|
Malolo Islands
Mamanuca Group
Fiji Islands
back to fiji travel guide
|
mamanuca pictures map |
Plantation Island Resort
Lomani Resort
Musket Cove Resort
Funky Fish Resort
Malolo Island Resort
Likuliku Lagoon
Castaway Island
Mana Island Resort.
Matamanoa Island Resort
Tokoriki Island Resort
Malolo Islands - Mamanuca Group
Twenty kilometres from Nadi, the coral cays give way to the larger volcanic islands of the Malolo Group. The four main islands of this group have sweeping white sandy beaches backed by coconut palms and rolling hills covered in long grass with patches of pine and casuarinas forests. For most of the year, the hills are sun burnt and susceptible to fires but after the summer storms between January and April the islands turn a lush carpet of green. Malolo Lailai along with its larger sister Malolo form the heart of the entire Mamanuca Islands tourism experience with eight beach resorts between them, a marina and the chiefly village of Yaro. Along with beautiful Qalito off the western tip of Malolo, these islands form a cluster protected to the south by the stunning Malolo Barrier Reef. Surfing in the passages is a fifteen minute boat ride away and advanced scuba divers will enjoy the challenging wall dives on the outer edges of the reef. Six kilometres to the northwest of Malolo is
Mana
Island
, with the largest resort in the Mamanucas and several backpacker hang-outs.
Malolo Lailai
The 553 acre Malolo Lai Lai is the third largest of the Mamanuca islands with several peaks rising to sixty metres. A soft sand beach backed by coconut palms encircles most of the island making it ideal for beachcombing. The island has three beach resorts, a growing number of palatial holiday homes built in the hills holiday homes, and a pitch and putt nine hole golf course. There are walking tracks along the ridges connecting the protected west side of the island to the more exposed and secluded beaches on the east side of the island where the lagoon is deeper and better for snorkelling but without life guard.
During the peak sailing season between May and October,
Malolo
Bay
, between Malolo Lailai and Malolo, is transformed into a picturesque vision of bobbing yachts. Musket Cove Marina (RT channel 68) has twenty seven swing moorings in the bay for yachts up to thirty tonnes and fifteen berths. It also has a general boat mechanic but there is no dry dock or boat repair facility here. Musket Cove Trader Store on the south side of the marina adjacent to the dive shop at Musket Cove Resort, stocks a good selection of groceries and plenty of yachting accessories. You can also buy meat and fish packs here and wander over to Ratu Nemani Island Bar on the point overlooking
Malolo
Bay
to cook on the BBQs supplied, watch the sunset and listen to local musicians. Ketches, sloops, catamarans and luxury thirty metre motor yachts are available for day charters, overnight trips and month- long excursions of
Fiji
.
Malolo
Malolo is the largest island of the group. The lagoon around most of Malolo is tidal and very shallow with coral reefs having been extensively damaged by the villagers from moored boats and trampling feet whilst fishing. Although not practical for swimming or snorkelling, the shallow lagoon is great for kite surfing, especially off Funky Fish Resort on the south coast which picks up the south- easterly trade winds creating almost perfect conditions between May and October, although guests must bring their own equipment.
The main beauty of Malolo lies inland. There are several walking tracks around the island, mostly ancient paths used by the villagers to get to their plantations and between the villages, but also ascending the 216 metre high summit, Uluisolo, which has fabulous views of the Mamanucas and southern Yasawas.
Qalito
This steep rocky island, with a fine white sandy point and beautiful beach fronting Castaway Island Resort, has one of the nicest walking trails in the Mamanucas with the chance of spotting endemic silk tails or the elusive crested iguana. The trail head starts at the back of the resort and climbs a quite steep and narrow path for five minutes before leveling out and meandering through light forest. As soon as the trail emerges from the forest on the east side of the island, you’re graced with wonderful views overlooking the small uninhabited
Mociu
Island
and beyond to Mana and the outer Mamanucas.
Mana
Physically, Mana is one of the most interesting islands in the group to explore. Flanked by sweeping white sandy beaches, this 569 acre island has several hilly peaks with outstanding views of the surrounding islands to the west, with sunset providing spectacular vistas silhouetting the distant high islands of Matamanoa and Modriki.
Mana’s main beach stretches along its southern side between the Mana Island Resort on the western side and the new village with its four backpacker hostels on the eastern side.
The sheltered south beach in front of the resort is usually busy with guests participating in all sorts of water activities. The lagoon offshore has copious amounts of seaweed though, but swim fifty metres out and you’ll reach a nice drop- off with great visibility for snorkelling, coral heads teaming with fish and the chance to spot the occasional sea- turtle. Past the rocks enclosing either side of the main beach are fine stretches of secluded sand. It’s possible to walk around the entire island in about two hours, mostly along the beachfront. The north beach has the islands best snorkelling with a steep drop- off just fifty metres from shore.
The reefs surrounding Mana have some exceptional scuba diving sites for beginners and intermediates. The most raved about dive site is Supermarket with regular shark encounters from white tips to grey’s as well as a drift dive along a wall with an abundance of lionfish and moray eels. Other sites include diving amongst batfish at
Gotham
City
and drifting along a wall with massive fans and turtles at Barrel Head.
Between five and twenty kilometres north of Mana, two mini groups of striking islands rise out of the ocean in breathtaking splendour. These
Outer
Mamanuca
Islands
are beyond the mass market fast catamaran route from Port Denarau and life out here seems simpler and more placid. Only two of the islands have resorts, Matamanoa and Tokoriki, and there are traditional fishing villages on Tavua and Yanuya. Otherwise, the islands are completely uninhabited - Modriki and its equally stunning neighbour Monu were made famous in the 2001 film Castaway starring Tom Hanks. The remote
Sacred
Islands
, reputed as the first Fijian island settled by the indigenous people, make popular anchorages for sailing yachts and overnight cruises.
Matamanoa
These two islands are in stark contrast to one another. Uninhabited Matamanoa is a rocky island covered in thick forest with a gorgeous deep beach on its eastern side where the Matamanoa Island Resort is located. A steep trail from the resort, starting behind the tennis court, winds its way up the rock face and opens out at the summit where several huge boulders seem to balance precariously at the top. It’s easy to scale these boulders for one of the most impressive views in
Fiji
- a 360 degree panorama with small islands in all directions. If you come in the evening or early morning, there’s a good chance of spotting fruit bats and doves which feed in the forests. Bird Rock, off the southern coast of
Matamanoa
, teems with sea birds, mostly noddies, terns and frigates which can usually be seen flying around the island or fishing in the surrounding reef. To the north is the Yasawa chain of islands with the outline of
Viti Levu
in the east.
Tokoriki
Surrounded by a fringing reef, hilly Tokoriki has two resorts either side of a rocky outcrop dividing a long stretch of beach on the west side of the island. Over the past ten years, the fine white sand has gradually thinned and in places has started to expose the underlying bedrock. But what’s more worrying is a thick blanket of seaweed washed ashore on certain winds giving a rather pungent smell. Locals believe this is happening as a result of no hurricanes hitting the islands for the past twenty years. The hope is that when one eventually does, the sand in the outer lagoon will be washed in once again and the seaweed will be flushed out. Despite this inconvenience, the two resorts are amongst the finest in the group, each with a unique personality. There are several vehicle tracks from Amunuca Island Resort weaving around the east side of the island which provide easy walking and great views along the way. From Tokoriki Island Resort, a steep path leads up to a telecommunication aerial and from there, several paths weave along the grassy ridges with lovely panoramic views of the
Sacred
Islands
and Vomo. Snorkelling is excellent about two hundred metres from the beach at both resorts where a passage and fringing reef wall is free of seaweed and attracts coral growth and the accompanying reef fish. There are several interesting dive sites around Tokoriki, with gorgonian sea fans featuring prominently at
Sherwood Forest
along with a fine selection of soft corals, nudibranchs and anemones.
Tokoriki is owned by the people of neighbouring Yanuya, a long thin island with several knolls. The village lies on a narrow flat strip of land with beaches along both sides and is renowned for its pottery making.
Monu and Modriki
Off the west side of Tokoriki are the striking humpy islands of Monu and Modriki, the later known also as Monuriki, peering down on the rest of their neighbours. With steep craggy rock faces and thick forests, its difficult to explore these islands but with a guide its possible to reach the summit of the long flat rock face of Modriki from where Tom Hanks, in the film Castaway, peered out and saw nothing but ocean - in reality you can see six islands directly infront of you to the east, the five Sacred Islands and the southern Yasawas to the north, as well as most islands in the Mamanucas with Viti Levu on the distant horizon. The beaches on the eastern side of both islands are drop dead gorgeous with fine white sand piled deep on a point backed by tall palm trees. You can visit on a day tour from either resort, or on the daily Seaspray sailing cruise from
Mana
Island
which also comes ashore at neighbouring
Nanuya
Village
for a traditional kava ceremony and village craft market.
Sacred
Islands
Narokorokoyawa, or the
Sacred
Islands
, offer protected bays and deep anchorage. Between May and September a handful of yachts are usually anchored in the bay, enjoying the solitude, and apart from the weekly visit by Captain Cook Cruises, few other people venture this way except the occasional television crew which over the years has filmed four different Survivor series here. The reef alongside the picturesque two hundred metre sand spit on
Vanua Levu
has fantastic snorkelling with extensive coral gardens but the beach is difficult to land on. Neighbouring Navadra has better landing and a deep swimming beach.
Mamanuca Resorts Listings
Fiji Tour Companies
Readers may also be interested in the following destinations:
Cook Islands Travel Guide
Samoa Travel Guide
Tonga Travel Guide
Tahiti Travel Guide
Hawaii Travel Guide
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
