Wakaya, a Private Island

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Wakaya Island is a private Island.  Over the past 100 years it has been the location of a brutal war, sugarcane plantation, coffee plantation, and now an exclusive private resort.  

We left the island of Makogai and headed 20nm south toward Wakaya seeking protection from the wind.  

We did not think we would be able to come here as it is a private island.  However, I reached out to the general manager of the Wakaya Island Resort and Spa and she granted us permission to anchor in the bay.

Makogai and Wakaya both share the same figure 8 shape reef.  However, the only way to get from Makogai to Wakaya is to leave the reef, sail around the outside, and enter the reef again at the north pass of Wakaya lagoon.

The entire lagoon is a marine preserve.

Wakaya’s History

1937.  Over 800 warriors from neighboring Ovalu island successfully attacked Wakaya.  The men were murdered, the women enslaved, and the Chieftain leapt off the cliff to avoid torture and capture.  

1840.  The captain of Currency Lass arrived in Levuka on Ovalu and purchased Wakaya.  All of the inhabitants were removed and only a few plantation workers remained through 1971.

1860’s First site of sugar production in Fiji.  Became a financial failure as the island was too small to support a commercial sugar plantation even with a sugarcane mill.  

1940’s proposed home for the Banabans. The Fijians and the British could not agree on a price so, they bought Rabi as the relocation site. Wakaya remained as is. 

The Resort’s Creation

1973. David Gilmour purchased Wakaya for $600,000.  He developed the island, and built the resort,  Wakaya Club and Spa. 

Mr. Gilmour and partners spent over $13 million on building the resort, airport, freshwater reservoir, golf course, jetty, staff village, church, and school. 

Mr. Gilmour founded Fiji Water and was responsible for making the island a sustainable island and resort.

2016. Cyclone Winston destroyed most of the island.

In the same year, the resort was sold to the now-convicted Seagram’s heiress Clare Bronfman who owns most of the island. Cyclone Winston, one of the strongest cyclones on record, passed directly over Wakaya leaving much of the island in complete disarray.

Back to the Roots

In late 2016, Wakaya reclaimed its roots with a solemn vow to honor the original Chief’s wishes to protect the natural beauty of the island and embrace the heritage of the original islanders, ensuring their freedom and prosperity.

Today, Wakaya Island has seen many Fijian families grow and is home to one of Fiji’s most stunning examples of a luxurious retreat in the Southern Hemisphere: Wakaya Island Resort & Spa

In 2022, the American tourism marketing company, Pacific Storytelling, partnered with Wakaya Club & Spa Resort.

Wakaya Resort & Spa

The resort can host 36 people in its 10 bures and two large houses. 

However, there was only one couple staying on property during our initial visit.

The resort honored us with a tour of the grounds. What a huge privilege.  

Sonny, a staff member, greeted us with a fresh coconut and a flower. 

We walked passed the negative edge pool, marina, reception area, and pristine grounds.

Each building has incorporated Fijian culture. At every turn you will find hand-made designs from the ceilings, to the chandeliers, hand carved poles, and ancient artifacts. 

It is truly a beautiful blend of their ancestors and modern comfort.

We visit the organic garden which supplies 60% of the food to the resort. 

The other 40% of their food is shipped in from the mainland (which is shipped from other countries). 

Including apples, oranges and other things that can’t grow on island.

They have cows, pigs, chickens, and deer!  Yep, deer.  They are the only island in Fiji that has deer.

We felt so blessed to be able to see this resort. 

It was a once in a lifetime opportunity. 

We would never be able to afford to stay here. 

Rooms start at $2,500 per night and go up to $11,000 per night – that is USD!

Wakaya on No Foreign Land

Our blog posts run 6-8 weeks behind actual live events.  We were in Wakaya at the end of July 2025.

We share the success story of the island of Makogai in our last blog post.

The Successful Rebound of Makogai

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Despite it’s tragic past, Makogai has rebounded and created a successful island life.  Yes, the remains of the leper colony still exist.  However, the thriving community now harvests giant clams, queen bees, and turtles to relocate throughout Fiji.

Today the Dalice Bay is a site of the Department of Fisheries clam program.  After cyclone Winston, the island and its dive sites suffered tremendous damage. 

In the bay lives a caretaker of the fisheries, some workers and settlers from the main village, in total 7 families. 

The Fijian Government has opened a Government Mariculture Center and declared the island and its surrounding reefs a marine protected area.

One of the main projects of the Mariculture Center is the culturing of giant clams (Tridacna). 

These giant clams were once in abundance throughout Fiji waters.  However, due to overharvesting their numbers are low.

The Australian Government funded project has now transplanted thousands of clams in various parts of Fiji.

Unfortunately, the tanks are old and leaking.  The locals informed us that they plan to demolish the existing tanks to make room for brand new ones.

The Maricultural Center had a surprising number of tanks onshore.  At least 20 rectangle tanks and 8-10 round tanks.

Read about more detailed blog post on harvesting clams (scroll down toward the bottom of the post).

The workers ensure the infant clams have fresh salt water each day. 

After a few years, the locals transplant the clams from the tanks to the shallow waters of Dalice Bay.

The clams are repopulated to other reefs in Fiji once they are deemed large enough to fend for themselves.

There was one giant clam in the shallows.  It was probably 4′ across and 2.5′ deep.  It is next to a very large tractor tire (not a car tire).  

And there are tons of schools of fish who tickled me as I swam through them.

A Day at Makogai

We were blessed to acquire this huge stock of bananas!  This is a huge treat for us. 

We soak the stalk in salt water for 45-60 minutes to remove all of the critters.  Next, we hang a t-shirt over the stock of bananas to slow the ripening process.

The supply ship came in (really close to Sugar Shack) and loaded up the 1 vehicle on island and supplies.

We watched locals cut up 3 medium size clams for lunch. 

Could this be why there are so few giant clams left in Fijian waters?

The locals of Makogai are also harvesting queen bees. 

There are hundreds of bees flying around this area (but they did not come out in the photos).

Beautiful Pinnacle

We snorkeled on this giant pinnacle that had loads of soft corals, fans, and colorful fish. 

In addition, it had the largest clown school we’ve ever seen.  

Of course, they were all protecting their perspective soft coral. Darting in and out and surprising us with their noses.

I could watch these little fish all day!

Our blog posts run 6-8 weeks behind actual live events. We were in Makogai in late July 2025 with our friends Chris and Sarah on sv Sea Glub.

Did you read about Makogai’s heartbreaking history in our last blog post?

Makogai; The Pacific’s Only Leper Colony

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Makogai is a true example of Fiji’s astounding resilience and success.  This island is most well known for being the only leper colony in the Pacific.  And today it is a Maricultural Center saving Fiji Reefs by culturing Giant Clams.

Leper Colony

Makogai Island became the first and only leper colony in the Pacific.

The Makogai Leprosy Hospital, in Dalice Bay, was officially opened in November 1911 and closed in 1969.

The hospital started out with 40 lepers and grew to 700 in the 1950s. Over 4,000 patients landed on the island while the hospital was open.

Patients came from all of the British colonies of the Pacific as well as from various territories of New Zealand.

Patients who were not residing at the hospital were living in villages organized by ethnicity.  This allowed each community to keep their traditions and religious practices. 

The patients were expected to grow food, fish, graze cattle and do craft work.

The Results of Leprosy

The hospital effectively treated and sent home over 2,500 patients.

Around 500 were repatriated back to their homeland and the remaining 1,241 died due to the disease.

The cemetery spans across many acres.  Although, Mother Nature has reclaims a lot of the ground and gravesites.

Many are so overgrown that you can’t see the headstone. And yet most are not even accessible on foot due to the thick forest and overgrowth.

Fijian Sister, Maria Agnes Filomena lived on the island for 30 years as a worker and a patient.  Her grave along with hundreds of others are at the Makogai cemetery.

One of the locals returned to Makogai to place this beautiful plaque at his grandfather’s grave.

Unfair Practices

The leprosarium in Fiji was renowned internationally as a model of discipline and social peace. Despite its reputation, the leaders imposed a racial hierarchy on the island resulting in white people receiving more rations than non-white.

The Fijian government, which ran the leper colony, accepted patients from all over the Pacific.  They then charged the various governments fees to accommodate these non-Fijian patients .

Ancient Structures Still Standing

Cyclone Winston and time almost completely demolished the original leper colony structures. 

However, we discovered several key buildings still standing over 100 years later. 

The steps leading up to the hospital and the hospital toilets are still around.

Our guide pointed out the “new” hospital.  This hospital was built after the leper colony was shut down and before Cyclone Winston.

There is a lovely path from the “village” to the cemetery. 

As you travel down the path, you pass the old movie theater, prison, foundations for old dormitories, a small bridge, and the church gates.

Four dorm blocks believed to have been Chinese or Indian quarters are within walking distance from the hospital.

Movie Theater

The projector building and the pillars for the screen are still standing. 

Inside the projector building you will find the pedestals for the projectors, a film room, and the windows used to project the movies. 

It is really nice to know that they had some form of entertainment for the leper colony.

Prison / Jail

Believe it or not, they had a jail for the naughty patients.  Patients got in trouble for stealing rations and or invading the opposite sex campsite.

The prison was super hard to find because it is completely covered by vines, trees, and bushes from the road.  However, if you stand with your back to the theater (looking across the road and toward the beach) you can see the 1 palm tree that is growing right next to the jail.

These are shots taken from the forest (opposite side from the main path).

We bush whacked our way to the jail to capture these photos.

More Remnants

Makogai was the first island to have a telephone center. We did not find the telephone center ruins, but we did find (2) telephone poles.

We also found a water storage building, toilets, and another storage facility with a large headstone moniker (not a grave stone).

Where did they go?

Makogai was also the first island to have a post office and a coconut soap factory.  But we were not able to locate these buildings.

  • The first Pacific Post Office
  • First Telephone Center
  • A coconut soap factory (with a massive engine house, island store, and old bakery).  

However, nobody could point us to these sites.

Excellent video on the Leper Colony on Makogai!!!!

This was an interesting web page on Makogai’s leper colony.

Check out No Foreign Land

Our blog posts run 4-6 weeks behind actual live events.  We were in Makogai around mid-July 2025.

Did you read about Koro, the fertile island?