly Nacula is the third largest of the Yasawa Islands with the chiefly village, also named
Nacula, on the west coast. The southern side of the island has lovely beaches, including the
kilometre-long crescent sands alongside Oarsman's Bay Lodge and Blue Lagoon Beach Re-
sort . At low tide you can walk south around Sandy Point to the even longer stretch of beach,
home to Nabua Lodge . Over the eastern bluff from here is the fabulous beach setting fronting
Safe Landing Resort .
A scenic walking trail along the grassy inland ridges connects the village of Naisisili on the
southeast coast with the island's namesake, Nacula, on the west coast. About halfway across
the island, the trail breaks off and leads up to the 238m-high summit of Naisau from where,
on a clear day, you can see the entire Yasawa chain.
Sawa-i-Lau
Lying off the north coast of Nacula, the island of Sawa-i-Lau lies in a pretty bay hugging
the south point of Yasawa Island and is home to some partially flooded limestone caves . The
passage to the south of the island is probably the windiest place in Fiji, with gusts ripping in
and churning the seas - backpackers usually get drenched and somewhat shaken getting here.
Nevertheless, it's touted as the best sightseeing trip in the Yasawas. Locals believe the ten-
headed snake god , Uluitini, resides deep inside the caves and folklore warns that any preg-
nant woman, however slight, will be unable to fit through the entrance. The main chamber