Fiji was first settled about 3,500 years ago but wasn't discovered by Europeans until 1643. Dutch explorer Abel Tasman accidentally came across the islands that year, but it was Captain William Bligh who got credit for recording them after the mutiny on the Bounty in 1789. Today this paradise still offers remnants of its history.
Vacationers come here for the culture, as well as the islands' many activities.
Diving, water sports, golf, hiking, birdwatching, and sightseeing are among visitors' favorite pastimes. Fiji Visitors Bureau Fiji spans about 7,100 square miles, an area about the size of Massachusetts. Only 105 of its islands are inhabited. Lying roughly 1925 miles northeast of Sydney, Australia and about 3,170 miles southwest of Honolulu, this cluster of islands is in the Southern Hemisphere. It straddles the International Date Line, and is one of the first places to see each new day.