Halfway between the main islands of Fiji to the west and Kingdom of Tonga is the Lau group, comprised mostly of small flecks in the sea. Due to their proximity to Tonga there is a strong Polynesian flavour to the islands. The south-east trade winds made it easy to sail from Tonga to Fiji, but much harder to return. Tongan influence is expressed in names, language, food, decoration, architecture and facial features.Vanuabalavu is the largest of the northern Lau islands and has an upmarket resort and an airstrip, and the nearest thing to a town is the village of Lomaloma which has a budget guesthouse. However, you can't just turn up to Vanuabalavu - you need permission from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Suva. The diving is excellent and package deals are available. There's also an upmarket resort on Kiabu island which shares a fringing reef with neighbouring Yacata island. Kiabu is a private island that caters for a maximum of six guests, and the activities it offers include wind surfing, sailing, trekking and caving.The southern Lau islands are dominated by Lakeba. This was a traditional meeting place between Tongans and Fijians, and it was frequently visited by Europeans before the trading settlement was established at Levuka. The island has several caves, including Oso Nabukete which translates as 'too narrow for pregnant women'. The provincial headquarters for the Lau group is in Tubou at the southern end of the island. There's a post office there, a hospital, telephone exchange and an inexpensive government guesthouse. The powerful Tongan chief Elene Ma'afu is buried here as is Fiji's favourite son Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna, the first Fijian to receive a university degree from overseas.

Levuka, on the island of Ovalau west of Viti Levu, was the capital of the country during the first period of British colonial rule, but due to the town's limited space (squeezed between the mountains and the sea) the capital was shifted to Suva in 1882. The town was the first European settlement in Fiji, with sandalwood traders settling there as early as 1806, and throughout the 1800s the town boomed as sailors and whalers called in, planters came and colonial administrators established themselves there. At its height there were 52 hotels along Beach St and it became a wild and lawless place.Today Levuka has slowed down an awful lot, but its colonial buildings are in remarkably good condition and it has the feeling of a Wild West tumbleweed town. The population is mostly of mixed Fijian and European descent. The PAFCO (Pacific Fishing Company) fishery employs 1000 people (about a third of the local working population). There are three large stones at the southern end of Beach St that mark the Cession Site where the dreaded deed with Britain was signed back in 1874, and along this waterfront promenade you come upon the Sacred Heart Church (1858), Marist Convent School (1891), the town hall (1898), and the Romanesque Masonic Lodge (1924), just to name a few. There's good diving and snorkelling in the area and bicycles are available for hire.Lovoni village, west of Levuka in the centre of Ovalau, is nestled within a spectacular extinct volcanic crater. Guided walks to the village from Levuka explore rainforest, a chief's burial site and the Korolevu Hill Fort.

Vanua Levu ('big land') is the second largest island of the Fijian archipelago and has the second largest population. It is relatively undeveloped and, except for around Savusava, has limited infrastructure and services. This is a good place to get an insight into the traditional Fijian way of life. Although this is a volcanic island, which means you'll be pushing it to find a beach to laze on, Vanua Levu has some excellent snorkelling and diving, kayaking and bird-watching. The island's remote, wild and rugged interior and indented coastline also make for some great hiking. There are interesting archaeological sites at Nabouwalu near Savusava and at Wasavula near Labasa.The Tunuloa Peninsula, also known as the Natewa or Cakaudrove Peninsula, is connected to the rest of Vanua Levu by a narrow isthmus which forms Natewa Bay to its west. It's a good area for bird-watching, hiking or exploring by local bus or 4WD. A gravel road extends along the peninsula until it terminates at Darigala at the north-eastern end, passing copra plantations, old villages and tracts of forest. Buca Bay, on the peninsula's eastern flank, is a popular ferry stop for travellers moving to and from nearby Taveuni island, but the rest of the peninsula gets relatively few visitors.South of Buca Bay is the village of Dakuniba where there are some petroglyphs inscribed in rocks close by. No-one really knows who made the inscriptions or what they mean. The small island of Rabi, past the peninsula's north-eastern point, is populated by Micronesians originally from Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati. The reefs and beaches around here offer wonderful swimming and snorkelling opportunities.