Fiji Trip Report

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g2

Contributor
Scuba Instructor
Divemaster
Messages
628
Reaction score
153
Location
Port Townsend, WA
# of dives
1000 - 2499
Hi All!

I returned from Fiji on the 20th of December, after about 6 weeks of diving and island hopping. All in all, it was great. I wasn't quite sure where to go for the best diving, so I went looking for it! If you haven't been to Fiji, the best thing about it is the people -- they are some of the friendliest folks I've ever met. Even if you don't dive much, it's a fantastic cultural experience just to go to meet the Fijians. I highly recommend visiting some of the outer islands and villages away from the urban areas.

This trip report is long, so if you're not going to Fiji anytime soon you may wish to just skip through it. Having said that, here's my experiences. Your mileage may vary...


November through about March is a bit rainier and windier than other times of the year, so the visibility wasn't as good as I would have liked, typically 30-60ft (10-20m) on most dives. It's supposed to be nicer at other times of the year, often exceeding 100ft (30m) or more. The water temps were somewhat cool, 78-81F (26-28C). I wore a full 3mm wetsuit and would have liked a hood or beanie too. Other people dove in shorties; some came out cold but others seemed to do okay. The currents can chill you faster than expected.

Although some of the dive shops had good rental gear -- especially Aqua-Trek -- others did not. In fact I saw some rental gear fail during dives. Yikes! Unless you plan on diving with upscale dive shops and resorts, I would suggest bringing your own gear. Be sure to take spare parts, extra log book pages, fish ID books, etc., because most places won't have much, if anything. A reef hook and gloves are also a good idea, as the currents can be brisk and you may need to hang on to the anchor line or the reef. Also, almost every dive operation had some problems with their boats. Twice we had to be towed back to the dock. With the drop in tourism, it seems that boat maintenance is where the corners are being cut.

Most places do only two dives a day because the wind picks up in the afternoons, making conditions rough. This can be frustrating if you wanted a 3-4 dive/day trip. Although many outfits say they will do a third afternoon dive, I never saw one actually offered. Night dives can also be scarce; it takes a critical mass of interested divers to make one happen. Still, most people are pretty wiped out after just the two morning dives. I'm a die-hard diving fanatic, but I found myself content to do just two a day and spend the rest of the afternoon reading books and sipping foo-foo drinks with little umbrellas in them.

If you're flexible about dates, times and where to stay, you can save buckets of money by booking things on-the-fly, especially in November/December (lowish season). Many of the resorts I saw were deserted, and most would give a special price if you made the reservation yourself. Just give them a call and ask if they have a walk-in special; I did this, traveling sort of "al la carte", making hotel and island-hopper airline reservations even on the day I wanted to travel, and rarely had any problem. Most places were delighted to have my business, especially following the cancellation storm after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The larger, swanky resorts have suffered the most; places catering to backpackers and independent travelers seem to be hanging on better, as those types of people aren't deterred as much by international events. Don't deal with the travel agents at Nadi airport: they don't know where the good diving is, and will only try to sell you accommodations and packages that make them the highest commission.

Virtually all of the diving is by boat, follow-the-divemaster style, and most operations set depth and time limits. These limits are generally for the divers without computers; I dove with a computer and followed my own profile, which was usually no problem. Where I knew the diving would be cut short because other divers would run out of air sooner, I made a point of being in the water and submerged before the heavy breathers and loitering around the coral heads until I was last out, thus extending my dives by 10-15 minutes each. Even so, I often came up with lots of air left. There ought to be more latitude for experienced divers.

Locations visited (please read beyond my initial bad experience in Savusavu)...

SAVUSAVU. Stayed at the Hot Springs Hotel, which was clean and comfy, with good food and a friendly staff. I was one of only three people staying there. The diving conditions were rough, and the sites had a lot of dead coral. Eco-Divers was economical and they dive the same sites as the fancy Costeau resort down the road, but they gave me an aluminum 80 tank for the first dive and a 72 for the second dive each day. When I pointed this out and asked for an 80 on the second dive, the DM shrugged and gave me one. It was a short fill, naturally, 2000psi. This begrudging air allotment was especially puzzling because I was their only customer. I had planned on 5-7 days of diving there, but after two days of abuse I left for Taveuni where I had a much better time.

TAVEUNI. Planned on 7 nights, but stayed for 11 at the Garden Island Resort, diving with Aqua-Trek, and it was great. The food was yummy; the only complaint I heard was from the people on the all-you-want meal plan who were overeating. Standard, comfortable hotel rooms with everything except televisions, thankfully. The Somosomo straits can have currents that are rippin', but I saw beginning divers do just fine. If your buoyancy control is good and you are in fairly decent physical shape, don't worry about it. The currents feed a nice selection of soft corals, and some hard corals -- although the attraction here is the soft ones. Lots of pretty tropical fish, and the occasional white-tip shark, lionfish, turtles, humphead wrasse and beautiful banded sea snakes. Aqua-Trek has a nice, fast boat, and surface intervals are taken on a white sandy beach. Often flat water in the straits, making it easy to get back on the boat. Music and kava every night. Overall, a fun place for divers on a beautiful island.

KADAVU (pronounced "kan-da-vu"). 11 nights at Matava, The Astrolabe Hideaway. I would have chosen to go here on my own, without any input from anyone, because of its proximity to the Astrolabe reef. When three different friends independently recommended it to me, just for the ambiance, then it became a "must go". I admit, when I first arrived there I had my doubts. The resort is remote and rustic. Access is only via a one hour boat ride, through sometimes rough and wet conditions in an open boat. Accommodations are in traditional Fijian bures (thatched huts). Mosquito nets over the beds, oil lamps for light. If you read Conde Nast and fly connoisseur class, don't come here. But if you are an independent traveler, looking for adventure and some diving on the wild side, you'll love it. Communal meals with western and traditional Fijian foods, sitting at tables with people from around the world.

The dive locker is basic, with adequate rental gear, but the boats are open Boston whaler style about 18ft (6m) long. The diving conditions can be rough, and getting back into the boat is often difficult. But the diving... Untouched hard corals, many so delicate and fragile they wouldn't survive the fin kicks in a heavily trampled area. Steep walls and pelagics, sharks, eagle rays, turtles and barracuda. Some dives you don't see anything. Dive the same site again and you might see everything. The big draw, however, is the manta dive. There is a small patch reef that is a cleaning station for mantas, and they can be seen there maybe 9 out of 10 dives. It's a long boat ride to get there, and access is highly dependent on weather conditions. When I dove it, we saw as many as 7 mantas at one time, each 4-5 meters in wing span. It was one of the most beautiful and amazing dives I have ever done.

BEQA (pronounced "ben-ga") LAGOON. A bit of everything: hard corals, soft corals, canyons and swim-throughs. Choppy surface conditions, and some current. I preferred Taveuni diving, with one extreme exception: the shark feeding dive. Several of the dive operators do this, especially Aqua-Trek Beqa that currently organizes trips on Fridays and Sundays. If you're in the area, don't miss it! We saw seven species of sharks on one dive, including nurse sharks, white tips, black tips, gray reef, 9ft (3m) bull sharks, a lemon shark, and an 11ft (3-4m) tiger shark! Not to mention spotted eagle rays, dozens of 3-4ft (1m) trevelli jacks, and even a turtle getting in on the action.

You can dive Beqa Lagoon from either Marlin Bay Resort on Beqa Island (think: expensive), or coming in from the town of Pacific Harbor on the main island of Veti Levu. I stayed in Pacific Harbor at the Pacific Safari Club (679-450498), which ostensibly caters to backpackers but is wonderfully clean and modern. Every room has a kitchenette, TV, ceiling fans (AC for extra cost), and hot water. It's a bit noisy, but at F$35 a night (US$17!) it's gotta be the best deal in Fiji. Unadvertised Bonus: when you dive with either Aqua-Trek or Dive Connections and tell them you're staying at a backpacker hotel -- like Pacific Safari Club -- they'll give you the F$40 backpacker discount on diving, making your accommodations essentially free. If you go with Dive Connections, which is substantially cheaper and more disorganized than Aqua-Trek, you'll pay F$60 (US$30) a day for 2-tank boat diving with a light lunch. My only misgivings about Dive Connections were that I couldn't find any recent hydro marks on the tanks, but then I don't know what Fiji's standards are for tank inspections and testing. Also, don't use their rental gear. If you want efficiency, good rental gear or pampering, go with Aqua-Trek at the Centra resort, with the backpacker rate of F$120. If you just want tanks, weights and boat transport to the dive sites, Dive Connections does a fine job, but they don't do the shark feeding dive.

NANANU-I RA. Looking at a map of Fiji, the island of Nananu-i Ra is at the very northern tip of the big island of Viti Levu. You can either stay at the posh Wananavu resort on the main island, or any number of backpacker places on Nananu-i Ra itself. Wananavu gave me a really good walk-in deal, so I stayed there. It was nice, almost too nice for a scruffian like myself; I think I might have felt more at home at one of the backpacker places on Nananu-i Ra. Another friend who went there around the same time pointed out that Wananvu doesn't have that rough-and-tumble, dedicated dive resort atmosphere that a lot of hard core divers like. Maybe it's just us. I had a good time regardless, and enjoyed talking with the staff and owners.

Crystal Divers, an expensive (for Fiji) and somewhat vaunted dive operation, was closed the week I was there, so I dove with economical Ra Divers instead, based at Wananavu. As it turns out, that was probably for the best: Crystal divers has a large fast boat, and they use it to get to some remote dive sites, taking up to an hour to get there. That doesn't necessarily mean the sites are any better than the ones close in! The sites around Nananu-i Ra, 15-20 minutes away, seemed to have a pleasant mix of everything: hard and soft corals, lots of colors and little critters, sharks, barracudas, and swim-throughs, arches and caves everywhere. If I was an underwater photographer coming to Fiji, this is where I would want to go. Ra Divers did a fine job; divemasters Knox and Steve were good natured and relaxed.

Happy diving!

g2
 
G,

I am sooooo jealous right now. I will be dreaming of Fiji tonight. Sounds like a fabulous adventure (minus the problem with the bites from you other thread). I am glad you had a great time and got back safe.

Thanks for the report.
 
Thanks for sharing. Very informative. Will you be posting pictures soon?
:sunny:
 
Originally posted by g2
Hi All!

NANANU-I RA. Looking at a map of Fiji, the island of Nananu-i Ra is at the very northern tip of the big island of Viti Levu. You can either stay at the posh Wananavu resort on the main island, or any number of backpacker places on Nananu-i Ra itself. Wananavu gave me a really good walk-in deal, so I stayed there. It was nice, almost too nice for a scruffian like myself; I think I might have felt more at home at one of the backpacker places on Nananu-i Ra. Another friend who went there around the same time pointed out that Wananvu doesn't have that rough-and-tumble, dedicated dive resort atmosphere that a lot of hard core divers like. Maybe it's just us. I had a good time regardless, and enjoyed talking with the staff and owners.

Crystal Divers, an expensive (for Fiji) and somewhat vaunted dive operation, was closed the week I was there, so I dove with economical Ra Divers instead, based at Wananavu. As it turns out, that was probably for the best: Crystal divers has a large fast boat, and they use it to get to some remote dive sites, taking up to an hour to get there. That doesn't necessarily mean the sites are any better than the ones close in! The sites around Nananu-i Ra, 15-20 minutes away, seemed to have a pleasant mix of everything: hard and soft corals, lots of colors and little critters, sharks, barracudas, and swim-throughs, arches and caves everywhere. If I was an underwater photographer coming to Fiji, this is where I would want to go. Ra Divers did a fine job; divemasters Knox and Steve were good natured and relaxed.

Happy diving!

g2

Sounds like you had a great trip!

I was in Fiji a few years back and dove with a couple of operations there and do not have the depth of experience with many operators, but can tell you that Crystal Divers is an excellent operation and he caters to the whims of his clientele. His operation is as good as any I've experienced anywhere in the world and the diving, wow! He knows the sites and is head-and-shoulders above Ra Divers, IMHO. They tend to stay close in and revisit the same sites over an over, at least they did while I was there, while Dan knows the area above and below, close in and far out, like no other dive guide.

I stayed at Wananavua for several nights and had a chance to talk to divers coming back from dives with Ra Divers after my dives with Dan at Crystal Divers and the conversation usually included the phrase, "you saw WHAT!" It was clear to me and to many of them, that they were not getting to see the same quality of sites that we were. Maybe that has changed.

I liked the Fijian people a lot too, about as friendly as they come.

JoeL
 
Hi Terrydarc! I was coming from New Zealand, and Fiji was a stopover on the way back to the states.

Hello JoeL! Yup, a lot of people have recommended Crystal Divers, and they got some great reviews in Undercurrent as well. They were the outfit I would have initially preferred to dive with, even despite the high cost, based on other folks' comments. However, when I tried to book with them (via the internet and email) 4 months ahead of time, they were unresponsive for well over a month. I thought it was just my karma, but then I talked to someone else who also had similar complaints, and struggled with them when CD kept trying to change their hotel booking. (Dan Greiner -- what's the deal?) So when I got there and they were closed, I wasn't heart broken.

I'm sure they're pretty nifty, and I'd still like to really dive with CD -- but I also saw some amazing things with Ra Divers, so Crystal Divers hasn't completely cornered the market on cool critters.

:)

g2

PS - I had a great time at Wananvu. But CD charges $99/day/2 tanks, and lodging at Wananavu ain't cheap either. Figure about $200-250US per day for lodging, meals and 2 dives. For that, I'd just as well get on the Aggressor... Just my preference. You'll have a great time no matter how you do it!
 
I've been going through my log books and notes from the Fiji trip, and I have a couple more bits of information which might be useful if you're headed to Fiji...

- There was an underwater volcano in Tonga spewing out pumice while I was on Kadavu. There were dives where the water entry was through a sheet of floating rocks, and it was dark during the dive due to the thick surface layer. It was interesting the first few times, but got old pretty quick. You might want to check on that before going there; it plays havoc on the boating more than anything. Some dives had neutrally-bouyant rocks floating in the water, and diving through them was like navigating an astroid field. By now the pumice is probably everywhere in Fiji, if the volcano is still going.

- Just about everybody speaks English. It's easy to get around.

- If you're going to be hopping from island to island, take some foam earplugs with you. The flights are on small airplanes, and it's often very noisy.

- Print film is readily available in most places, slide film is uncommon outside of the cities.

- Take sunscreen! Surprisingly, many resorts don't have it and I didn't see it in any of the grocery stores. The same could be said for mossie repellant.

- If you get seasick easily, you might want to do your diving on Taveuni: it had the calmest conditions on the surface, despite the currents.

- Be sure to take signaling devices, like a whistle and safety sausage. If you get swept away, the next stop is New Zealand.

- Try the kava. It's really not that bad, but it makes your lips and tongue numb. Or I should say, it makes your lipths ann tunng numm.


If you go to Pacific Harbor:

- Pick up lots of cash in Suva or Nadi first. There is no ATM in Pacific Harbor, and no place to cash traveler's checks unless you happen to be staying at the Centra Resort.

- The Centra has a great happy hour, usually with music, and they welcome outsiders for drinks and meals.

- The Oasis restaurant has internet access.


On Taveuni:

- Don't miss the waterfall slide! Really fun.


Note that I didn't dive the Yasawa or Mamanuka island groups. There's supposed to be some good diving out there, but it's hard to get to unless you have your own boat or charter one. I haven't talked to anyone who raved about the diving there, but I did hear from some folks who were disappointed by it. Most people go to those islands for the beautiful white sand beaches, not the diving. Apparently storms seasonally ravage the reefs, which explains why there's lots of nice sand but not much coral. Still, I would have liked to have compared it to the diving in the eastern islands, just to be fair.

The Lau group is supposed to have some world-class diving, with hundreds of miles of unexplored reefs, but here again there's no way to get out there unless you're on a live-aboard boat. Speaking of which, the Fiji Aggressor is offering special rates this year. By all accounts it's a very impressive boat. It's often booked up, but if you happen to be able to get a walk-in special you may be able to get 25% off the regular price; I think it came out to $1500US for 6 nights and 5.5 days of diving. A steal!

The info that follows is totally second-hand; it was told to me by other travelers and you should treat it as just rumor -- I haven't personally been to these places, so I can't verify it. Having said that disclaimer, I'm writing this because I respect the opinions of the people who told it to me. If you have first-hand info, please post it!

- I heard several wonderful reports about Matangi Island Resort. This is definitely a high-end resort! The diving was supposedly so-so, but the resort itself was paradise.

- On the flip side, I heard two ghastly awful reports about Mantana (not to be confused with Matava!) Resort on Kadavu. Not sure what's going on there...

- And one absolutely glowing report about Namenalala: both the resort and diving were top notch. "National Geographic quality diving." That seems like a tall order, but I'd like to check it out. Unfortunately it's really, really expensive. Dang. Maybe I can go there on my honeymoon. Hmmm. Any diving gals reading this want to get married and go to Fiji? I'm ready! SWM diver, 40, seeks SWF w/C-card for serious bubble blowing and smooching during safety stops...

Cheers, g2
 
Originally posted by g2

I'm sure they're pretty nifty, and I'd still like to really dive with CD -- but I also saw some amazing things with Ra Divers, so Crystal Divers hasn't completely cornered the market on cool critters.

PS - I had a great time at Wananvu. But CD charges $99/day/2 tanks, and lodging at Wananavu ain't cheap either. Figure about $200-250US per day for lodging, meals and 2 dives. For that, I'd just as well get on the Aggressor... Just my preference. You'll have a great time no matter how you do it!

G2,

At the time I was there Dan was kind of a boutique operation, catering more to Americans through the 'net. He has a few rich clients as well, but I'm not one of them. <g>

We paid $70 a night at Wananavu, and dove with Dan a la carte, so although we didn't save money by booking multiple days with him, our tab was no more than $200 per day including diving, which isn't bad.

And yes, next time I go, I'll almost certainly dive the N'aia or the Aggressor, but I'll still set aside a few days to dive with Dan. He's part of what made the experience great. He really knows his stuff.

JoeL
 
Originally posted by g2
Hi All!

Crystal divers has a large fast boat, and they use it to get to some remote dive sites, taking up to an hour to get there. That doesn't necessarily mean the sites are any better than the ones close in! The sites around Nananu-i Ra, 15-20 minutes away, seemed to have a pleasant mix of everything: hard and soft corals, lots of colors and little critters, sharks, barracudas, and swim-throughs, arches and caves everywhere.

g2

What you say is true; CD also dives the close-in sites. What you missed, though, are several spectacular, although more distant, sites.
 

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