3 Best Sights in Vanua Levu, Fiji

The stretch of rough road from Savusavu east and then up the eastern coast of the Natewa Peninsula passes through pristine rain forests, presenting magnificent views from mountain ridges. Because bus service along this road is infrequent and rains and occasional flooding can make driving the mostly unpaved road difficult, the best way to see it is to negotiate with a taxi for a tour.

Savusavu-born Justin Hunter, whose father was American, studied marine biology and worked in the United States before returning to start this pearl farm in 2000. Oysters are carefully implanted with mussel tissue that forms the core of the future pearl. They are then attached to ropes dangling down into Savusavu Bay where they grow and, twice a year, are harvested. A tour of the farm begins with a presentation on the history of cultured pearls at the J. Hunter Pearls office. You can take a glass-bottom boat out to see the undersea farm and possibly go for a snorkel. During harvesting months, you can see the pearl implanting and harvesting process. The tour concludes in the company's large showroom, where gold, black, and a variety of pastel-hued pearls are for sale.

One of Fiji's most diverse rain forests, this 300-acre reserve is rich in spectacular mountaintop vistas, bird species, and exquisite trees, flowers, and plants, including those used in traditional medicines. Waisali contains a population of the endangered Fiji ground frog (Platymantis vitianus), which was once thought to have become extinct thanks to sugarcane development during the colonial period. Happily, scientists have found them in Waisali along with other populations considered important. Most of the forest in the reserve is intact and undisturbed, although a short walking trail from the entrance culminates in a pretty waterfall.