Taveuni, known as Fiji's Garden Island, is an elongated emerald enclave (42 kilometers long and averaging 11 kilometers wide). The third largest island in the Fiji archipelago, it is located just south of Vanua Levu (Fiji's second largest island) across from the Somosomo Strait. Verdant and rugged, it reaches a maximum height of 1241 meters at Mt. Uluigala. The island is volcanic in origin which is the source of its fertile soil making an ideal medium for the abundant flora.

Copious rainfall has produced some specular waterfalls and combined with the fecund earth has created a thick carpet of vegetation. Virgin rainforests cover the mountains which are thick with trees festooned with orchids and ferns. High in the center of the island is Lake Tagimaucia, famous for the indigenous red and white tagimaucia flower. In addition to the prolific flora, Taveuni is renowned by naturalists for its intact native bird population which includes parrots, a barking pigeon (Peale's pigeon which does sound like a dog barking), and other rare species. Known in the colonial days for its coconut plantations, today Taveuni is a landmark for divers.

Beneath the surface of sea, in the coral reefs that fringe the island, is an equally rich eco-system that rivals the bio-diversity found on the surface.

  Fed by rich nutrients that emerge from the depths of the Tongan trench,Taveuni is famous for its multitude of tropical fish and pelagics.

 

However, if there is one trademark or signature species in the area, it is soft coral which billowsand undulates in the currents.

 

Soft coral comes in dramatic, sometimes electric hues of orange, red, pink and white which is fringed by purple.

 

While the diving Taveuni area is stunning and virtually unscathed by the 20 th century, it is not generally a place to bring novice divers.

The currents can be strong and unwieldy for those unaccustomed to them and one should have some prior experience as a diver before venturing here.

This is true when diving the Somosomo Strait, a narrow waterway located betweenTaveuni and Vanua Levu. Along the southeast shore of Vanua Levu one will find a barrier reef continually fed by microorganisms washed by the currents driven by the narrowing of the fun nel-like strait.

Protruding into the strait from the Vanua Levu side to about 3 kilometers from the shores of Taveuni is a magnificent reef.

 

Here one can find one of the most famous dive sites in the South Pacific, the Great White Wall.

It is named because of the unusual soft coral that inhabit the area. Starting at a depth of about 15 meters and continuing to over 65 meters, this underwater escarpment is covered with an almost luminescent white coral tinged with lavender

 

There are a great number of other dive sites sprinkled throughout the area and new attractions are found all the time. It is estimated that only 3% of the entire reef system in the Taveuni area has been explored by divers and it's not unusual to see pelagics such as dolphins, turtles, eagle rays and a number of species of shark.

 

Between the delightful indigenous population and the abundant sea life, the visitor to Taveuni will not be disappointed.