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Geography, Weather, & Wildlife of Fiji

Geography

Fiji consists of over 800 Melanesian islands, of which over 100 are inhabited, including a couple that are among the largest islands in the South Pacific. These two largest islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, are both volcanic in origin as are many other Fijian islands.

This volcanic origin of these islands makes the soil fertile as the landscape is quite mountainous and rugged. The lands are fairly green and forested as there are some rivers rushing down from the mountains in the interior of the larger islands. Among these mountains, which are more highlands than mountains, the highest point is Mt. Tomanivi (4,300 feet (1,300 meters)), which is on the largest Fijian island of Viti Levu.

The earliest settlers to Fiji arrived from Melanesia to the northwest as they likely moved from island to island to the southeast. However, today the people consist of various ethnic groups, partially due to the ocean currents that run from the northeast to the southwest. The islands lie on a very strong current and many settlers have arrived from the northeast and the region of Polynesia. However, these ocean currents aren't enough to attract regular visitors so over time the people on Fiji became almost completely isolated and developed a unique culture.

Weather

Fiji's weather is hot, humid, rainy, and fairly predictable and consistent. This climate makes the country ideal for crop growth and human settlement as the rains and temperatures are somewhat predictable. These rains allow the people to grow numerous foods, it gives them access to fresh water, and these conditions also allow animals to thrive, although few animals exist on the islands.

From a temperature stand point, the weather is very consistent and predictable, while the rains are a bit more sporadic, although they are still fairly predictable by season. There are two basic seasons in Fiji: the dry season, which is a bit cooler and runs from about late May to October and the wet season, which is hotter and runs from about November to early May. Since the differences between "hot" and "cold" in Fiji are nearly negligible, the real difference in seasons is rainfall.

During the dry season (late May-October), more specifically, the months of June to September, daily lows average about 68° F (20° C) (at night), but daily highs are around 80° F (27° C). There is less rain during this season as the average is about 5 inches (125 mm) a month.

The rest of the year is a bit warmer and temperatures peak in December to April, when the average daily low is about 74° F (23° C) and daily highs average 85° F (29° C). This is also the rainy season and the months of November to May average over 10 inches (250 mm) of rain each. The rainy season is also cyclone season, but major cyclones are rare as they only occur every dozen years or so, although they can arrive in quick succession and small cyclones occur nearly every year.

Wildlife

Fijian Wildlife - Coconut tree
Coconut tree

The number of native plants and animals in Fiji are severely limited since the country is an island nation. The native land life is almost non-existent and the native plant life was also very limited. The migrating birds and sea life had the most significant presence in historically. Much of what is found on the islands today was introduced in pre-historic times by the migrating people, birds, winds, and ocean currents.

As an island nation that rose from the sea floor there were no native mammals in Fiji, although a few bat species arrived thousands of years ago. Other than this, no land mammals existed on Fiji until possibly the arrival of the earliest people, who likely came from the region of New Guinea and may have brought with them rats, dogs, and pigs.

The other historic mammals connected with Fiji are in the sea as dolphins and whales are present in the waters surrounding the islands. These waters are also filled with thousands of fish, shellfish, and other forms of sea life. In these waters you can find surgeonfish, clownfish, sailfish, puffer fish, butterfly fish, grouper, barracuda, tuna, mackerel, marlin, mahi-mahi, shrimp, krill, crab, seahorses, manta rays, sharks, jellyfish, starfish, sea urchins, and coral among many others.

The water and the land have attracted more than just fish though, they have also attracted numerous birds, including many that feed off the animals in the sea. The bird life in Fiji includes doves, owls, passerines, scrub fowls, heron, terns, pigeons, and cuckoos among others.

Tuvalu Wildlife - Bananas
Bananas

Like the mammalian life, the reptilian and amphibious life is fairly limited. The most common of these animals are those adapted to the water and swimming as sea turtles can be found in the nearby waters. Land species have again made their way to the islands in numerous methods and today iguanas are among the most common of these animals.

The insect and other small animal life is fairly diverse as many insects can fly or float and have made their way to Fiji. These animals include butterflies, moths, bees, ants, flies, snails, spiders, and worms among others.

Like the animal life, which is limited due to the geography of Fiji, the plant life is also very limited. It is doubtful any significant plants originated in the country itself other than a very limited number of local plants. However the winds and water currents have taken seeds to the islands and in other cases birds have transported seeds to the islands. Because of this many of the most common plants on the islands today are native to the distant islands of New Guinea and those further west, which traveled island to island to the east. Plants from these islands that now thrive in the country include coconuts, taro, breadfruit, bananas, yams, arrowroot, lemons, and sugarcane among others.

There is also a presence of other trees and plants, including orchids, hibiscus, eucalyptus, frangipani, ferns, mosses, mahogany trees, mangrove trees, and pandanus trees.

This page was last updated: April, 2013