Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
setting is spectacular but access into the horseshoe bay is difficult even with calm seas. There
are four villages on the island; three of these are located on the bay.
Matuku
Matuku
, the southernmost of the islands, is slightly smaller than Moala. Graced with lush
tropical forests rising to a peak of 388m, the rich volcanic soil on its slopes is ideal for farm-
ing and some of the finest
dalo
is grown here. Three of the island's four villages sit along-
side one of several long, white sand beaches which flank the south side of the island - you'll
usually find the village women here engaged in basket weaving using spiky
voi voi
leaves
(
Pandanus Thurstoni
).
Northern Lau
For an off-beat adventure, exploring
Northern Lau
is an unforgettable experience. The most
appealing of all the Lauan destinations,
Vanua Balavu
, lies in the heart of the region, sur-
rounded by the dramatic, uplifted limestone islands of the
Bay of Islands
- a popular yacht-
ing destination. If you plan carefully, you get to Vanua Balavu by plane, spend a few days ex-
ploring and then catch the
cargo boat
back to Suva via five other Lauan islands. Be warned,
though, that boat schedules and sometimes even flights may change last-minute or become
delayed due to bad weather and both are overbooked during Christmas holidays.
Vanua Balavu
On a map, the long, thin curving island of
Vanua Balavu
looks uncannily like a sea horse
with Masomo Bay as its eye and the small islets of Malata and Susui forming its hooked tail.
Vanua Balavu is the second most populated island of the Lau Group, with 1800 people in
fourteen coastal villages, farming copra or gathering bêche-de-mer from the lagoons as an
income. In 1855, the Tongan prince Ma'afu invaded Vanua Balavu, the first of his Fijian con-
quests, and based his court in the village of
Lomaloma
, now the main village on the island.
The island remains heavily influenced by
Tongan customs
, with the local dialect formed
mostly of Tongan words and bures following the rounded Tongan style of architecture.
On foot you can
hike
the 5km from Lomaloma to the southern tip of the island, passing the
cliffs flanking Nakama Village. Ask around for a guide to show you the
hot springs
and buri-
al caves in the hills. It's possible to wade across a sand spit from the southern tip of Vanua
Balavu to explore Malata island. Hugging Malata's southeast tip is
Susui Island
, a favourite
local picnic spot, with an inland lake where turtles can be spotted; the protected Raviravi La-
goon is off its northern shore.
The
northern half
of Vanua Balavu, beyond the grass airstrip, is rocky with sharp limestone
pinnacles along the coast and mostly inaccessible. The coastal road ends at Mavana Village,
where the deposed prime minister Laisania Qarase comes from.
