The island of Taveuni is known as the “Garden Island” of Fiji. We spent 10 days here and are happy to report that Taveuni lived up to its very high expectations. We booked all 3 bures at the petite Makaira Resort in Matei to host our family reunion which was a great choice because the location is simply sublime. Highlights of our time spent on the Garden island would undoubtedly include the Lavena Coastal Walk (a must do activity), hopping over from “today” to “yesterday” at the International Date Line (one of the few land masses that the 180° meridian crosses), sliding down the natural water slide of Waitavala, SCUBA diving the Rainbow Reef, snorkeling with manta rays in the Somosomo Straits, eating a delicious lovo dinner at Wiwi Village, and hiking up to all 3 waterfalls of Tavoro. Taveuni quickly earned our vote as our favorite of the Fijian islands – visit for yourself to experience what all the hype is about!!!
Home sweet home! Robby by our Makaira Resort villa on the garden island of Taveuni
Our king sized bed at Makaira Resort
Our own private plunge pool; Makaira Resort
Spotting a moral eel while snorkeling in front of our villa
Juvenile fish hiding in coral
Banded sea kraits are highly venomous so we kept our distance!
Loads of sea snails to be seen while snorkeling off Taveuni
Our peaceful retreat at Makaira Resort
See no evil (Robby), hear no evil (Gracie), speak no evil (Emma)
Family photo in Taveuni (Gracie, Fran, Emma, Bob, Nancy, Becky, Ann, Luke)
Our 7 am breakfast ritual at Makaira Resort
Gracie loving the non stop attention from Uncle Luke and Aunt Becky
Our Lavena coastal hike outfits
Taveuni Ocean Sports shack; Matei
Frannie tickling Robby's ear as we wait for the public bus to take us to Lavena
Fantastic views on the 1 hour bus ride from Matei to Lavena (a bargain at only 3.80 FJD)
Coastal scenery on our drive to Lavena - the road is unpaved and quite bumpy!
Final stop and all passengers disembark at Lavena
The Lavena Coastal Walk & Visitor Center - the friendly staff will get a local guide to show you the way to the waterfall
Luke and Robby enjoying our 5 km stroll on the famous "Lavena Coastal Walk" - one of Taveuni's must do activities
Panorama of the view on our Lavena Coastal Walk
Waterfall in the distance
Foliage seen on our Lavena coastal walk
Cyclone Winston blew out the swinging bridge so we had to wade across the river; Lavena Coastal Walk
Crossing over another river
Robby making his way across the river
Our awesome guide Simoni showing us the kava plant
Cat whiskers; Lavena Coastal Walk
Hiking up the final section leading to the waterfall; Lavena Coastal Walk
At long last, the waterfall is in sight at the end of the Lavena Coastal Walk
Striking a pose in the waterfall pool; Lavena
We had to swim about 200 meters through this passage to reach the waterfall
Another view of the passage you have to swim through to reach the waterfall
Smiling at the end of our hot, sweaty walk - the waterfall is super refreshing and well worth the effort
Luke climbing up to slide down the waterfall
After an hour of enjoying this lovely spot to ourselves, we finally tear ourselves away (Robby, Simoni, Luke, Franny & Becky)
Orange fruit dove; Lavena Coastal Walk
Boat ride to check out the second waterfall (which can only be reached by boat and costs 140 FJD for up to 6 people)
The beautiful, secluded second waterfall
Smiling before leaving the second waterfall - everyone loved the Lavena Coastal adventure!
Franny posing at the front of our boat; Lavena
The view on the drive back to Matei
Lucy preparing breakfast for us every morning; Makaira Resort
Hibiscus flower decoration at our breakfast table
Rainbow Reef information board - so excited to go SCUBA diving in Taveuni!
Getting ready to dive Rainbow Reef with Taveuni Ocean Sports
A giant moray eel peers out from the brain coral
Neon blue and yellow fish
Snorkeling with manta rays!
The 180 degree meridian where each new day begins! Apart from Siberia, Antarctica and 2 other Fiji islands, the meridian crosses no other land. Here, Robby tries to pull Becky from today back into "yesterday"
Beautiful garden at the Wairiki Mission
The Taveuni Catholic Church, also known as the Wairiki Mission
Emma and Becky prepare to beat the lali drum; Taveuni Cathedral
Inside the Wairiki Mission - the prettiest church on Taveuni
Interior detail of Wairiki Mission
Overlooking the historic site where Taveuni fighters battled invading Tongans. The underdogs won and celebrated by roasting the Tongans and eating them with breadfruit!
The first store to open in the world - the Meridian Store
Meridian cinema - where you can spend yesterday and today watching movies!
Hiking to the Waitavala Waterslide
Panorama of Waitavala Waterslide
Sliding down Waitavala Waterslide is at your own risk - expect lots of bumps and bruises and a whole lot of fun!
We had the entire Waitavala Waterslide to ourselves early on a week day morning - we heard the weekends would be packed with visitors!
Laughing the entire way down the Waitavala Waterslide!
Group photo before we leave the waterslide (Robby, Franny, Emma, Gracie, Becky and Luke)
Posing with Harry, our awesome Taveuni taxi driver!
Fear not, the Waitavala Waterslide is next to a prison but the prisoners are super friendly!
Shopping at MH Supermarket - the largest one in Taveuni
Liquor land is behind a caged area - since alcohol is so expensive in Fiji, this makes a lot of sense!
Swimming with Grace and Emma in the private plunge pool
Snapshot of our daily breakfast; Makaira Resort
Gracie and Emma posing with our breakfast flowers; Makaira Resort
Gorgeous view from our breakfast table; Makaira Resort
Lovo underground at Wiwi Village
Preparing for the village meke
Unearthing our lovo meal - root crops, chicken and fish were incredibly delicious!
Sia explaining all the lovo dishes that we will enjoy for our dinner tonight; Wiwi Village
Big smile from Robby over his amazing lovo meal
Meke performers at Wiwi Village
Village girls sing and dance for our meke performance
The boys laughing during their performance; Wiwi Village Meke
Pretty sea shells abound around Taveuni
Gracie and Emma looking at Aunt Nancy's videos of Bella in her performance
Playing Catan on one of the few rainy afternoons we had in Taveuni
Getting excited to visit Tavoro waterfall
Loading up the van to visit the 3 waterfalls at Bouma
Tavoro Waterfall Visitor Center
Franny, Grace and Emma at the entrance to the Tavoro Waterfall Park
The first waterfall is a flat 10 minute hike away
Foliage on our short hike to the base of the first waterfall
What a beautiful sight! The first waterfall is the highest and has the biggest swimming pool. Luckily, we have it all to ourselves
Family photo at the Tavoro Waterfall
Another view of pretty Tavoro Waterfall
Luke smiling on the hike up to the 2nd waterfall
Looking down on the first waterfall; Tavoro
It’s getting hot and sweaty on our hike to the 2nd waterfall; Tavoro
Taking a break to soak up the gorgeous views
We love Taveuni - truly the "Garden Island" of Fiji!
Coastal view on our Tavoro Hike
Pretty flowers; Tavoro hike
Robby and Luke debate left or right track - which way to go? We definitely recommend the left track that crosses over the river to reach the second waterfall
A defiant purple crab blocks our way on the hiking track; Tavoro
At long last, the second waterfall is in sight
Staircase leading up to the second waterfall
Posing in front of the second waterfall at Tavoro
Another view of Tavoro's second waterfall
Our parting view of the second waterfall at Tavoro
15 years of marriage later, Becky can still get a chuckle out of Robby by presenting him with a flower; Tavoro
The 3rd waterfall at Tavoro
Yay! We finally made it to the third waterfall where we finally take a dip to cool down
Gracie and Becky take a dip in the swimming pool of the waterfall; Tavoro
Bula from Taveuni! Gracie and Becky have big smiles after our trip to Tavoro Waterfall
Stopping at Suncity Supermarket to buy groceries
Robby partaking in a kava ceremony at Makaira Resort
Becky and Aunt Nancy about to board our flight to Viti Levu
Great pics. What a wonderful family reunion. Thanks for all your awesome planning.?
Hey guys… Loved photo#64. Becky being pulled from today back to yesterday.
I was at Camp Victory in 2011.
Yea, that was a neat place to visit. We love Fiji!
Thanks for visiting.