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Vanua
Levu formerly known
as Sandalwood Island
is the second largest
island of Fiji.
Located 64 kilometers
to the north of
the larger Viti
Levu, the island
has an area of 5,587.1
km² and a population
of some 130,000.
Geologists
believe that Vanua
Levu is an amalgamation
of several islands
that melded through
successive stages
of uplift.
The
main part of the
island is roughly
shaped like a tall,
thin triangle 30
to 50 kilometers
in width and 180
kilometres in length,
rotated so that
the point is to
the northeast. This
point, the northernmost
in the Fiji chain,
is Udu Point. From
the southeastern
side of this triangle,
a long peninsula
stretches out into
the Koro Sea. The
island is surrounded
by coral reefs,
and is rough and
hilly.
The
island is divided
horizontally by
a rugged mountain
range, which forms
much of the boundary
between the Provinces
of Cakaudrove and
Macuata.
Vanua
Levu's main mountain
ranges lie near
the windward, southern
coasts, making them
much wetter. Northern
Vanua Levu, by contrast,
is dry eight months
of the year, enabling
sugar cane, the
island's major crop,
to thrive there.
Vanua
Levu has a number
of rivers, including
the Labasa, the
Wailevu, and the
Qawa. These three
form a delta on
which the town of
Labasa stands.
The
Dutch navigator
Abel Tasman was
the first known
European to sight
Vanua Levu, in 1643.
He was followed
by Captain William
Bligh in 1789, en
route to Timor while
escaping from the
Mutiny on the Bounty,
in which his crew
had forced him and
those loyal to him
off deck and cast
them adrift in a
lifeboat.
Traders
began exploiting
sandalwood thickets
in the Bua Bay area
around 1805. By
1815, however, the
supply had been
depleted and apart
from the occasional
visit from whalers
and bêche-de-mer
traders, the island
received little
further attention
until 1840, when
a young sailor known
as Jackson deserted
his crew at Somosomo
on the nearby island
of Taveuni, was
adopted by a local
Chief, and explored
much of eastern
and northern Vanua
Levu.
Settlers
from Australia and
New Zealand established
coconut plantations
in the Savusavu
area in the 1860s.
Intermarriage with
Fijian people produced
a mixed-race elite,
which also prospered
from the sale of
copra, of which
Savusavu was a major
centre. In the same
period the town
of Labasa was founded
and now has become
a major sugar-producing
centre.
For
administrative purposes,
Vanua Levu is divided
into three Provinces
:
Bua (in the west),
Macuata (in the
north-east), and
Cakaudrove (in the
south-east).
These
three provinces
also comprise the
Northern Division
of Fiji. Together
with the remote
Lau Islands, Vanua
Levu and its outliers
form the Tovata
Confederacy, one
of three traditional
alliances of Fiji's
chiefs. The Paramount
Chief, who is based
on the nearby island
of Taveuni, holds
the title of Tui
Cakau.
Vanua
Levu offers a spectacular
coastline, pristine
barrier reefs, unexplored
mountain trails
and traditional
villages.
Enjoy
breathtaking views
from each bure overlooking
the spectacular
Great Sea Reef,
the third longest
continuous barrier
reef system in the
world.
Inside
this huge protected
north shore bay
are small islands
and shifting sand
and mangrove islets
waiting to be explored
by you.
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