Kenutu Island

Kenutu, a privately owned island of the Afuha'amango family, sits on the eastern rim of the Vava'u group, uninhabited but visited by people from the neighbouring islands such as Umuna, with a sheltered beach on the lagoon side and, a short walk across, cliffs on the eastern side where the open Pacific breaks against the rock with nothing beyond it. The contrast between the two shores within a few hundred metres is the point. Boats anchor off the western beach and the walk across takes minutes.

The landscape

• The two shores - sheltered lagoon on one side, ocean cliff on the other.
• The eastern cliffs - open Pacific swell breaking directly on rock.
• The lagoon beach - the calm anchorage on the western side.
• The uninhabited island - nothing built anywhere on it.

When to go

May to October is the drier season and calmest. Swell on the eastern side is heaviest in the southern winter. Boat trips are cancelled in wind.

Before you go

There are no facilities and everything must be brought. Access is by chartered boat or a yacht. The eastern cliffs are unfenced and the rock is sharp.

Nearby

Neiafu is west, and the Vava'u group spreads around it.

Key facts