Fiji trivia: 47 questions and answers

Suva. Suva, on the southeast coast of Viti Levu, is the capital, the largest city and the main port.

Fijian dollar. The Fijian dollar (FJD) replaced the Fijian pound in 1969.

More than 330. Fiji has more than 330 islands, and about 110 of them are lived on all year. Most people live on Viti Levu and Vanua Levu.

False. False. Fiji is made up entirely of islands and has no land borders. Vanuatu is its neighbour across the sea to the west.

False. False. Mount Tomanivi, an extinct volcano on Viti Levu, is 1,324 m high.

True. True. The British flag came down in Suva at sunset on 9 October 1970 and Fiji became independent at midnight. 10 October is Fiji Day.

Abel Tasman. The Dutch explorer Abel Tasman sighted Vanua Levu and the islands north of Taveuni in 1643. Cook came in 1774 and Bligh in 1789.

Seru Epenisa Cakobau. Seru Epenisa Cakobau, chief of Bau, was crowned king in 1871. Three years later he signed the Deed of Cession that made Fiji a British colony.

It brought the first indentured workers from India, in 1879. It brought the first indentured workers from India, in 1879: 463 people who came to work in the sugarcane fields. About 60,000 came in all before the scheme ended in 1916.

Levuka. Levuka was the capital until the government moved to Suva, a move decided in 1877 and completed in 1882. There was no room for it to grow between the sea and the hills.

True. True. More than 40,000 Fijians died after a ship bringing Cakobau back from Sydney, where he had caught measles, was not quarantined.

False. False. Fiji became independent in 1970 as a Commonwealth realm with the British monarch as head of state. It was declared a republic in 1987, after two coups.

Raw fish marinated in lime juice and mixed with coconut milk. Kokoda is raw fish marinated in lime juice and mixed with coconut milk, with tomato, onion and chilli. It is served cold.

A feast cooked for hours on hot stones in a pit in the ground. A lovo is a feast cooked for hours on hot stones in a pit in the ground. Meat, fish and root crops are wrapped in leaves and covered with earth.

Kava. Yaqona is made from the dried and powdered root of kava, a relative of pepper, mixed with water in a wooden bowl called a tanoa.

True. True. You clap once, take the cup, drink the yaqona in a single draught and hand the cup back.

Roti. Roti is cooked on a hot iron plate and torn by hand to scoop up curry and dhal. Many Fijian families eat roti and curry for breakfast or lunch.

The unopened flower head of a close relative of sugarcane. Duruka is the unopened flower head of a close relative of sugarcane. It is sold in bundles at markets and eaten raw or cooked.

True. True. Cassava has replaced yams and is now the most cultivated and eaten staple in Fiji. It is usually boiled and eaten with stews and curries.

False. False. In many communities sharks are linked to the sea god Dakuwaqa and are taboo, and eating one is believed to bring misfortune.

Lautoka. Lautoka, Fiji's second city, lies in the heart of the sugarcane country and has a large sugar mill.

Nadi. Nadi International Airport, on the west coast of Viti Levu, is the main gateway to Fiji.

True. True. At low tide steam rises all along the shore of Savusavu, on Vanua Levu, and villagers have cooked taro and breadfruit in the hottest pools for centuries.

Levuka Historical Port Town. Levuka Historical Port Town, Fiji's first colonial capital, was inscribed in 2013. As of 2026 it is Fiji's only World Heritage Site.

Raymond Burr. Raymond Burr started the garden for his own collection of orchids. Today it shows more than a thousand kinds of orchids.

More than 200 traditional thatched houses. Navala has more than 200 traditional thatched houses called bure, and is one of the few villages in Fiji that is still fully traditional in its architecture.

True. True. Along with the rudder of the Bounty, the museum's centrepiece is a 13 m double-hulled canoe, the Ratu Finau.

Sigatoka River. The dunes lie at the mouth of the Sigatoka River on the south coast of Viti Levu. Pottery more than 2,600 years old has been found there.

The 180th meridian. The 180th meridian crosses Taveuni, but the International Date Line bends around Fiji so the whole country shares one date.

The Tongan way of saying Viti. Fijians call their islands Viti. The Tongans said 'Fisi', and James Cook wrote the name down from them. So Fiji is the Tongan way of saying Viti.

Rugby sevens. Fiji's rugby sevens team beat Great Britain 43 to 7 in the Rio final, and won gold again at the Tokyo Games.

True. True. A wind gust of 306 km/h, a national record, was measured on Vanua Balavu as the storm crossed Fiji.

Beqa. The firewalkers of Beqa, an island off the south coast of Viti Levu, say an ancestor was given the power by a spirit god.

False. False. Queen Elizabeth II stayed on Fiji's money until 2013, when the new series replaced her with Fiji's own plants and animals.

Life. Bula means life, so saying 'Bula!' is like wishing someone good health and life.

Like 'th' in 'that'. Like 'th' in 'that'. So moce sounds like MOH-theh, and Cakobau like Thah-kom-BAU.

True. True. You may see TABU on signs, and English borrowed the same Pacific word as 'taboo'.

Bread. Madrai means bread. Milk is sucu, chicken is toa and money is ilavo.

Vinaka vakalevu. Vinaka vakalevu means thank you very much. Ni sa moce is goodbye, sota tale is see you again, and vosoti au is I'm sorry.

False. False. E vica? means how much?, the question to ask about prices.

No worries. Sega na lega means no worries. Good morning is ni sa yadra, I don't know is au sega ni kila, and help is kere veivuke.

Ni sa moce. Ni sa moce means goodbye or good night. Ni sa bula is hello, ni sa yadra is good morning, and o cei na yacamu? asks someone's name.

A bundle of kava roots. A bundle of kava roots is the usual sevusevu. You can buy one at any town market, and it is presented to the chief or head of the family.

True. True. This applies to men and women. A sulu, a wrap-around cloth, is perfect, and villagers are often happy to lend one.

November to April. The cyclone season runs from November to April, the warm and wet months of the Southern Hemisphere summer.

False. False. Tipping is not part of Fijian culture. Some resorts keep a staff 'Christmas box' for those who want to give something.

On the left. Traffic in Fiji drives on the left, as in Australia and New Zealand.