Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
snacks are filling and include handmade burgers, burritos and classic fish and chips, all
around F$15. The dinner menu is Modern European but with some curries, mostly around
F$15, plus there are three 3-course blackboard specials from F$25, usually with fish and local
vegetables.
Daily 7am-9.30pm.
Water's Edge
Shop 86, Arts Village 345 0145.
This happening place on the edge of the
pond in the Arts Village is run with style by an ex-New Yorker. Super-friendly staff serve
pizza, pasta (both from F$15), burgers (F$12) and snacks, and there's live jazz at weekends.
Mon-Thurs 8.30am-3pm, Fri & Sat 8.30am-9pm.
Navua and the Namosi Highlands
NAVUA
, 10km east of Pacific Harbour on the Suva side of the Navua River, is a dusty market
centre with a mix of Fiji-Indian rice farmers from the delta and Fijian villagers from the high-
lands selling their produce. The only reason to come here is to catch a boat to Beqa Island or
to explore the Namosi Highlands, which loom large above the river floodplain.
At the north end of town, between the market and bridge, longboats line the riverbanks and
journey up the murky
Navua River
to the villages of the
Namosi Highlands
. A local oper-
ator offers
guided longboat trips
, and
Rivers Fiji
offers whitewater rafting through stunning
scenery towards Wainimakatu; this remote region fronts the massive
Sovi Basin
, an amphi-
theatre of lowland rainforest surrounded by mountain ridges with an abundance of endemic
birdlife - this is Fiji's largest and most important protected nature reserve.
With a 4WD vehicle, it's possible to drive from Navua along the Namosi Road, following
the Waidina River through remote forests. The most picturesque village along the road is
Namosi
, sitting beneath the 950m-high sheer cliff peak of
Mount Voma
. You could present a
sevusevu
to the village headman and stay the night to explore the stunning environment with
a village guide. Climbers can quite easily scale Mount Voma without ropes in around three
hours and will be graced on a clear day with sweeping views of the surrounding mountains.
ARRIVAL AND GETTING AROUND: NAVUA AND THE NAMOSI
HIGHLANDS
By bus
Most buses between Nadi and Suva stop at the bus stand in Navua for a 15min rest
stop.
Destinations
Lautoka (14 daily; 4hr); Nadi (15 daily; 3hr 20min); Pacific Harbour (15 daily;
30min); Sigatoka (15 daily; 2hr); Suva (24 daily; 50min).
By boat
Boats leave from Navua to Namuamua and Nukusere (from 10am; 2hr; $15). Bear
in mind that you may not be able to return till the next day.
By car
Driving from Navua along the Namosi Rd, bear right at the three-road junction to
follow the Waidina River to Naqali. From Naqali, the road heads south to Suva (4hr from