Things to Do: Vuna Village, Taveuni Island, Fiji

Reached via a scenic route that passes vast forests of palm trees with "sunburned" red trunks, Vuna Village is known for its tapa bark cloth and woven mats. The women work hard to prepare the pandanus leaves by boiling them, stripping them with shells to remove thorny edges, then drying the leaves on racks for days until they are dry enough to weave into beautifully handcrafted mats. (Bark from the paper nulberry tree is used to make tapa. The tree is uncommon throughout Fiji except for a few select regions.) Two natural swimming pools are found here—one for men, one for women.



This video shows the kava root presentation to the Chief: