A Side Trip Back in Time to Levuka
You might think you've slipped into The Twilight Zone as you stroll down historic Beach Street in Levuka, Fiji's first capital, on the ruggedly beautiful island of Ovalau. Everything in Levuka seems to be frozen at 1882, when the colonial administration moved to Suva: ramshackle dry-goods stores with false fronts, clapboard houses with tin roofs to keep dry, and shaded verandas to keep cool, and round clocks in the baroque tower of Sacred Heart Catholic Church.
The 360m (1,200-ft.) walls of basalt create a soaring backdrop to the town and put Ovalau in the big leagues of dramatic tropical beauty. The island has very little flat land and no decent beach, however, so it has not attracted resort or hotel development and is off the well-beaten tourist track.
Air Fiji (tel. 877/247-3454 in the U.S., 331 3666 in Suva, or 672 2251 in Nadi; www.airfiji.net) has an early morning flight from Nausori airport to Ovalau and a late afternoon flight back to Nausori. The round-trip fare is about F$155 (US$93). Rainy weather or delays can cause the late afternoon flight to be canceled, so bring your toothbrush just in case.
Begin your tour at the Levuka Community Centre (tel. 344 0356), where you can get information. It and the local library occupy the quaint old Morris Hedstrom store built by Levukans Percy Morris and Maynard Hedstrom in 1878. More importantly, check in next door with the German-operated Ovalau Watersports (tel. 344 0611; www.owlfiji.com), which in addition to offering snorkeling tours and scuba diving (there are some terrific sites nearby, including a wreck in the harbor), arranges hiking excursions and island tours. I highly recommend a walking tour of town.
A waterside park at Nasova village, south of town past a smelly tuna cannery, commemorates Chief Cakobau's ceding Fiji to Great Britain in 1874. To the north, a British warship showed the Fijians how much firepower it packed in 1849 by shelling a headland known as Gun Rock. In between are many historic buildings, including Levuka Public School, founded in 1879 and still one of Fiji's best educational institutions, and the Ovalau Club, scene of after-work libation.
Don't miss the Royal Hotel (tel. 344 0024; www.royallevuka.com), built in 1852 and "modernized" in the 1890s. Rooms in the old building are extremely basic, but the Royal has modern cottages out front. Rooms cost F$35-F$60 (US$21-US$36) double, while cottages go for F$80-F$115 (US$48-US$69).
The town's best digs are the four rooms in John and Marilyn Milesi's Levuka Homestay (tel. 344 0777; www.levukahomestay.com), which enjoys a marvelous view over the town. Rates are F$140 (US$84) double, including full breakfast. If you don't stay at the Royal Hotel, backpackers head for Mary's Holiday Lodge (tel. 344-0013), on Beach Street, where 13 simple rooms cost F$35 (US$21) double; 20 dorm beds, F$15 (US$9) each, including breakfast.
You get a decent meal at the inexpensive Whale's Tale Restaurant (tel. 344 0235), in one of Beach Street's old stores. Ovalau Watersports shares space with Cafe Levuka, where you can get a cup of coffee and check your e-mail. Westpac Bank has an ATM. For advance information, go to www.levukafiji.com.
