312 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 195 4 



By the end of August we were again in Suva, planning for the final 

 months of our visit, to be spent on Viti Levu. September and October 

 are normally the driest months in Fiji, although on the windward 

 (southeastern) slopes there is no real dry season. However, this was 

 the best time to approach my main objective, the Korombasambasanga 

 Range, and on September 7 we were on our way inland from Navua, 

 at the mouth of the Navua River, near the middle of the south coast of 

 Viti Levu. Collecting equipment and supplies for a projected stay of 

 2 or 3 months were taken inland. The first day of the journey was up 

 the Navua River, utilizing three punts, pointed, flat-bottomed boats 

 about 20 feet long which are well adapted for the rapids of the lower 

 Navua. Six or seven strong and capable Fijian boatmen handle each 

 punt, this specialized task being performed by men of certain upriver 

 villages, who seem to have a monopoly on this form of river transpor- 

 tation. Ascending the rapids of the Navua gorges, one passes through 

 some of the most scenic surroundings in Fiji, the river being flanked by 

 steep forested banks and sharp cliffs, over which waterfalls plunge 

 into the swift stream. For the most part there is no possible place 

 where passengers can walk in order to lighten the punts, and the in- 

 credible boatmen, poling in unison, take their loads through the rapids 

 a foot at a time, by sheer force. 



Where the Navua River is joined by a smaller affluent, the Waini- 

 koroiluva, is situated the village of Namuamua. This being the head 

 of "navigation," the rest of our trip was made on foot, the baggage 

 being carried by 13 horses, each with an attendant. The trail up 

 the Wainikoroiluva valley is so rough that in places each horse has 

 to be led or guided. For this part of the trip we took 2 days, reaching 

 our destination, the little village of Wainimakutu, on September 9. 

 The whole region is extremely beautiful, the river winding among 

 sharp, steep hills and towering crags. The trail, if so it can be called, 

 in general follows the stream bed and is passable only during the dry 

 season. Between December and April, I was told, the people of the 

 Wainokoroiluva valley are effectively isolated in the vicinity of their 

 villages. 



Wainimakutu is the "last" village in Namosi Province, situated in 

 the valley of the little Wainavindrau Creek, which drains the western 

 slopes of the Korombasambasanga Range. We could not have had 

 a better headquarters for this phase of my work, as the spectacular 

 group of cockscomb peaks rises near at hand above the village. The 

 highest of them, Vuimasia, at 3,948 feet, is the second highest point 

 of Viti Levu. The peaks of Korombasambasanga are massive col- 

 umns of rock, ringed by precipices and divided by dark chasms. The 

 steep and silent rain forest covers all but the sharpest slopes and cliffs. 

 Such peaks are the denuded plugs of hard andesitic lava, remaining 

 after the crater rims of the old volcanoes crumbled and eroded away. 



