hoping for Fiji input, thinking Kadavu then Nananu-I-Ra

[MVillanueva]

Well, I just took the plunge. Called and made reservations. We will pass Kadavu this trip. Hopefully http://www.nananuislandlodge.com/ is the right choice. She is 14 -- it did seem like this place would be more fun for her. We have 32 dives between us -- my sense was that he diving here would be more fun for us. I surely hope that we will see a Manta Ray or two. I saw a picture of one on the www.divenananu.com/ site. I hope that is a real possibility.

 

[rickydazla]

You won't see any mantarays. The season in Fiji is May-November but even then they don't really frequent the reefs around Nananu-i-Ra.

 

[CaribQueen]

Are you aware of the stiff currents in the Bligh Channel? With only 32 dives...maybe you are just diving the fringing reefs... I dove with Crystal Divers in June 2004. Stayed on Nananu-I-Ra (Bamboo Beach Reosrt) ...not much to do there other than diving.

 

[DesertEagle]

I came back 3 weeks ago. Did my diving with Kai Viti Divers. We had a couple of people staying at the Nananu Island Lodge. Myself, I stayed at the Rakiraki hotel, which was quite fine. Most stayed at Wananavu, which is quite small.

The diving was awesome. It ranks with some of the best diving that I've done in the Red Sea. We were fortunate that seas were fairly calm. Some of the sites did have a strong current, but they were done as a drift dive. Compared to diving the Red Sea in December, this was quite easy. Sites are chosen based on tides and currents.

I was very happy with my decision to go with Kai Viti. We didn't see any other dive boats. As far as I know, none of the other operators venture out into the Bligh waters.

Most of the dives were in the Bligh waters & Vatu-i-ra channel. My favorite was a site called G6. The reef is completely covered in hard and soft corals. Anthia fish swim in clowds. It is the prettiest reef I have seen. The only place I have seen that compare is Elphinstone in the Red Sea.

We didn't see any manta rays or huge pelagics. That was fine, since the reefs were so pretty. One site, called Breath Taker did live up to its billing. We watched some white tip reef sharks swimming, along with a big napoleon wrasse. They were at least 10 feet from us, so I didn't take any photos.

Another site called Golden Dreams had some huge arches of yellow soft coral. It's the kind of stuff you see on the cover of a dive magazine. My last dive was done at a place called Garden of Eden. While it didn't have as many fish as some of the others, the hard coral formations were very interesting.

My photos are at:
http://www.pbase.com/krancer/fiji_2006_

 

[rickydazla]

Ra Divers and Reef Safari also dive the same reefs as Kai Viti.

 

[DesertEagle]

Are we talking local sites like Golden Dreams, or far-away ones like Black Magic Mountain?

 

[rickydazla]

Are we talking local sites like Golden Dreams, or far-away ones like Black Magic Mountain?

Yes. Both. I run Reef Safari's shop on Nananu. We went to Black Magic Mountain, Pot Luck, and Mary's Maytag two days ago. It was full moon and there was no wind. It's rough as **** now and the currents will pick up over the next week or so. Nobody dives there every day, it very much depends on the weather and the moon being the roughest stretch of water in Fiji..

 

[Ms. Ann Thrope]

If you feel like dispensing additional valuable information, I'm going to be on the island next week--are the conditions expected to be particularly challenging? What can I expect? Is the water warming up a bit?

 

[rickydazla]

If you feel like dispensing additional valuable information, I'm going to be on the island next week--are the conditions expected to be particularly challenging? What can I expect? Is the water warming up a bit?

At the moment the weather is horrible - check out met.gov.fj - windy and squally. The water is 26 degrees which is cold in my book but may be warm in yours! I would imagine that if it stays the same you will be restricted to local diving (which is still very good) and even then there may be some currents as we're coming up to a new moon. That's no bad thing of course - bigger currents = more fish and lots more dendronephthya.. you'll love it, I can guarantee that.