Yadua was one of our stops during our multiple day passage across Fiji. It was such a lovely island that I decided it needed its own post. Yadua and Yadua Taba are located in the Bligh Waters situated between Viti Levu and Vanua Levu. It can be a treacherous journey getting through the Bligh waters as they seas can zip between these islands which strong currents. But in the right conditions, Yadua can be idealic. The smaller yellow mass is Yadua Taba.
We arrived late in the afternoon, dropped the hook and watched the gorgeous sunset behind the boat. The next day we spent exploring this amazing spot on land and sea. We are still experiencing the effects of the Super Blue Moon with excecssive high and low tides. So, we wait until mid-tide to get to shore.
High tide covers the beach in water and low tide doesn’t allow us to get the dinghy over the coral reef that lines the beach front.
There are 4 beaches in this bay along with a bazillion palm trees, some hills, and beautiful rock cliffs.
Expedition on Shore
We start out by exploring the beautiful sandy beaches inside this bay. The sand is soft and the beaches are clean.
But we want to see more so we decide to try to climb the hill to see the beaches on the east side. Of course we don’t find a trail to go up and over….(lower photo). We utilize tree roots to climb the rock face, then avoid slipping as we walk the ridge before we make a new trail to the other side. Seriously there has to be an easier way!
But the beaches on the other side are magnificent!
On the way back we see what looks like a “trail” up the hill. We decide that it can’t be more difficult than the one we came in on so we take it. And guess what? It is an actual trail that leads us directly to the other side. Jimeny Cricket!
Yadua Taba
Yadua Taba is a much smaller island located on the SW corner of Yadua. It is forbidden to go ashore on this little island and its surrounding reefs are wildlife sancutuary for one of the rarest and most beautiful lizzarsd called the Crested Iguana.
We took the dinghy over to the island with the hopes of seeing them sunning themselves on a log or the beach but they were very shy and hid well from us.
Yadua Taba is special for another reason in that it contains tropical dry forest vegetation, one of the most (if not the most) endangered vegetation types in the world!
We had to continue on with our journey across Fiji as we need to make tracks to Musket Cove.
Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind actual live events. This blog post occured in early October 2023. In our last blog post we traverse across Fiji.
