PHOTO GALLERY: Ovalau Island – Fiji

2015/05/06

Ovalau Island – Fiji

PHOTO GALLERY: Ovalau Island – Fiji

(see photos of Ovalau Island Fiji here)

Ovalau is a small, lush mountainous island in Fiji, just off the coast of Fiji’s main island of Viti Levu.

Although little known or visited, Ovalau is one of Fij’s historically most important islands. It was on Ovalau that Europeans established the small whaling port of Levuka, which became the nation of Fiji’s first capital city.

This is where Christian missionaries began converting Fijians to Christianity and where cannibalism was eventually eradicated. It’s the place of many intriguing tales of sailors, whalers, merchants, hoteliers and traders.

charming road side posts on photos of Ovalau Island Fiji

charming road side posts on Ovalau Island

The site of bloody battles and skirmishes between various Fiji clans and between Fijians and Europeans.

Today charming Levuka is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, full of quaint wooden colonial homes, shops, schools, public buildings and churches.

Ovalau Island consists of the jagged, jungle-clad crater rim of an extinct volcano that blew its top some centuries ago. The remaining random jagged peaks give Ovalau a dramatic topography.

Still little developed and lightly populated, Ovalau offers a single road that rims about 2/3 of the island, helping both residents and visitors get around.

Local pick-up truck taxis ply the road daily between scattered villages. Several buses run regularly between Fiji’s capital, Suva, and Levuka town. The trip entails taking a ferry between the main island of Viti Levu and Ovalau.

The island is rimmed by a large fringing coral reef, shallow waters and a few small beaches.

All in all, Ovalau is a charming place to visit for a few days or a couple weeks for anyone wanting a relaxing, unhurried vacation.

This photo gallery presents 24 images of beautiful Ovalau Island from my 1-week visit there in August, 2014. Please enjoy!

See photos of Ovalau Island here