Fiji Islands - Visiting Fiji - History - Fijian Phrases

The Fiji Islands

Nananu-I-Ra Island lies off the northernmost tip of the main island of Viti Levu and is within the Ra Province, with the closest township being Rakiraki.

Fiji lies between 15º and 22º south of the equator, just west of the International Dateline, making Fiji the place in the world where each new day starts, 12 hours ahead of Greenwich Military Time.

The Fiji group is made up of over 300 islands, of which only one third are inhabited. The two main islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, are volcanic in origin, while the rest of the islands vary greatly in size and are largely coral or limestone.

The islands of Fiji are home to many different people, predominately Fijian, Indian, with part - European, Chinese and other Pacific Islanders in small numbers. At the last census of 1996, Fiji's population was approximately 775,077.

Cooler, dry weather prevails during fall and winter - May to October, and the warm damp season of spring and summer exist November to April. Rainfall can be abundant, especially over larger islands like our Viti Levu. We get a sprinkle of a sunshower almost every afternoon for @ 5 minutes in summer. The average ambient air temperature during spring/summer is 85-95oF, while fall/winter is 80-90oF. The average water temperature at the surface is 88oF in summer/fall and 85oF during winter/spring.

The first Fijians arrived many centuries ago, landing at Viseisei Village in the western area of Viti Levu. They came on druas, the large double-hulled sailing canoes (outriggers) which are still in use in many outer islands, especially Lau. Crystal Divers has a Lauan canoe, Dan had it built, it took over one year to hand tool everything and sew the two sails. We've named it Dakori after Dan's two children, Dakota and Cory.