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ATOL 4112. ATOL Protection extends primarily to
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| Fiji Dive Sites |
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TAVEUNI ISLAND
Perhaps the most famous diving area in Fiji, the dive sites
around Taveuni Island, with Matagi Island to the east and the Somosomo
Straist to the west, have long been popular with divers from all
over the world. They provide some of the finest soft coral and reef
diving in the world.
- GREAT YELLOW WALL
One of those must-see dive sites in Fiji, a vertical drop-off
starting around 15ft is quite literally covered from top to bottom
in yellow soft corals. Sprouting out from the soft corals can
be seen large sea fans, sea whips and sponges. The reef is home
to black-spotted toadfish, unicornfish, surgeonfish, fusiliers,
butterflyfish and many species of damselfish. For the nudibranch
lover, many spceis can be found amongst the corals.
- NOEL'S WALL
Close to the Great Yellow Wall, Noel's Wall is a vertical drop
to over 1000ft, with canyons, gullies and swim-throughs on the
reef top at 30ft. These swim-throughs are blanketed in spectacular
purple & white soft corals, home to nudibranchs & feathers
stars. For the lover of pelagic fish you are likely to see vast
schools of jacks & barracuda and bronze whaler sharks cruising
the open water.
- CROSS CHANNEL
A vertical wall from 15-150ft which then slopes more gently to
over 1000ft. Black coral trees and sea whipsa bound at depth,
but the shallower portions of the reef are dominated by fabulous
hard coral formations including massive blue porites corals. Sea
fans are home to long-nose hawkfish and large schools of blue
& gold fusiliers and yellow chromis are also prevalent. For
critter lovers, there are fire & two-tone dartfish, mandarin
goby, brittle stars and nudibranchs. On the shallows is a large
colony of giant clams.
- SEVEN PEAKS
Named after the seven coral bommies through which the dive is
enjoyed this is a stunning and exciting dive for the diversity
of topography and marine life. A huge variety of fish species,
notably titan triggerfish, brushtail tangs, princess damsel, blue-lined
surgeonfish, and peacock grouper, 3-spot dascyllus, anthias and
fairy basslets abound. In the channels between the peaks look
out for white tips & bronze whaler sharks, banded sea snake,
blue-spotted ray and giant clams.
- THE LEDGE
A coral pinnacle 300ft high that reaches to just 15ft from the
surface, the main attraction here is an overhang covered with
huge varieties of multi-coloured soft corals and home to numerous
lion fish. The reef is also home to very friendly and inquisitive
golden damselfish and clownfish that come right up to your mask
and peer at you! The pinnacle abounds with every conceivable reef
fish and out in open water you can see schools of tuna and plenty
of sharks. One of the most spectacular dive sites in the Taveuni
area!
- RAINBOW REEF
Protruding from the east coast of Vanua Levu just south of Vatudamu
Point, and thrusting out into the Somosomo Straits, can be found
the world renowned Rainbow Reef, so named because of the profusion
of multi-coloured soft corals that carpet almost the entire reef.
Here can be found just about every type of coral reef topography
that is possible: Walls on the outer edge of the reef pitted with
caves and swim-throughs, along which cruise sharks and schools
of pelagics. Shallow coral gardens on the inner edge of the reef
interspersed with sandy channels and home to giant clams and a
variety of reef tropicals. Bommies thrusting up to the surface,
a profusion of anemones, soft & hard corals, home to every
conceivable critter. Narrow passes through the reef that attract
predators on incoming tides, waiting to pick off unsuspecting
prey. Rainbow Reef has it all! There are numerous dive sites on
Rainbow Reef, each different, and each as beautiful as the last.
Doing a month of diving on this one reef will not do it justice!
- THE GREAT WHITE WALL
The start of this dive involves a swim through a tunnel which
has two exits, the first exit at 30ft, the second one at 90ft.
Upon exiting the tunnel at whichever depth you prefer you are
met by a sheer wall that plunges to 250ft that is quite literally
covered in what appear to be white soft corals. In fact a torch
will reveal that they are a delicate lavender purple in colour,
but the water has filtered out the colour, making them look white
- hence the name of the dive site. Because of the sheer quantities
and uniformity of the soft corals this dive site is quite spectacular.
The corals give off an almost luminous glow that cannot really
be captured on film! Whip corals and sea fans sprout from the
wall, and are home to long-nose hawkfish and other interesting
critters. One of the great soft coral dives in the world
- CABBAGE PATCH
A single large patch of cabbage coral over 50ft across at a depth
of 30-60ft, this coral formation, like all cabbage corals it seems,
is home to squirrelfish and sea anemones. It would seem that each
fish gets its own little "cabbage patch"! The sandy
area around the formation provides a wonderfully undulating quality
of light that flickers with the waves above. Once you have explored
the corals, have a good look in the sand and you will find commensal
shrimps, gobies, pipefish, lizardfish and sand divers. A great
shallow dive!
GAU ISLAND
- JIM'S ALLEY
Consists of 3 large bommies that start at about 15 feet from the
surface and drop to the floor at about 60 to 70 feet. The bommies
are covered in soft and hard corals, sea fans, whips and anemones.
This sight also frequently has white tips, turtles, barracudas
and an occasional ray.
- NINGALI PASS
Ningali Pass is a small cut in the reef that can only be dived
1 1/2 hours before low water to 1 1/2 hours after low water, otherwise
the visibility is poor and the current can exceed 4 knots. At
this sight we see large grouper/jew fish, barracuda, big eyed
jacks, snapper, big gray reef sharks and an occasional sea snake.
We also have seen eagle rays, mantas and hammerhead sharks.
WAKAYA ISLAND
- WAKAYA PASS
This site starts at about 35 ft. sandy bottom then you swim out
over a wall and turn to the left. As you come over the drop off
of the wall you can look straight down to about 140 ft. While
swimming along the wall you may see blue ribbon eels, white tip,
nurse, and hammerhead sharks along with mantas, marble rays, turtles,
eagle rays and Barracudas.
- GOLDEN ROCK
A bommie that starts at 35 ft. on the high inside edge it then
comes up to 10 ft. and is 20 ft. across. This site has soft coral,
hard coral, cleaner shrimp, blue ribbon eels, lionfish, and most
important it is a cleaning station for mantas and we see mantas
here 90% of the time.
- GEMSTONE
Gemstone is on the outside edge of Wakaya passage. This is a wall
dive with swim throughs, hard and soft corals and as one guests
who has dived around the world said, this sight is as good as
they have in the Red Sea. Mantas also frequently visit this location
along with hammer head and white tips sharks. When diving this
location on a night dive the light fish here are very abundant
and make for a great light show.
- SAND POINT
Sand point is a wall dive between the island of Wakaya and Mokongi.
On this dive we frequently see mantas, eagles rays, turtles, white
tips and the various colorful fish of the South Pacific in abundance
along with hard and soft corals.
- MAKONGI ISLAND
At the turn of the century Makongi Island was the home of the
last leper colony in Fiji but today its the home of the Fijian
turtle and clam farm. The north end of the island is protected
by a barrier reef which has a lot of great dive sights. The most
popular are White Rock, Rustic Arch, Coral Garden & Makongi
Channel. Each of these sights has wide variety of colourful tropical
fish.
- WHITE ROCK
White Rock is at the entrance of Makongi Channel and aptly called
because the waves always break on it causing the reef to have
a white cap. This sight has white tips, occasionally eagle rays
and mantas, eels, large file fish, an abundance of hard and soft
corals but most of all it has the friendliest school of fuseliers.
- RUSTIC ARCH
This sight has excellent hard and soft corals, sea fans, sea anemones,
lion fish, moray eels, white tips and a recently discovered home
to a large Napoleon wrasse.
- CORAL GARDENS
A series of bommies that have a beautiful supply of hard and soft
corals. This sight also has turtles, white tips sharks, moray
eels, lion fish and once in a while a nurse shark. Visibility
can sometimes be below 40 feet because of heavy plankton.
- MAKONGI CHANNEL
Makongi channel is most often a drift dive due to the fact its
at an entrance to the inner reef. On an incoming tide the visibility
is quite good and sometimes exceeds 100 feet. The usual party
of Makongi sea life abounds here in the channel as well.
- E6 AND Hi8
These two sites are aptly named: E6 for the amount of film shot
at this site and likewise Hi-8 for the amount of video footage
taken. Both E-6 and Hi-8 are pinnacles that start at a depth of
3,000 feet and rise to the surface. E-6 has a horseshoe shaped
grotto which is filled with anemones, large clams, lionfish and
spectacular red sea fans and soft corals. Each has a virtual smorgasbord
of soft corals, hard corals, sea fans, sea anemones, octicoral,
swim-throughs and are teeming with smaller fishes of the South
Pacific. Included at both sights are sweet lips, hammer heads,
white tips, occasional silver tips and if we're lucky a whale.
NAMENA (NAMENALALA ISLAND)
The Namena Barrier Reef stretches a distance of over 10 miles.
There is an abundance of dive sights here but many are unprotected
in open waters and can't be dived in bad weather. Most of these
sites have the possibility of high currents and as a result the
sea life here is abundant and very active. It is not uncommon to
see gray reefs, white tips, silver tips, barracuda and dog tooth
tuna on a 30 minute dive. The following are the most popular dive
sights.
- CHIMNEYS
Three slender bommies which start at about 74 feet and come to
within 10 feet of the surface. On the sandy bottom you'll find
a field of garden eels with gobies and shrimp scattered throughout.
Everywhere in the bommies of this site you can find pipe fish,
cleaner fish, nudibranches, soft corals, hard corals, sea anemones
with clown fish, and free swimming in the current above the bommies
are unicorn fish and anthiest. Between the bommies in midwater
are resident barracudas and it's not uncommon to see white tips
or grey reefs.
- MAGIC MOUND
This dive sight is a single bommie 80 to 100 feet long and 30
to 40 feet wide. It starts at 80 feet on one side and comes up
to within 15 feet of the surface. Its covered in hard corals,
soft corals, sea anemones, sea fans and lots of lionfish lurking
in between or hanging around under ledges. This sight is also
known for its white tips and grey reef action.
- NORTH SAVE-A-TACK
On an incoming tide the action is fast and furious. A diver must
descend to a depth of 70 feet in water that often has a visibility
of over 150 feet. On the bottom a diver may see grey reefs, white
tips, barracudas and dog tooth tuna with an occasional silver
tip without even moving. The current is strong and during an incoming
tide and the visibility is excellent. Divers normally start on
the east side of North Save-a-tack and end their dive on the west
side among the hard and soft coral covered bommies. This side
is excellent for macro and wide angle shots.
KORO ISLAND
- BLACK ROCK CAVERNS
In the mouth of Dere Bay and the host of many swim-throughs, caverns
and caves. This is also one of our favorite night dive sights
that is the host to large file fish, many decorator crab, white
tips, flashlight fish, eels and occasionally squid. This site
also has a large school of barracuda. It is in the lee of the
island of Koro and can be dived most any time during the year
but visibility is usually limited to 60 feet.
- KORO GARDENS
Koro Gardens is marked by a single large bommie that comes to
within 15 feet of the surface. The area around the bommie is about
45 feet to the bottom and drops off to 95 feet in some areas.
Hard corals cover everything while an abundance of reef fish crowd
the waters and make the diving spectacular.
- SHARK FIN POINT
This site on the north east point of Koro Island can be action
central. On most dives you will see a large school of about 500
barracudas, eagle rays, many white tip, lots of grey reefs, lobster,
eels, and we have even seen whale shark here, yes we really have.
Not only are the fish and shark abundant but it's covered in both
hard and soft corals. When the tide is running this can be a most
enjoyable drift dive because little effort is needed to move and
its seems as if the show just swims by you.
KADAVU ISLAND
Kadavu's best dive sites are located on the world-famous Great Astrolabe
Reef. This huge reef system sweeps north from the island in a vast
loop; plunging into the Pacific abyss on the outside, within its
embracing arms lie miles of patch reefs, bommies, shallow sandy
lagoons and verdant islands surrounded by stunning white beaches.
- NAIQORO PASSAGE
Location of Spot X and Japanese Gardens. This pass offers some
of the finest dives in Fiji, abounding in pelagic fish including
schools of sharks, wrasse and barracuda, and coral gardens exploding
with colour. The passage is a marine reserve.
- NACOMOTO PASSAGE
This passage includes Eagle Rock and Cabbage Patch. Eagle Rock
is named after a school of eagle rays which fly around the bommie
at the mouth of this passage. The dive also typically hosts reef
sharks, barracuda and turtles. Cabbage Patch is home to one of
the biggest cabbage coral patches you are ever likely to see.
Reef sharks, humphead wrasse and colourful schools of reef fish
are commonly seen on this relaxing dive. The passage is a marine
reserve.
- SOSO PASSAGE
Home to Golden Chimney and Coral Wonderland. Golden Chimney is
a large coral structure completely covered in golden soft corals
which, when feeding, light up the entire area. Gorgonian fans,
moray eels, reef sharks and garden eels are other highlights of
this dive. Coral Wonderland combines the best of wall, drift and
relaxed coral watching. The dive starts deep with some very large
fan corals on the edge of a very deep drop off. At the end of
the wall, large schools of barracuda often hang out along with
a grey reef shark or two. The last part of the dive is spent in
shallower coral gardens which go on and on with reef fish schooling
in large numbers.
- MANTA REEF
A very special dive on Vai Reef and one of the few places in the
world where manta rays can be seen regularly. Here these magnificent
creatures circle and summersault in front and above you, showing
how graceful us scuba divers are NOT! The reef itself is outstanding
in its quality and diversity of fish life. If you see mantas as
well, this dive will always rank amongst the best you will ever
do.
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Fiji Dive Sites |
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