15

January
2009

The Garden Isle of Fiji

category: travelling
by Yun,

Taveuni is Fiji’s third largest island, known as the most fertile and well watered soil among other islands in Fiji. On our way to Taveuni, it could be seen from the air that the land was very green. I, myself, who grew up at Indonesia, famous for their fertile soil, had to admit that Taveuni was greener and more fertile compared to Indonesia. No wonder that Taveuni is called the Garden Island of Fiji. Due to the fertile soil, local people can easily plant vegetables and fruits to support their life. Also, fishing is also another option of food sources.

Taveuni is one of the world’s most famous scuba diving spots. A friend of mine also said that it was recognized as the world’s capital for soft coral reefs. The fabulous 32 kilometer Rainbow Reef off the south west corner of Vanua levu abounds in turtles, fish, tunnels, soft corals, and occasional sharks. The Great White Wall, a tunnel in the reef and a wall covered in awesome white soft coral is also very spectacular as ever. For us, diving was our main reason coming to Taveuni. Unsurprisingly, our diving experience at Rainbow reef was awesome. Too bad that we can’t share with you the beautiful corals, fish, and other sea creatures that we saw there, because we didn’t have a proper underwater camera.

Other than diving, we also had a one day island tour. We went up to the mountain to see the rare Tagimaucia flower that grows only in Taevuni and cannot be found in other parts of the world. The flower blooms only from late September to late December, and only grows at Lake Tagimaucia, an old volcanic crater up in the mountain above Somo Somo Village. In addition to that, our driver also took us to Southern part of the island, to see coconut plantations, black sandy beaches along the coast, and also the International dateline, which cuts straight through Taveuni.

Audrey’s Island Coffee and Pastry was our most favorite place to enjoy an afternoon tea. It is not a restaurant but it’s a private home of an American baker, Audrey Brown. She has a very nice spot at the Matei point where you can enjoy a fantastic view right from her house deck. She makes wonderful homemade cakes. Her chocolate cakes are delicious and legendary throughout Taveuni, but I personally love her coconut bar with dark chocolate better. If you are lucky, you will be served with her homemade Kahlua. It tastes heavenly… She even shared her homemade Kahlua recipe with me. Ahhh, what a lovely lady….


|



Comments

Name (required)

Email (required)

Website

Leave a comment

7 Comments so far

  1. Im3th | 16 January 2009, 01:42

    Itu pohon kelapa bener2 miring (kaya patah) gitu ya yun?
    ehhhmmm chocolate cakenya bener2 menggoda , heavenly :)

    Iya meth, pohon kelapa disana banyak yg miring2 karena sering ada cyclone… jadi pas kena cyclone miring2 ntar tumbuh lagi

  2. Paulo | 16 January 2009, 12:36

    nice pics..
    and ure a good story teller cik

    Thank you poll!!

  3. arman | 16 January 2009, 13:11

    nice… yang ada pelangi tuh keren.

    Thank you man… iya pas banget ada pelangi, trus kita mau mendekat ga lama kemudian pelanginya udah hilang :(

  4. veny | 16 January 2009, 21:13

    YUn , poto2 nya keren2 n cakep2 ..
    sebenarnya INdo ga kalah cakep dari tmp laen di dunia cuman ga dikelola dgn baik . udah pernah liat Belitung ga ? itu pantai bgs banget , sesekali hunting photo disana deh . keren2 banget ! cuman g ga betah disana krn ga ada makan enak , ha22
    mau sih balik lagi kesana , g akan bawa bekal aja .

    Thanks Ven…
    Yes, I agree…. kalo aku jalan2 sering berpikir… “hmm I think Indonesia has a lot of beautiful places… ga kalah ama negara2 laen” cuman yah itu tadi emang kurang dikelola, jadi ya susah buat attract turis….

  5. Herlina | 17 January 2009, 07:57

    Hmm I’m amazed with your journey, pictures and the story inside because you tried to socialize with the people so you got a detail story. You deserved to have a secret recipe from Audrey Brown!! Good job, Yun.

    Thanks c….. !!

  6. Danielle | 19 January 2009, 11:10

    Hello there! I just stumbled upon my blog and, wow, lucky me. Your stories are fascinating and you are such a talented photographer. I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind me linking your blog to mine on my bloglist?

    Hi… thanks so muchfor your nice word :) you are very welcome to link mine to your blog…

  7. veitacini | 04 April 2009, 03:51

    what a nice flower n a so beautiful like the people from there:P;):)!

    Thanks for visiting!