Mamanucas & Yasawas Islands
The Mamanucas are a fabulous group of 20 volcanic islands with around 7 of them under water at high tide. Some are tiny, others not so tiny, scattered hither and thither amongst exotic, clear, clean reefs that are home to pelagic and reef fish attracted by nutrients swept in by strong currents.
These islands will offer you more sun than you can probably cope with, one of the reasons why they were selected to host the reality shows, ”The Resort” and “Treasure Island” plus enough activities that will have you looking for a holiday to get over the holiday. In the early days of tourism, and still today, this group was famous for catering to day trippers.
The Mamanucas were the trailblazer in resort tourism in Fiji and it’s not hard to work out why. Relatively close to the mainland and Nadi international airport, and closer now that they are serviced by high-speed catamarans, the great tropical weather combined with all the fabulous bounty that nature has endowed on them, makes for a ‘perfect holiday in a tropical paradise theme’. The Mamanucas are picture post card stuff with no touch-ups. What you see is what you get!
Come lovers, come families, come backpackers, party animals, divers, surfers, day trippers, come one, come all.
Here you will find resorts galore and come as close to a Club Med in the Pacific than anywhere else in Fiji. The group is known for fun and frolicking and a list of activities that will leave the most intrepid travelers gasping for breathe.
How bout this for the “be all end all” range of activities. Diving and boat snorkeling, sea kayaking, surfing, jet skiing, parasailing, windsurfing, island trekking & beachcombing, ocean swimming, dolphin watching, sailing, sunset cruises, onsite water activities such as paddle boarding & banana boat rides, romantic beach picnics, cultural village tours, spa treatments, weddings & honeymoons. Whew - gimmee a break guys!!
The Mamanucas is also home to world renowned dive sites such as The Big W frequented by a resident bronze whale shark and 70 metre drop-offs. Gotham City so named for its batfish and abundance of soft corals and schools of fish in the thousands. West of Mana Island is the Supermarket where shark feeding is the order of the day and the Circus for its prevalence of clown fish and Eagle Mana Reef where eagle rays make intermittent appearances.
The Yasawas are a chain of islands linked together geographically, historically and culturally. Consisting of seven main islands and numerous smaller islets north-west of Lautoka they stretch in a north-easterly direction for more than eighty kilometers and are separated by narrow expanses of what is known as Bligh Water.
The Yasawas are a paradise for not only cruisers, yachties, divers, packpackers and of course the Fijian inhabitants, but also those who are looking for an exclusive retreat and total anonymity from the pressures of fame and fortune. Almost every Yasawa Island has its own fabulous beach especially around Blue Lagoon (more on that shortly) between Tavewa and Nanuya Lailai.
The larger islands of the group are Waya Island, the highest in the group, Tavewa Island, renowned for its natural beauty, Turtle Island, an exotic and exclusive recluse for the rich and famous, Sawa-i-Lau Island with its limestone cave, Nanuya Levu, home of yet another exclusive honeymoon resort, Naviti Island the largest of the Yasawas and Viwa, the most remote of the sister islands.
The Yasawas wasn’t always tourism orientated. Until 1987 it was the policy of the then government that the Yasawa Group was closed to land-based tourism and was restricted to cruise operations with passengers unable to leave the ships up until the 1950s. Due to its freehold real-estate status it wasn’t long before small budget resorts commenced operations.
The lifestyle for the locals over generations has been subsistence based however with the advent of tourism into the group, local entrepreneurs diversified and now the Yasawas are dotted with small resorts and backpackers.
