Nananu-i-Cake ɑː.nɑːˈnuː iː ðɑːˈkeːis an

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

less than one kilometer off the coast of the main island of

Viti Levu Viti Levu (pronounced ) is the largest island in the Republic of Fiji. It is the site of the nation's capital, Suva, and home to a large majority of Fiji's population. Geology Fiji lies in a tectonically complex area between the Australian P ...

, near the

Rakiraki Rakiraki () is a district in Fiji's Ra Province. It is located between Tavua and Korovou when travelling along the Kings Road, on the northern coast of Viti Levu, Fiji's largest island. At the 1996 census, the Rakiraki district had a population ...

-district in

Ra Province Ra is one of the fourteen provinces of Fiji. Occupying the northern area of Viti Levu, the largest island, it is one of eight Viti Levu-based Provinces. With a land area of 1341 square kilometers, it had a population of 30,432 at the 2017 census. ...

. Nananu-i-Cake is located immediately next to the island of

Nananu-i-Ra Nananu-i-Ra is an island in Fiji about 3 kilometers off the north coast of the main island of Viti Levu, near the town of Rakiraki in Ra Province. The island is 3.5 square kilometers and has a maximum elevation of 180 meters. The name "Nananu-I-R ...

. Nananu-i-Cake and Mabua (the

islet An islet is a very small, often unnamed island. Most definitions are not precise, but some suggest that an islet has little or no vegetation and cannot support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/or hard coral; may be permanent ...

located immediately to the southeast) islands are about in area. The island's name, Nananu-i-Cake, means "Daydream Upwind" (or easterly) in Fijian. The island is also known by several other names, including Ananugata, Nananugata, Yananu and Nananu-i-Thake Island. The main residence on the island was designed by the architecture firm of Murray Cockburn, based in Auckland. A deep-water jetty is on the island's western shore.

History

In 1974, British businessman and politician Sir Harold Mitchell visited Fiji from the UK and purchased Nananu-i-Cake and Mabua as a retreat. Because of Harold's position of Vice-Chairman of the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

under

Sir Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...

and his social and political standing, several high-profile dignitaries visited and stayed on the island. Commemorative trees were planted for many of these high-profile visits. Nananu-i-Cake has remained in Sir Harold Mitchell's family since 1974. Nananu-i-Cake also retains evidence of ''moka,'' stone formations built in tidal areas to trap fish at low tide, and ring-wall fortifications built with volcanic rocks. As of 2012, the entire island was tentatively available for sale as a

private island A private island is a disconnected body of land wholly owned by a private citizen or corporation. Although this exclusivity gives the owner substantial control over the property, private islands remain under the jurisdiction of national and some ...

, for an estimated equivalent of around $8-8.5 million USD. The island received renewed attention in 2022 as a group of cryptocurrency supporters attempted to raise funds to buy the island as a haven for cryptocurrency supporters known as Cryptoland. The plan, which fell through, was widely mocked on social media and compared to the

Fyre festival Fyre Festival was a fraudulent luxury music festival founded by con artist Billy McFarland and rapper Ja Rule. It was created with the intent of promoting the company's Fyre app for booking music talent. The festival was scheduled to take plac ...

References

Islands of Fiji Viti Levu Ra Province Private islands of Fiji {{Fiji-geo-stub