The Nakama Hot Springs in Savusavu was first discovered in the 19th century. Residents in Savusavu have used this area to cook their food saving cost on gas and kerosene.
Women have also cooked pandanus leaves for their mats – seeing it cook within only 20 to 30 minutes.
For Beniamino Kaloudau who lives near the hot spring, cooking root crops at the site is a daily activity and it has been so because the pots safely remain on the hot steamy bubbles.
“I shifted here five months ago and with the high cost of living, these hot springs save me from buying kerosene every week as root crops are cooked in these hot pools,” he said.
Another resident, Sainimere Baleilekutu, usually cooks chicken or meaty bones for her family meals.
“It’s the best place to cook because it takes less time. “And the food tastes different too so we are blessed in Savusavu to have such a place.”
According to well-known geologist Geoff Taylor, who helped design the upgraded geothermal hot springs area which was opened recently, the European settlers discovered the site.
Visitors of the hot springs will be able to read the information about the hot springs compiled by Mr Taylor and his team which was also made known to Local Government Minister Premila Kumar at the opening of the site.
Mr Taylor said when the settlers arrived, the indigenous community informed them about the hot springs which existed for long, even before the iTaukei arrived.
“But from that time until today, the hot springs have been used to cook food,” he said.
“In 1864, a prominent American geologist, James Dana gave the first scientific description of the Savusavu hot springs and was based on information provided by members of the United States Exploring Expedition.
“The spring was said to behave like small geysers – boiling fountains.
“There were five boiling springs with jets of water and one mud pool and water from the springs was observed to form a boiling pool with a stream leaving it.”
Mr Taylor added that in 1876, Constance Gordon-Cumming, a Scotland-born female travel writer and artist, was invited to travel to Fiji with Lady Rachel Gordon and her husband, Sir Arthur Gordon who had been appointed the first Governor after the 1874 Deed of Cession.
In her writing, Lady Gordon mentioned three springs with intermittent fountains and the height of the springs were observed to be between 60 and 90 centimetres, recurring every 20 minutes.
Then in 1878, Mr Taylor said that a Scottish botanist selected as part of a group of officials by Sir Arthur Gordon to accompany him in Fiji described jets of boiling water up to 30cm high.
“In 1896, a British surgeon by the name of H B Guppy who was also a geologist, botanist and photographer observed Savusavu’s hot springs behaving as true geysers, spouting 12 to 18 metres high for intervals of 10 to 20 minutes with a silent period in between,” he said.
“This activity lasted for several months before the hot springs returned to their normal bubbling.
“So in 1958, three kilometres north north-east of Savusavu Town, about three to four spouts up to 30 metres in height occurred for a period of several hours.”
Then more hot spring spouts burst around Savusavu Bay in 1961 and Mr Taylor said 8km west of the town, four or five columns of water and steam rising from the sea to a height of 15m were observed over three consecutive days.
“The activity took place intermittently for periods exceeding two hours with individual water columns lasting 10 to 15 minutes,” he said.
“The cause of this phenomenon is unknown as there was no seismic (earthquake) activity recorded at the time or any other known reason for these springs to suddenly erupt from the floor of Savusavu Bay.
