Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
North of the church, beyond Hennings Street, are the newer and less intriguing quarters of
Levuka, rebuilt after the devastating hurricane in 1895.
Nasau Park and around
Inland from Beach Street along Hennings Street are the playing fields of
Nasau Park
, once
the venue of King Cakobau's headquarters on his visits to Levuka. Before you reach the park,
a small bridge crosses Totoga Creek. Tucked away behind a delightful white picket fence
and abutting the creek is the
Ovalau Club
, built in 1904 and now Fiji's oldest social club.
Next door is the double-storey
Town Hall
, built in 1898 to commemorate the silver jubilee of
Queen Victoria. The neighbouring burnt-out Neoclassical building is the old
Masonic Hall
,
desecrated in 2000 by a mob of two hundred villagers from Lovoni. During the spiralling
events of the Speight Coup, Lovoni's firebrand Methodist priest told his congregation that
the hall was a centre for devil worship. It was also rumoured that secret tunnels under Nasau
Park connected it to the
Royal Hotel
, Nasova House and, bizarrely, the Grand Lodge of the
Masonic Order in Scotland. The culprits were later pardoned in court for their naivety. The
tunnels turned out to be drainage outlets to the sea.
Continuing on past the Bowling Club leads to the back of the colonial-era
Royal Hotel
, a
pleasant spot for afternoon tea; to reach the hotel entrance turn right at the intersection of
Langham Street. Otherwise, continue north to the quaint maroon-and-white
Navoka Meth-
odist Church
, founded in 1862. The church conducts its services (Sun 10.15am & 4pm)
solely in English to encourage Fijian and European communal worship.
Mission Hill
From Navoka Methodist Church, 199 steps lead up to the summit of
Mission Hill
, named
after Fiji's first mission school, built here in 1852 by the Reverend John Binner. From the
top a path continues to
Mission House
, where Cakobau was proclaimed King of Fiji in 1871.
Beyond is the flat hilltop known as the
Oval
, where colonial residents gathered on Saturdays
for a spot of horse racing. There's a fabulous unobstructed
view
from here overlooking the
old quarters of Levuka and out towards the offshore islands of Makogai, Batiki and Wakaya.
Keep an eye out for
pilot whales
, which are present year-round in the Koro Sea - if you're
exceptionally lucky you may spot a humpback whale between May and October. A dirt road
continues on from the top of the Mission Hill, past Delana Public School to the hospital at
the northern end of Beach Street.
The back alleys
At the southern end of the Oval you'll find a small bush track that winds its way back down
the hill to the alluring
back alleys
of Levuka. A confusing network of pathways and small
bridges meander back and forth connecting the old wooden houses where many of Levuka's
residents live. There's no obvious track to follow but as long as you keep heading downhill
you'll eventually end up at Nasau Park.
