Wainibau Falls

Lavena Coastal Walk, Taveuni Island, Fiji

About Wainibau Falls


Hiking Distance: 10km round trip
Suggested Time: 5-6 hours

Date first visited: 2006-01-01
Date last visited: 2006-01-01

Waterfall Latitude: -16.86536
Waterfall Longitude: -179.90611

Waterfall Safety and Common Sense

Wainibau Falls (pronounced “wye-nim-BAU”) was a very beautiful waterfall at the end of the scenic 5km Lavena Coastal Walk, part of which is in the Bouma National Heritage Park.

It wasn’t particularly tall (I think it was like 10-15m or something), but I thought it was beautifully situated behind a calm and clear plunge pool.

Lavena_Coastal_Walk_008_12312005 - Wainibau Falls
Wainibau Falls

Further adding to its allure was that it was lying mysteriously behind a little gorge requiring a swim to get right up to the falls.

The Lavena Coastal Walk would’ve made for a rather long out-and-back hiking excursion.

However, at the suggestion of the locals in the Lavena village, we only had to do this as a one-way shuttle hike as they boated us to the Savulevu Yavonu Waterfall before dropping us off at the mouth of the Wainibau Stream.

So keep that in mind if you’re trying to budget how much time to plan for this excursion on your own trip.

Hiking to and playing at Wainibau Falls

From the boat drop-off point at the mouth of the Wainibau Stream, we walked about 1km upstream to Wainibau Falls.

Encouraged by the local guide, I joined him in a swim further upstream behind the narrow gorge walls towards the base of the waterfall.

Wainibau_Falls_001_scanned_12262005 - Wainibau Falls and a hidden companion
Wainibau Falls and a hidden companion

It was only here at the base of the falls that I noticed there was a second waterfall to the left of the main falls.

Without doing the swim, I don’t think there would’ve been a safe way to see it without getting wet.

So I guess it was more-or-less a reward for cooling off and venturing a little beyond the official trail.

The Hike back from Wainibau Falls along Lavena Coastal Walk

After we were done with the falls, we then did the full 5km walk along the eastern coastline of Taveuni Island.

For most of this stretch, we were being treated to gorgeous coastal views, beaches, and lagoons.

Along the way, we crossed over a swinging bridge beyond a village.

Lavena_Coastal_Walk_024_12312005 - Strange pedestal rocks seen along the Lavena Coastal Walk
Strange pedestal rocks seen along the Lavena Coastal Walk

I believe a sign here indicated that it was built with help from the Kiwis from New Zealand.

Among the coastal sights included some interesting rock formations (such as the Pedestal Rocks) where it was real easy to imagine shapes like mushrooms, little goblins, or other figments of the imagination thanks to the weathering of the ocean giving rise to rocks of unusual shapes.

Moreover, our guide also showed us some of the beach spots said to be where they filed The Blue Lagoon.

Having seen the movie, we could definitely tell they were indeed in Taveuni!

All in all, it took us a pretty solid 3 hours to go from where the boat dropped us off at the mouth of the Wainibau Stream, then to Wainibau Falls itself, and then finally return to the trailhead.

I’d imagine if you didn’t have the aid of the boat shuttle, then the overall walk would be around 10km round trip and would probably require somewhere close to 5 or 6 hours total.

Authorities

Wainibau Falls resides in the Bouma National Heritage Park on the island of Taveuni, Fiji. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, visit the official Fiji Tourism website.

Lavena_Coastal_Walk_007_jx_12312005 - Our guide Augustino and I swimming in front of Wainibau Falls
Lavena_Coastal_Walk_009_12312005 - Following our guide as we walked alongside Wainibau Stream
Lavena_Coastal_Walk_012_12312005 - Still on the forested trail
Lavena_Coastal_Walk_014_12312005 - Looking back along the coastline over a lagoon towards the mouth of Wainibau Stream
Lavena_Coastal_Walk_019_12312005 - Now we're at the border of Bouma National Heritage Park
Lavena_Coastal_Walk_026_12312005 - Vatuni'epa
Lavena_Coastal_Walk_031_12312005 - Looking back along the coastline as we got closer to Lavena Village
Lavena_Coastal_Walk_032_12312005 - An inviting beach where our guide said they filmed the Blue Lagoon
Lavena_Coastal_Walk_013_jx_12312005 - An inviting beach along the coastal walk


Lavena Village sits at the end of the unsealed main road in Eastern Taveuni. We self drove from the Garden Island Resort near Waiyevo to Lavena, which was about 44km. However, it is possible to save money and take the shuttle here, but doing so might end up compromising flexibility (like seeing Tavoro Waterfalls on the same day).

From the village of Lavena, that’s where you have the option of doing the long out-and-back all-day hike, or do what we did and see other waterfalls along the Ravilevu Coast while turning the Lavena Coastal Walk into a one-way shuttle hike.

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Tagged with: lavena, bouma, wainibau, blue lagoon, northern division, taveuni, ravilevu, fiji, waterfall



Visitor Comments:

Got something you'd like to share or say to keep the conversation going? Feel free to leave a comment below...

Lavena Coast and the Blue Lagoon June 13, 2009 4:15 am by John "Caveman" Gray - Bula Johnny, So you walked back to Lavena from the Falls? I don't want to duplicate. How far down the coast did you get? Did you seen Tino in Lavena village? This is one of my old haunts - love the area and I may actually live at the other end of the coast where… ...Read More
Wainibau Falls October 8, 2008 4:37 am by Chris Atherton - This was a great waterfall. After a fairly lengthy walk through the jungle on a hot day, we couldn't have asked for more... If anybody visits this waterfall, make sure you ask the locals to take you to the top of the waterfall... but remember, there's only one way back down... and that's to jump!… ...Read More

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Johnny Cheng is the founder of the World of Waterfalls and author of the award-winning A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls. Over the last 2 decades, he has visited thousands of waterfalls in over 40 countries around the world and nearly 40 states in the USA.
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