V I T I GROUP. 



201 



passed on either side, but it is better to keep to the westward of it 

 with plenty of sea-room. The Mokungai Passage is 2J miles wide ; 

 the west side is formed by the acute angle of the Ovalu or Passage 

 Island Reef, with that of the great Nemena Reef. The former reef 

 runs to the west-northwest, towards the Island of Ovalu, which is 7 

 miles distant, while that of the Nemena makes a bold sweep to the 

 northward and westward and then to the eastward towards that island : 

 these reefs are both visible for a long distance. The course through 

 Mokungai Passage is northeast-by-north ; the tides set through it north 

 and south. 



OVALU OR PASSAGE ISLAND AND KEEFS. 



Ovalu is a small rocky island, situated within the acute angle 

 formed by the Passage Island and Nemena Reefs : it is half a mile 

 long, and has but a few trees and bushes on it. Under its lee or 

 western side there is anchorage for a small vessel ; several breaks 

 through the reef at or near the island afford passages for vessels, and 

 if desirable a vessel may pass through them, and to leeward of the 

 bend of the Nemena Reef, which divides the Sea of Viti from that of 

 Goro, pursuing a direct course (north) for Buia Point. It requires care 

 to avoid the sunken patches, that make oif from the Vanua Levu 

 shore to the distance of 9 or 10 miles. The clear space between 

 these patches and the main reef is about 4 miles wide ; the former 

 are visible from the masthead, and with a good lookout may be easily 

 avoided. The advantage of this route over that to windward or east- 

 ward of the Nemena Reef, when bound for the Island of Vanua Levu, 

 is that a vessel is not dependent upon the tide to pass through the 

 Mokungai and Buia Passages, which at times runs with great velocity. 

 If a vessel should not have sufficient wind to command her move- 

 ments, she would be very much at the mercy of the tide, and cause 

 her some danger by carrying her very near the reefs. The Nemena 

 Reef makes a circuit of 40 miles, and then encircles that island in the 

 form of a loop, joining the main reef again, 6 miles from its eastern 

 termination. 



NEMENA ISLAND. 



The Island of Nemena is 310 feet in height, and is well wooded. 

 Its length is one mile, by one-third of a mile wide. It has anchorage 



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