Monuriki is an uninhabited tiny island in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Viti Levu in a group of islands known as the Mamanuca Islands. The island is of volcanic origin as something more than a kilometer long and 600 meters wide. The land area is approximately 0.4 square kilometers surrounded on all sides by a coral reef. The highest point is 178 m. This volcanic islet is part of the Atolls islands and related to a group of three islets in the larger group of Fiji Islands, called "Mamanuca ". The islet is surrounded by coral reef, it also includes volcanic rocks, lagoons and several small beaches, including some white sand beaches.

This island was a filming location for the 2000 Robert Zemeckis' film, Cast Away, starring Tom Hanks^{[1] [2][3]}. It is in a subgroup of the Mamanuca archipelago, which is sited off the coast of Viti Levu, Fiji's largest island. The island became a tourist attraction following the film's release. Although it is identified by Kelly after Chuck's return as being "about 600 miles south of the Cook Islands," there is actually no land between the southern-most Cook Islands of Mangaia and Antarctica. This island is known as "the island of Cast Away" in the sense that much of the movie was filmed on this island, where the protagonist Chuck Noland, played by Tom Hanks, it is forced to be shipwrecked, for a solitary life lasted 4 years, supposedly. The movie team went in person to the island, where more than 100 people live while the production. Since the film, this islet is a tourism attraction.

It is characterized by a length of 1.15 km and a width of 600 meters. The island is slightly mountainous, reaching a maximum height of 178 meters in the south-east of the same.^[4] The aspect, vegetation and geography of the island and its surroundings: rocky bottom surronding, strong currents, stormy weather... can be known very well, thanks to this movie. In Google Earth there are several pictures of it, including the cave on the north side of the island, where he allegedly fled the protagonist.

Although not shown in the film, is the smallest islet and the southernmost of a small group of three islets, at west of Tavua at coordinates 17 ° 36 '32 "South, 177 ° 2' 2" West . In the archipelago are very frequent the islands tourist ressorts and some islets are privatized. Some tourists people and travel agents refer to Monuriki as Castaway island, but the name is misleading, since it is also used to refer to places near it.

It is in a little group of volcano rocky islets, Monuriki is an very elongated basaltic rock, emerged 4.8 million years ago due to volcanic activity. In the past, with a lower sea level, Monuriki form a larger island with the other two islets and because of its height was not submerged since.

The rise and fall of the tides do come and go sandy beaches and rocky sea beds full of fish. The northern side of the island, has less precipitation. The south, under the moist winds, is including a coconut palm plantation abandoned. During the rainy season is covered with large grassy.

The island was chosen for the movie by to have a cover in a relatively good condition, unlike other islands in the group. The movie also reflects quite well the scarcity of fresh water in it, contains a strand of dry littoral forestry, almost completely lost in the rest of Fiji. The mound islet relieve helps ensure a more humid environment condensing sea spray, in the cool relatively wet climate.

In the film, this led to a series of questions about the survival of a human. Tom Hanks play the role of castaway, went down about 20 kgr of weight he had in the first part of the film, so the shooting was suspended and a year later again, the entire team of more than 100 people returned then to live in the island.

The vegetation consists mainly of higher screw pines, or pandanus and coconut, (Cocos nucifera). The low vegetation has been eroded in the past by herds of goats up on the rocks, making the stable food of iguanas, destroyed. While trying to free the filming of Cast Away, with financial incentives, David Stanley parallel try "The Island Of The Goats", that was a new environmental initiative that included, an artificial rearing for rescued iguanas. ^[5]

Monuriki is one of the few place on which the endangered Fiji Crested Iguana, Brachylophus vitiensis, live. These iguanas feed on a wide range of plants and insects. They spend most of his time well camouflaged in the branches of trees. However, they are actually threatened by extinction ^[6] and are only a few thousand copies on the three tiny islands of the western Fiji: Yadua Taba, Macuata and Monuriki. Although not shown in the movie, in Monuriki live this nearly extinct Fiji Crested Iguana. The Brachylophus vitiensis began in movies when Dr. John Gibbons of the University of the South Pacific was invited to the screening of the movie Blue Lagoon.^[7] The director filmed part of the movie on a remote island and included shots of the native wildlife to enhance the feel of the movie, including a large colorful iguanid.^[7] Gibbons, who had been studying the Fiji banded iguana at the time, travelled to the island and identified it as a distinct species.^[7]The species is restricted to dry forest habitats, which is one of the most threatened vegetation types in the Pacific.^[8] It was once known from 14 islands in the western part of Fiji; however, recent surveys in 2002-2004 years have only confirmed the species on three islands: Yadua Taba, Monuriki, and Macuata.^[8] Yadua Taba holds the highest concentration of the species, containing approximately 98% of all individuals, which is estimated to be 6,000 animals. The Yadua Taba iguanas are the only legally protected population, as Yadua Taba is a National Trust of Fiji reserve and lacks the feral goats which have destroyed the lizard's habitat on other islands.^[8] Monuriki is also a breeding ground for some sea Turtles.

After the Mutiny on the Bounty on 28 April 1789 drove William Bligh with the launch through the open area of ​​the northern Fiji Islands. In general, he discovered on his way to Kupang, the first European to several islands in the Fiji group, which is why the sea area north of the Fiji island of Viti Levu, which was crossed here and in the Monuriki, is the name of "Bligh Water" received.

17°36′36″S 177°02′03″E / 17.610°S 177.0343°E / -17.610; 177.0343