NADI, THE MAMANUCA & YASAWA ISLANDS
Within
close proximity to the international airport this area is well served
with hotels to suit every taste and budget. Dive services are available
from the hotels and resorts and the usual destination is the nearby
reefs and islands. The Mamanuca Islands are a spectacular mini archipelago
only ten minutes by air from the airport or one hour by ferry. The
Mamanuca islands sweep in an arc to the north west and join the
spectacular Yasawa chain, the setting for the movie, The Blue Lagoon.
The islands lie behind the great sea reef enclosing a huge lagoon
of innumerable reefs, bombies, islands and islets most of which
have never seen a diver.
Diving
The mainland and Island resorts are tailored to meet the needs
of every diver, and include an adrenaline-charged shark dive at
the site know as the supermarket for those craving extreme excitement.
Novices have calm waters and coral reefs to explore. Experienced
divers can dive the ocean side of the barrier reef and the passages
through it. Visibility frequently exceeds 35 metres. As well as
vibrant corals and colourful small reef fish. Dolphins, sharks,
manta rays, turtles and large pelagic fish are frequently encountered.
The resorts offer a range of accommodations: from small and intimate
to a few that are not so small (but nor large) and tariffs that
please everyone from backpackers upwards.
All resorts have beautiful white sand beaches.
THE
CORAL COAST
The
Coral Coast begins 15 kilometres south of Nadi town. A new highway
runs inland past sugar cane fields and Caribbean Pine plantations
missing much of the coastal beauty until it descends towards Yanuca
Island and one of Fiji's largest beach resorts which is also the
headquarters for the sole dive operator catering for the luxury
resorts and budget accommodation places along this spectacular stretch
of Fiji's principle island. Once past the small township of Sigatoka
and the village of Korotogo, the highway joins the coast and runs
beside the beautiful lagoon. There are 14 resorts, hotels and motels
along the coral Coast as well as budget places, including a village
set up to cater
for visitors.
Diving
Daily pick ups by the operator take divers to the various dive
sites. This includes vertical walls festooned with soft corals and
gorgonia fans and fish life on the outside of the main reef and
in the passages. Wonderful area for family holidays as the diving
is incredibly accessible and it is possible to enjoy tow dives in
the morning and spend the afternoon with the family. A wide range
of restaurants, shopping and excursions up the Sigatoka Valley to
pottery villages and historic sites.
LOMAIVITI
& RA
Lomaiviti
is the Fijian name for a group of islands east of Viti Levu. The
islands include Ovalau that has the quaint former capital of Fiji,
Levuka; Moturiki, Makogai, Batiki, Nairai, Gau and a number of smaller
islands and islets. This includes Toberua and Wakaya whose exclusive
resorts offer superb diving as does a live-aboard vessel that frequents
this area. It was on the island of Ovalau at Levuka that the first
European beachcombers set up camp. Levuka witnessed great debaucheries
and political alarm until Fiji was ceded to Britain in 1874 and
the township became the colony's capital. Lack of room for expansion
saw the capital move to Suva on Viti Levu, thus consigning Levuka
to a backwater, ideal for those wishing to experience living history.
The eastern coast of Viti Levu that sweeps to its northern-most
point is know as Ra. The islands of Nananu-I-Ra and Nanau-I-Cake,
is the site of new dive operations. The islands are approximately
two hours by car from Nadi airport on a modern tar-sealed highway
through sugar cane fields and view of Bligh Water and its reefs
and islands.
Diving
Wonderful diving offering walls lush with soft corals, gorgonia,
feather stars and hard corals as well as profuse fish life including
large fish and large sharks. Some of the sites guarantee schools
of pelagics including hammerhead sharks, barracuda, turtles giant
trevally, manta rays, moray eels and even tuna. The area around
Nanau-I-Ra and Nanaau-I Cake has produces many sites within the
short time diving services have been available but much remains
to be explored including the nearby reefs in Bligh Water, such as
Cherybdis and the area around Vatu-I-Ra island which marks the north-western
extremity of the channel diving Viti Levu and Vanua Levu. Current
sites feature black coral, profuse soft corals, hard corals, walls,
caves, prolific fish life including large fish, as well as turtles,
dolphins and on occasion whales on their way
through the channel.
THE
NORTH - SAVUSAVU
The
north is the common name for the islands of Vanua Levu, Namenalala,
Taveuni, Qamea, Laucala, Matagi, Kioa, Rabi and a series of smaller
islets and islands. For reference purposes, the North has two distinct
tourist dive areas: Savusavu and Taveuni. Savusavu is located on
the shore of a magnificent harbour on Fiji's second largest island
of Vanua Levu, the township of Savusavu is the focal point of several
resorts and outstanding diving. The Cousteau Society's Ocean Search
Project has used Savusavu for the past four years offering a testimonial
to its diving and its attractions as a destinations. This area includes
the island of Namenalala within the great Namena reef surrounded
by pristine waters. Savusavu is only a brief but scenic flight from
either Nadi or Suva showing a multitude of coral reefs with their
wonderful pastel colour - shades of aqua greens, turquoise and the
dark blue of the deep sea. There is much to see on the ground: an
old gold mine, treks and trails through virgin forest beside streams
with cascades and waterfalls, horse riding, visits to villages and
road tours.
Diving
Most of the reefs of this area have never seen a diver and probable
never will. The area is too vast and offers too much. Operators
can only select dive sites which have the full spectrum of Fiji's
best and concentrate on these. The nearby reefs of Savusavu and
Namenalala have superb diving with a great choice of sites offering
an underwater wonderland which has made Fiji famous; walls, caves,
over-hangs, soft and hard corals, reef fish and pelagic fish - this
has it all. The diving is less demanding in Savusavu Bay but becomes
dramatic on the outer side of the barrier reef which sweeps up the
coast to Somosomo Strait dividing Vanua Levu and Taveuni. It is
also spectacular on the Namena Reef, which like the Savusavu barrier
reef, stretches more than 30 miles between the ocean and the lagoon.
THE
NORTH - TAVEUNI
Known
as the "Garden isle" of Fiji, Taveuni is the result of
a gigantic volcanic eruption which has left the soil immensely fertile.
The peak of the volcano, Mt. Uluqalau, is a majestic 1300 metres
(more than 4000 feet) above the sea and the ridges and spurs march
down to the sea covered in a magnificent rain forest which gives
way on the lower slopes and the coastal fringe to coconut plantations
except for a stretch on the south eastern side where cliff faces
plunge into the ocean. The island is host to most of Fiji's native
bird species and to the unique Tagimaucia flower. Taveuni is Fiji's
third largest island, separated by a narrow strait from Vanua Levu,
but enclosing within its reef the islands of Qamea, Laucala and
Matagi. Nearby are the islands of Kioa and Rabi and within easy
reach are the Ringold Isles, the Heemskerq Reef complex and the
atolls of Qelelevu Walagilala and Duff Reef. The northern Lau Islands
include Kaimbu which is Fiji's most exclusive resort, featuring
only three bures, each with access onto its own
white sand beach.
Diving
Deserving of every accolade, This is definitely connoisseur
country offering experiences which have earned rave revues from
he most jaded divers. Taveuni features Rainbow Reef and the Great
White Wall in the heart of Somosomo Strait, only minutes by boat
from the mainland. A few miles further north, Matagi and Qamea Islands
have a different but equally impressive portfolio of dive sites
while many more wait to be discovered. There are so many islands
and reefs that even pioneers like Rick Cammick who "discovered"
the Great White Wall and Rainbow Reefs, or the Douglas family of
Matagi Island who have dived the area for 40 years, have not seen
more than .001 per cent of what the area offers. A live-aboard dive
vessel at Matagi will allow a much wider exploration.
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