Des Voeux Peak

Des Voeux Peak is Taveuni’s second-highest mountain, rising 1,200 metres above sea level. In the narrative, its summit is the destination of Laura’s strenuous search for the orange-breasted pigeon—and the place where she succeeds in seeing and photographing it.

Setting and Ascent

Laura climbs the mountain before sunrise. She has arranged transport to Wairiki and begins the six-kilometre ascent an hour before dawn, carrying a machete and a torch strapped to her forehead. After reaching the summit, she looks out over Lake Tagimaucia, which lies in a volcanic crater at the centre of Taveuni.

Laura’s Sighting

On the road near Niusawa, the narrator catches up with Laura, who is dirty, sweaty, and visibly exhausted after the climb. Her first announcement is that she has seen the bird. She says the sighting took place at the summit just after sunrise; when asked whether it was really the orange pigeon, she answers with certainty. She has also taken photographs with a telephoto lens.

Narrative Significance

The peak turns Laura’s reason for coming to Taveuni into a concrete encounter: after a difficult predawn expedition, the rare bird is no longer merely the object of her search. The summit also opens onto the island’s distinctive landscape. From there Laura sees Lake Tagimaucia, the only place where the national flower, Tagimaucia or Medinilla waterhousei, grows. The account links the peak to both the sought-after bird and the island’s singular natural features.