Taveuni, Fiji

After a couple days of snorkeling we felt like something different, so organized an excursion to the Lavena Coastal Walk, in Bouma National Heritage Park on the eastern coast of Taveuni.

We weren’t quite clear on the details of the walk, even after asking the resort, cause we were trying to figure out what footwear we’d need, and how much water to carry. (We are obviously well into vacation mode, as this is now our biggest concern). Based on the Moon Guide I had pictured a walk along the beach, and getting our feet wet a likely scenario.

After chatting with another guest (a friend of the owners, he’s visited here a few times and done most of things to do on Taveuni), we decided on wearing our hiking shoes, carrying water shoes, and 2.5L water between the two of us. We chose wisely :)

We left the resort at 8:30am, and drove around the north end of the island, passing the other resorts, and the airport in Matei. An hour later, we had reached Lavena Lodge, the end of the road. It’s a really scenic drive.

The Lavena Coastal Walk is about 5km along the coast, on a well-maintained trail, under the shade of trees, just above the high water mark. The local villages clear the trail once a month, fixing up any eroded areas and cutting back the plants and trees that try to take back the path.

It's possible to either walk there and back; or take a boat one way and walk the other. We didn’t want to spend three hours round trip walking in the heat so opted for the boat. Based on the tides we’d be walking in, and catching the boat back. It also meant we could leave our picnic lunch in the truck, and just carry water for one way.

We had a guide with us (more to help support the local villages; it’s impossible to get lost on the trail). Bill was an excellent guide - the walk is more of an educational walk than a hike.

Bill pointed out village life going on around us. We saw a villager cutting the stem of a kava plant into 2-inch pieces, which he then covered with palm leaves to keep moist. In a few days they’ll sprout into new seedlings which are then transplanted to grow as a cash crop. We also saw villagers looking for sea urchins at low tide. They’re cooked on the beach - covered with dry palm leaves that are then set on fire (it’s like kindling) and then a few minutes later after the fire has burnt out, the urchins are ready.

We recognized some of the plants from the ridge walk at Oneta; and learnt about new ones (like the tree that flowers overnight and drops its flowers at dawn). (Later we saw the petals on the ground at our hotel in Nadi).

There was a nice breeze coming off the water. At low tide the coral is more visible too and it’s a pretty view of the ocean through the coconut trees

There’s a rope crossing over the Wainambau Creek (the suspension bridge was washed out a few years ago). We switched to our water shoes for the crossing, the water went half way up to our knees.

About 10 minutes past the creek we reached the end of the walk, where another villager was selling green coconuts, $3 FJD each (about $2 CAD). We had one each, they were delicious. Our guide cracked open the coconut after we drank the coconut water so that we could scoop out the flesh to eat.

We then walked inland about 10 minutes to reach Wainibau Falls. The main drop is visible from the path; to see the other falls we had to swim about 40m into the gorge.

There were some teens enjoying their Saturday at the falls, climbing up the steep rock and then jumping from the top (10-15m?). Our guide jumped a few times too. He said the falls are his place to relax - he usually comes here every Sunday after church.

It was nearing high tide and the arrival of the motorboat to take us back to the start of the trail at Lavena Lodge, so we swam back out, changed back to our hiking clothes and headed back to the ocean.

We timed it perfectly - the boat pulled in just as we arrived. It took about 5-10 minutes to return by boat, where we had our picnic lunch that had been packed by our resort.

Overall we really enjoyed the excursion, I’d definitely recommend it if you’re visiting Taveuni. It’s a way to see village life without it seeming forced or fake; the views along the trail are great and the waterfall at the end is really refreshing.

I had ordered the steak for dinner, having eyed it the past few days, cause it was sourced from the island. It was really good, grilled medium rare and served with green beans fresh from their garden and a baked potato. Mmm good.