Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
land lies the smoothly sloping
west coast
, where most of the island's eleven thousand in-
habitants live. Here,
Somosomo
, head village of the powerful Cakaudrove Province, merges
into the modern trade centre of
Naqara
. The peaceful Catholic Mission at Wairiki lies to the
south, with
De Voeux Peak
, accessible by 4WD or by a long trek on foot, towering high
above. Close by, in the heart of the island, is
Lake Tagimaucia
. The west coast also has the
most direct access to the phenomenal
Rainbow Reef
just across the Somosomo Straits.
Brief history
Archeological evidence indicates that Taveuni was first inhabited around 250 BC and that
ring ditches and
hill forts
around the volcanic cones were first built around 1200 AD. In 1643
Abel Tasman
was the first European to record sighting the island, though he made no attempt
to land. This is probably fortunate as the Taveunians were renowned as fierce warriors. In the
early nineteenth century they sent great
war canoes
to help the alliance of Bau in its struggle
with the Rewans. By the 1840s, they faced a battle on home turf as the Tongan Prince
Ma'afu
threatened to take over the island. Allegiances were split, with some Taveunians supporting
the prince and the remainder sticking with the
Tui Cakau
, high chief of the island. In 1862,
after much wrangling, Tui Cakau's army defeated Ma'afu in a bloody sea battle off the coast
near Somosomo.
Lured by the rich soils and gentle slopes ideal for growing
cotton
, Europeans soon began
buying up large tracts of Taveuni's west coast. After the collapse in cotton prices following
the American Civil War, copra took over as the most viable cash crop and the organized lines
of coconut palms still loom high on the west and south coast plantations. Some of the original
colonial families
remain on the island and have moved tentatively into the tourism industry;
this in turn has attracted a growing number of expats.
