Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ARRIVAL AND ACCOMMODATION: KIOA ISLAND
By boat
To get to the island ask the captain of the
ferry
to drop you off on its run between
Natuva Landing and Taveuni, or catch the daily Nabuka bus departing Savusavu at 10.30am
to Vatuvonu village, where you can charter a boat for the 15min journey to Kioa (F$50).
Homestay accommodation
850 0387,
kioaisland.org
.
There is no official acc
omm
oda-
tion on Kioa but you can arrange a homestay visit through the Kioa Island Council.
F$25
Rabi Island
Rabi Island
, 66 square kilometres in size, is home to the displaced
Banaban Islanders
from
faraway Kiribati in Micronesia. Their tiny five-square-kilometre original homeland, Banaba
Island, was systematically stripped of its
phosphate
deposits by British mining interests
between 1902 and 1942. Soon after, during World War II, the island was captured by the
Japanese, who slaughtered many of the islanders. At the end of the war the British Govern-
ment relocated the remaining Banabans to Rabi Island in Fiji which it had purchased shortly
before the Japanese occupation. The islanders received formal Fijian citizenship in 2005, and
today almost five thousand Banabans live on Rabi.
Tabwewa
, halfway along the north coast,
is the largest village on the island.
ARRIVAL AND ACCOMMODATION: RABI ISLAND
By plane
The seldom used airstrip is at Tabiang Village on the southern tip of the island.
By boat
Catch the daily Nabuka bus departing Savusavu at 10.30am to Karoko village, 2km
south of Nabuka, where you should be able to charter a boat over to the island for F$80.
Rabi Island Council Guesthouse
Tabwewa 330 3653 (in Suva).
Used mostly by visiting
government workers, but it also accepts tourists b
y pri
or arrangement. Beds are in plain four-
bed rooms, and food is provided by the villagers.
F$50
Taveuni
Across the strait from Vanua Levu, the smaller island of
TAVEUNI
is a stunning combination
of luxuriant forest, soaring mountains and colourful coral reefs. Much of the island's pristine
rainforest is protected by the Bouma National Heritage Park and tourism is handled sensit-
ively, making it one of the best places to sample Fiji's varied
wildlife
. Geologically, Taveuni
is one of Fiji's youngest islands, and its dramatic volcanic scenery, wild flowers and laid-back
atmosphere bring to mind Hawaii as much as Fiji.
Most visitors arrive at the small settlement of
Matei
on the north coast, home to the airstrip,
plenty of accommodation and a series of pretty beaches. South of here, along the rugged east
coast is the access point to the huge
Bouma National Heritage Park
, which features world-
class birdwatching and hikes through a series of waterfalls. Just offshore are the thriving coral
reefs of the
Waitabu Marine Park
. Across the knife-edge ridge splitting the 42km-long is-
