Totoya, Lau Group

Totoya, Lau Group

Not much happened in the two weeks since I’ve written a post. Not until the 14th anyway, when I went to the Lau Islands. I was given the incredible opportunity to travel to Totoya Island by the Cook family, and of course I said yes. Normally a trip to Totoya, Moala, Matuku or any of the Islands in that area is costly, but this trip was free for immediate family of Islanders and for guests of that family.

Lau is a large group of Islands that stretch from Taveuni down southwest all the way to Kadavu (Kahn-dah-voo). As the map below shows, there are a lot of islands in Lau. Totoya Island is a large island located over 200 miles southeast of Suva, in the southern part of the Lau group.

The trip to Totoya was a quiet 14 hours. I met the crew early on in the trip and they invited me into the wheelhouse for a while. They all learned where I was from and what I was doing, in the typical friendly Fijian fashion. Sometime around 5 in the morning I woke up to head to the bathroom, stepped out on deck and there was Totoya, with Moala and Matuku in the distance. I remember just being stunned at the size of the Island. I had Google Image searched Totoya, but the pictures did a poor job of showing just how large the Island really is.

All one island

Totoya is a horseshoe shaped island, with a large cove in the middle. Its cove is easily bigger than Suva harbor, probably by a few times. The Island is comprised of mountains, dense forest, and white sand beaches that stretch for hundreds of yards at a time. The water is the bluest blue I have ever seen, so clean and hardly touched by man. In contrast to the size of Totoya, there is a small population. There are four villages on the entire island, all made up of less than 30 houses each. If I had to guess, there's probably less than 400 people living on the Island.

Entrance to the lagoon

As the boat entered the lagoon, I could clearly see the reef in the distance, which the boat steered clear of, staying in the deep water. Island people still firmly believe in the power of their Islands, and if legend is true, Totoya’s reef is not to be messed with. The reef stretches from Totoya all the way to Matuku, some 40 miles away, and is considered sacred by the Island people. According to legend, if you do not properly respect the reef while passing through it, the reef will send 3 waves as warning to your ship, and will push you away from the islands. As one man said to me, “If you throw rubbish in the water near the reef, you better watch out.” Good thing I don’t litter then. We didn’t actually pass through the reef on our route, but if we did, I imagine they would have told me to take off my sunglasses, as neither those nor hats are allowed when passing through, as a sign of respect to the Island.

The reef

As we arrived, we were greeted by a host of people, excited to see their families from Suva. As is normal, no one questioned why I was there, they just simply said “Bula, how was the trip?” The village we went to was called Tovu. Tovu is the second largest or largest village on Totoya, I'm not sure.

Tovu Village

We entered the village, I met and introduced myself to many villagers, and we sat down to lunch. I was starving and would’ve eaten anything, but the seafood spread presented to us was like heaven. Crab, parrotfish, cassava, and other delicious foods were prepared and they kept telling me to eat more, until I finally had to cut myself off. Lunch was complimented by delicious coconut juice straight out of the coconut.

Tourist photo (sorry)

After lunch we headed out on a boat to collect more coconuts for the village. Just like in most villages, the islanders spend their days collecting food and eating. There is an abundance of food both in the sea and on the land in Totoya. As commercial fishing is mostly banned, the only people to eat the seafood are the islanders themselves and the people who buy the fish back in Suva for very high prices. As the boat passed each beautiful beach I became more and more anxious to get in the water. The aquamarine color of the reef was stunning and the corals were huge, bigger than I thought was possible. We finally landed at beach after a half an hour or so, and the villagers went inland to collect coconuts while I spent a while taking pictures and swimming. I attempted to go inland, but didn’t make it very far before the mosquitoes attacked me. The water was warm but refreshing, and I swam for a while enjoying the clean, clear water. While there was no reef on this beach, there was still coral, and it hurt my feet. Regrettably I did not get the chance to swim in the reef while in Totoya.

The beach where we collected coconuts

There is a school in the village, and they receive funding from AGAP, an Australian aid group that has allocated some millions of dollars to help out remote places in Fiji. AGAP built a collection of new houses and a school, and sends clothes and supplies to Tovu throughout the year.

School children in their AGAP clothes

Much of my 2 days in Totoya was spent relaxing and eating, but I was never bored. I enjoyed the lack of cell reception, and could feel the power of the Island, whether it is due to Totoya being mostly untouched, or something else forgotten in the modern world. I am very thankful I got the chance to take this trip, and I hope that someday I can return to this island paradise.