Of all the anchorages in Eastern Fiji, this one is probably the most mandatory, not just for the beautiful bay, but as a base for access to the Rainbow Reef and Taveuni. As you can guess, you may end up here a week or three.
Once you make your way through one of the passes into the bay, you can go to the east side or the west side. Most people anchor on the east side, and I will warn there are lots of annoying bombies, not the kind you hit but the kind that can make anchoring more difficult (and make that dragging chain noise when your boat turns). In any case, it’s worth dealing with the coral-ridden bottom because it’s such a beautiful and special place. Normally a local man named Jack would run excursions for the boaters, but it seems he may be gone.
Update 2018: Well, all things must come to an end, and it seems the era of Jack might be over (we’ve left up our previous description of this anchorage below if you’re curious about Jack). We don’t know the story, whether he’ll be back and if so, whether he’ll be running any more of his excursions (we think most likely not). The good news is that Dive Academy Fiji, a boutique eco-resort, is now here and has taken over the things Jack used to do: diving and snorkeling excursions to the Rainbow Reef, dives on the White Wall, spearfishing and beach BBQ’s, hiking tours, cultural tours, transit to Taveuni, and the ever-important Fijian Lovo Nights. On top of this they offer PADI dive courses, waste disposal, fresh water, and even a restaurant. Coming soon, there will be a beach bar with happy hour. The owners seem like a nice couple, very yachtie friendly, and some of these things will be wonderful additions to Viani Bay.
But there is a downside in that the excursions will now have resort prices, and so the days of the $10 per person trips to the Rainbow Reef are over (although if you have a good dinghy and outboard you can always head out to explore some of it yourself). Also lost will be some the the camaraderie among the cruisers as they had to team up to make these excursions happen (see the original description below if you’re curious as to how this all worked).
Anyway, there will be gains (like the restaurant and beach bar) to offset the loses, but it’s a shame that the Rainbow Reef is suddenly much less affordable. C’est la vie.
Our original description of Viani Bay valid to 2017: Welcome to summer camp! Your fellow boaters will be your camp buddies, and Jack will be your camp counselor.
There’s no actual village here, but a guy named Jack lives here and has made a business out of running things for the cruisers. He’s from the area, but he’s lived in western Fiji, has worked in the tourism business and has his captain’s license. You don’t do a sevusevu here, but you will want to take part in one of lovos (a Fijian feast) he throws when there are enough people in the anchorage. Jack will also take you out snorkeling and run the volunteer boat (from one of the cruisers) to go to Taveuni or diving on the Rainbow Reef (see excursions). He charges small fees for his services and lovos. When we were there, pretty much everything cost about 10fd per person.
You can call Jack on channel 16 if his radio is working, or on his phone (see Soggy Paws). Generally what happens is you’ll come into the anchorage and you’ll hear the goings on and plans for excursions on the radio. Hopefully they’ll be a thoughtful group who will invite the new people to whatever’s happening. When our group came in, we’d be listening to the goings on with the boats there who had bonded and never invited any new people. That’s OK though, because they soon left and the latest arrivals of about 8 or so boats was now the in-and happening-group making all the plans, and, ahem, inviting the new people when they’d wander in.
By the way, the more the season goes on, the fewer people are in Viani Bay. If you want a group you probably want to be there in late June or July. (No Sevusevu)
Below is a list of our Viani Bay posts in chronological order:
Motoring to Viani Bay
Thar They Blows
Viani Bay
Viani Bay 6 Pictures
A Dinghy Ride in Viani Bay
Viani Bay Morning
Learning to Dive in Viani Bay
Summer Camp Living in Viani Bay
Party on the Beach! Our First Fijian Lovo
Viani Bay Feast
Thunderstorm in Viani Bay
Diving and Snorkeling on the Rainbow Reef
Outing to Taveuni Island Part One
Outing to Taveuni Island Part Two: The Waitavala Waterslide
Random Reflections
Random Reflections, Part II
Surprise Squall
Diving the Great White Wall on the Rainbow Reef
Viani Bay Favorites
Good-Bye Viani Bay
Where’s Viani Bay?
a. Rainbow Reef Excursions: The Rainbow Reef is one of the top snorkeling and diving locations in Fiji. It’s most famous for a dive called the White Wall, but there is also the Purple Wall, the Cabbage Patch, and the Fish Factory among others. Know that you can only dive the White Wall a couple of times a month so you have to time your visit accordingly if you plan to go.
There are a couple of dive operations on Taveuni, and if you call and make a booking, they’ll come out to Viani Bay with whatever equipment you need and pick you up. As of 2018, there’s a resort actually in Viani Bay called Dive Academy Fiji so that’s probably the best option.
Below is a list of our Rainbow Reef dive posts (all done from Viani Bay):
The Cabbage Patch
The Fish Factory
Diving the White Wall
b. Taveuni Excursions: There are a few reasons to go to the nearby island of Taveuni from Viani. One is to anchor off the town of Somosomo to restock groceries and supplies. Another is to experience the Waitavala Sliding Rocks, one of the best sights on Taveuni island. You have the option to take a cab there from Somosomo (it’s not far). We haven’t anchored by Somosomo ourselves but have seen many cruisers do so.
There is another reported anchorage near Garden Island Resort, which is near small shops and within walking distance of the Waitavala Sliding Rocks. We hear the holding is better in Somosomo, but we don’t know for sure.
A wonderful thing to do is to visit waterfalls at Bouma National Park. Unfortunately the man who arranged excursions here from Viani Bay is no longer around, and we don’t know if the Dive Academy Fiji resort will take over arranging trips here or not. Below, posts about our own visit to Bouma National Park from an anchorage at the northeast tip of Taveuni.
Trip to Bouma National Park
Walk to the Lower Tavoro Falls
Hike to the Lookout Pavilion in Bouma National Park
Hike to Middle Tavoro Waterfall in Bouma National Park
Swimming at the Lower Tavoro Waterfall
