Vanua Levu, Taveuni, Kadavu and the Suncoast
Rigging the kite at Nananu-i-Ra, you notice the Oura ring is no longer on your finger
Kite Point on Nananu-i-Ra is sheltered, which is why learners launch from there.
If an Oura ring came off while you were setting up, the place to search is the patch where you worked, and a sheltered launch spot is ground a detectorist can go over properly. What decides it is whether it went on shore, in the shallows as you walked the kite out, or out on the water, where the answer is much less certain.
Ring Seekers is a lost ring and jewellery recovery service that connects people who lost a ring, wedding band, watch, keys or phone on Vanua Levu, Taveuni or Kadavu, or on the Suncoast, with a metal detectorist who can search there.
Tell us what happened and where. We find a detectorist who can reach the island, brief them with your map and photos, and tell you honestly if the odds are poor.
This page covers the places farther from Nadi: Savusavu on Vanua Levu, Taveuni across the Somosomo Strait, Kadavu in the far south, and the Suncoast of northern Viti Levu around Rakiraki, Volivoli and Nananu-i-Ra.
Mark where the kite went up
The launch spot is the anchor for everything else. Pin where you laid out and pumped the kite, where you walked into the water, and where you came back in. If a friend or instructor helped you launch, ask them what they remember about your hands that session.
Away from the kite beach the same order works: the spot you were standing when you last knew the item was on you, then the route you took afterwards. Tell the resort staff as well, in case it is handed in.
Places we cover on Vanua Levu, Taveuni, Kadavu and the Suncoast
- Vanua Levu
- Savusavu
- Savusavu Bay
- Split Rock
- The Salt Lake
- Natewa Bay
- Taveuni
- Matei
- The Somosomo Strait
- The Rainbow Reef
- Kadavu
- Vunisea
- The Great Astrolabe Reef
- Ono Island
- The Suncoast
- Rakiraki
- Volivoli
- Nananu-i-Ra
- Kite Point
Across the north and down to the far south
Vanua Levu and Taveuni sit in the north-east of Fiji, Kadavu in the south, and the Suncoast on the northern tip of Viti Levu.
Savusavu and its bay
Savusavu is a coastal town and the tourism hub of Vanua Levu, with resorts along the coast and yachts anchored in the bay. The water near Savusavu is good for snorkelling, and you can swim out to Split Rock. Yachts stop here to restock, so if something went over the side of a boat or a dinghy, give the mooring or the stretch of shore it faced.
The Salt Lake and Natewa Bay
The Salt Lake is reached through mangrove forest, and people paddle there by kayak on the incoming tide or go out on floats, tubes and paddleboards from the resorts. Natewa Bay is where guided trips go to watch spinner dolphins, usually finishing with a snorkel in the bay. Tell us which of the two it was and where you got in and out of the water.
Taveuni, Matei and the Somosomo Strait
Taveuni lies just across the Somosomo Strait from Vanua Levu, and most of its places to stay line the strait, from Matei in the north, where the airport is, down to Vuna in the south. There are many remote beaches. Tell us where you were staying and which beach or landing you used.
The Rainbow Reef
The Rainbow Reef, with its soft corals, lies in the Somosomo Strait, and strong currents sweep through it. Most visitors to this part of Fiji come to dive, and snorkellers go out to the reef too. A ring or watch lost in open water over the strait is a long shot, and you would hear that from us first; something dropped on the boat or back at the landing is a different case.
Kadavu and the Great Astrolabe Reef
Kadavu is Fiji's southernmost island, wrapped by the Great Astrolabe Reef, with crystal-clear lagoons along its shores. Most visitors arrive at Vunisea, the island's main hub, and a resort boat takes them on from there. Manta rays can be seen at reef sites off eastern Ono Island and along the south coast of Kadavu.
Rakiraki, Volivoli and Nananu-i-Ra
On the Suncoast, the resorts sit on the northernmost peninsula of Viti Levu, around Rakiraki and at Volivoli nearby, and resorts at Rakiraki offer shore dives. Offshore, Nananu-i-Ra has scalloped bays that kiteboarders and windsurfers use in the windy season, and Kite Point on the island is sheltered enough for learners.
Remote islands, one straightforward process
From Savusavu to Kadavu, one contact
There is no switchboard or queue. The person who reads your first WhatsApp message stays with the case until it is closed.
A brief that travels well
Your pins, photos and account of the day are written up so a detectorist who has never met you can follow them, which matters on islands reached by plane or boat.
A photo of the item
A clear picture of the ring, watch or chain, or of its twin, tells the detectorist its size and what it is made of before they set out.
Cost talk comes first
We explain the costs before any search is booked, and you are free to take time over them.
Currents in the strait, wind on the Suncoast
Conditions differ a lot between these islands, so we ask about them for each case.
The Somosomo Strait
Strong currents run through the strait between Taveuni and Vanua Levu. Anything lost from a boat there needs the exact time and the boat's position, if the crew can give it.
Wind and learners at Nananu-i-Ra
Kiteboarders and windsurfers come to Nananu-i-Ra in the windy season. Learners launch from sheltered Kite Point, so a loss during a lesson starts from a known spot.
Tides at the Salt Lake
Kayak trips into the Salt Lake go in with the incoming tide. If something went overboard, the time tells us how full the water was.
Questions about Vanua Levu, Taveuni, Kadavu and the Suncoast
My Oura ring came off while I was setting up my kite at Kite Point on Nananu-i-Ra.
Start with the spot where the kite was laid out and pumped, since that is where your hands were busiest. Pin it, pin the place you walked into the water, and say whether you had gloves on. If you rode afterwards, tell us whether you came back in at the same spot.
A bracelet came off when I swam out to Split Rock at Savusavu.
Tell us where you entered the water, the route you swam out and back, and whether you stopped to rest on the way. Say whether you could stand anywhere along the route. A photo of the bracelet, or one of you wearing it that day, helps the detectorist know what to look for.
Our boat keys went into the water as we climbed from the dinghy onto the yacht in Savusavu Bay.
Give the position of your mooring and the side of the yacht you climbed aboard. If there is a float on the key ring, check the water surface and the shore downwind first. Otherwise, note the time, because the depth under the boat changes with the tide, and send us all of it.
My sunglasses slipped off while we were kayaking through the mangroves to the Salt Lake.
Say where along the trip it happened: in the river, among the mangroves or out on the lake itself. Mark the time as well, since trips go in on the incoming tide. Tell us whether the frames are metal or plastic, and whether anyone else in the group saw them go.
An earring went missing on the beach near where we stayed at Matei, on Taveuni.
Matei is at the northern end of the Taveuni coast, near the airport. Pin the beach and the patch where you sat, and say whether you swam, and whether you walked along the shore to another beach. Send a photo of the matching earring so its size is clear.
Somewhere on the Rainbow Reef snorkel, the watch left my wrist.
The site name and the position of the boat when you went in are the two things to get from the crew. The Rainbow Reef lies in the Somosomo Strait, where strong currents run, so tell us whether you were drifting or holding on near the boat, and how long you were in.
Between Vunisea airport and our resort on Kadavu, a gold chain disappeared.
Then there are three places to think about: Vunisea itself, the boat and the landing at the resort. Ask the boat crew to check under the seats and in the bilge. Tell us whether the chain was in a bag or on you, and what you did at Vunisea before you boarded.
I lost my wedding band on a shore dive from a resort at Rakiraki.
Tell us where you walked in and out, how far along the reef you swam, and the depth you were at when you noticed. Say whether you took gloves on or off at any point. The dive staff will know the usual route for that shore dive, so ask them to mark it on a map.
After the dolphin trip in Natewa Bay we went snorkelling, and a ring was missing afterwards.
Ask the guide where the boat stopped for the snorkel, since dolphin trips on the bay usually end with one. Tell us whether the ring could have come off on the boat instead, for example while you were putting fins on, and when you last remember seeing it.
Vanua Levu, Taveuni, Kadavu and the Suncoast
Island, item and roughly when
Whether you flew in or came by boat, it starts with a short message.
A WhatsApp message naming the island, the item and roughly when is all we need at first. The map pins and photos can follow once we know where you are.