Waitavala Water Slide

Waiyevo, Taveuni Island, Fiji

About Waitavala Water Slide


Hiking Distance: 5-6km round trip
Suggested Time: 2 hours

Date first visited: 2005-12-31
Date last visited: 2005-12-31

Waterfall Latitude: -16.79588
Waterfall Longitude: -179.99092

Waterfall Safety and Common Sense

The Waitavala Water Slide seems to be a very popular cascading series of small waterfalls that people like to use as water slides (as the name suggests).

On the day that I visited this waterfall on New Year’s Eve of 2005, it was raining so I was the only one at the falls.

Waitavala_Waterslide_020_12302005 - Waitavala Water Slide
Waitavala Water Slide

But this place was well-known and popular enough that the Garden Island Resort handed out photocopies of hand-drawn maps showing how to get to this cascade.

There was even a scene in the movie The Blue Lagoon where a young Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins were playing here.

Walking to Waitavala Water Slide

I ended up walking along the main road north of the Garden Island Resort in Waiyevo before turning inland on a local road.

During my walk, a local offered to give me a ride to the waterfall.

I know you’re not supposed to get in the car with strangers, but I took him up on his offer, and he was genuinely friendly as he did what he said he would do.

He even offered for me to have tea at his house after I was done visiting the Waitavala Water Slide.

Anyways, he shortened my walk considerably, especially taking the uphill part of the walk out of the excursion.

Waitavala_Waterslide_012_12302005 - Other parts of the Waitavala Water Slide
Other parts of the Waitavala Water Slide

That was real nice of him, and it saved me probably another 20-30 minutes.

As for the falls, I didn’t do much other than take photos from near the bottom.

Besides, I wasn’t the type of guy who’d be climbing up to the top and sliding down rocks even if the weather had been good.

Considerations at Waitavala Water Slide

Now I do have to warn that if you do plan on to partake in this activity, realize that many people ended up with bruised bums and tailbones. So you’re doing this at your own risk.

Also, I read that it’s not a good idea to bring any money or valuables if you’re getting wet because there have been known incidents of theft.

On the return, I followed a steep and slippery descending muddy road (I don’t see how any vehicle could’ve climbed this so I reckon it’s only for descending) past a village.

I encountered a lot of young local males who surrounded me and I wasn’t sure if I was going to be mugged or not, but they ended up being friendly.

I still contend that Fijians were amongst the friendliest people we had ever met in our travels.

This road eventually rejoined the main road (so I ended up ultimately doing a loop), and I believe the whole excursion took me around 90 minutes to do (including the help I got from the local).

Authorities

The Waitavala Water Slide resides on the island of Taveuni, Fiji. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, visit the official Fiji Tourism website.

Waitavala_Waterslide_001_12302005 - The trail leading to the water slide
Waitavala_Waterslide_003_12302005 - At the lower end of the water slide
Waitavala_Waterslide_016_12302005 - Another look at what seemed to be the main part of the cascades


Even though it’s possible to drive here, we stayed at the nearby Garden Island Resort in Waiyevo so I just hoofed it, and will describe how I walked to the Waitavala Water Slide.

First of all, I walked north on the main road from the resort for a few minutes. Following the map, I ended up turning right into an unsealed road near a bus stop. I then took another right at a fork in the road (by this time I was helped by the local), and then a left as the road approached the creek (the local dropped me off here just before the road briefly descended to the creek).

At this point, I saw a sign for the water slide and its trail nearby the creek. Then, I followed the muddy road beyond the creek, which circled back past a village and eventually returned to the main road in a loop (as mentioned above).

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Tagged with: waiyevo, garden island, resort, taveuni, northern division, fiji, waterfall, blue lagoon, water slide



Visitor Comments:

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

Bruised Bums and Tailbones (Waitavala Water Slide) October 10, 2008 3:18 am by Henry Gomez - It is one of the most beautiful places I have been to... Have to agree on the bruised bums and tailbones, I nearly broke my leg coming down the waterslide (I was told to lift my legs up after I went down and my leg got stuck in a hole)... Otherwise, very, very beautiful and… ...Read More

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Johnny Cheng

About Johnny Cheng

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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