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Taveuni, the Garden Island, is
Fiji's third largest island at 470
square kilometres and lies just
eight kilometres across the
Somosomo Strait from Natewa
Peninsula, Vanua Levu's
southeast tip.
This long, lush, coconut palm-
covered island was discovered by Abel
Tasman in 1643 and has in recent
years been rediscovered by those
who want a more 'natural' vacation.
Some 42 kilometres long and an
average of 11 kilometres in width,
Taveuni rises symmetrically on both
sides to a 1000 metre high volcanic
spine which attracts vast amounts
of rainfall on the southeast side and
reasonable quantities on the northwest
side. The island is entirely volcanic
in formation and its highest point is
Mount Uluiqalau at 1241 metres, the
second highest peak in Fiji. De Voeux
Peak (1195 metres) is the highest point
accessible by road.
High in the interior mountains is
beautiful Lake Tagimaucia, a 900 –
metre–high craterlake which provides
the township of Somosomo with
a good supply of fresh water via a
stream. A beautiful wild f lowering
plant named Tagimaucia grows only
on the shores of the lake from which
it takes its name. Legend has it that a
young woman f led from her father as
he wanted to force her to marry an
old man. As she lay crying beside the
lake, her tears turned to f lowers and
her father took pity on her and allowed
her to marry her young lover. Other
indigenous f loral species also thrive in
the rich volcanic soil.
Taveuni was formerly known as
Somosomo after its town of that
name on the west coast, also the site
of the residence of the ruling chiefs,
the village of Cakaudrove. The 180th
degree of longitude passes through
T A V E U N I
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