Explore: Fulaga (Vulaga)
General Info
This beautiful island consists of an oval rim of jungle-covered hills of raised coral, around a lagoon about 6 miles by 5 miles. There is one 50m-wide pass into the lagoon, straight but challenging and dangerous in bad weather or strong tides. Inside the lagoon are countless mushroom islets, and some larger islands.
The population of about 400 reside in three villages, one, Naivindamu, is on the western shore, inside the lagoon, and the other two outside, on the southern side.
Friendly locals and a flourishing traditional boat building community make a stop in Fulaga an interesting cultural experience.
Position 19° 07.24’S, 178° 32.30’W (pass entrance)
Docking
There are countless anchorages over white sand, usually <10m deep. At least one anchorage could be considered hurricane shelter.
Very rarely visited by yachts.
Fulaga has a unique way of dealing with cruisers – each boat is given a host family, and often the cruisers are invited to dine with their hosts. Fulaga does collect a fee from cruisers -$50 FJD – which is used to help to upgrade facilities on the whole island. This is in addition to the customary 1/2 kg of Kava for Sevusevu. See comment below.
A good account of some time spent in Fulaga in 2017 can be found here http://outchasingstars.com/2017/09/23/cultural-immersion-fulaga/
Last updated: August 2018
