Beqa Lagoon or Wananavu?

[DesertEagle]

Rocky,

Glad to hear you made it to Taveuni! Overall I thought Air Pacific was okay. I wasn't too thrilled to wait in line forever in Nadi. The airline should have added more check-in counters. The good news is that they have ordered Boeing 787s to replace the 747s. Newer airplanes, higher humidity levels and higher cabin pressure should make for a nicer flight.

I would definitely be interested in seeing your photos.

 

[caringbah]

What type of diving are you after? We have dived Beqa & Mana Is and while the reosrts were good the diving wasn't great. Why not think about East Malaysia - Layang Layang or Sipidan?

 

[gdenny]

gdenny,

www.echeng.com


www.pbase.com/krancer

QUOTE]

Wow, thanks for the links. I have yet to see soft corals in these colors on a dive. There are some shots with more fish than I have ever seen in one spot also. No more petting zoo for me.

Caringbah - My wife and I will be leaving our one year old with Grandma.
I guess what we're looking for is the best diving we can get to (Pacific, no Hawaii) at a reasonable price with a day or less in travel time. The non stop flight from LAX can get me to Fiji quicker than I can get to the Carribean through MIA or DFW with layovers. We each have just under 100 dives so it won't take too much to impress us. My wife won't do a liveaboard. I guess we're just looking for excellent, resort based, reef diving that is Better than what we have dived thus far. (Cozumel, Curacao, Belize, Monterey...brrr) If Wananvu or Beqa is good for a first trip to Fiji it makes life easier with interisland flight, weight restrictions etc.

We're after soft corals, interesting reef formation, loads of fish, and in particular anemone's with their resident clownfishes. I would also like to have a good chance of seeing a shark. I don't want myself or anyone else to feed it and it won't ruin the trip if I don't see one. I wouldn't sacrifice great vis for it either.

I've read some on the currents in the Bligh Waters. Can anyone compare this to the currents in Cozumel? Are these currents a bit stronger/trickier with lots of up/down drafts? Is it leisurely drift diving where everyone goes the same direction?

 

[DesertEagle]

Once you go to the Pacific, you will be spoiled. It is totally different from anything in the Caribbean.

The main reason I went through Wananavu was to dive the Bligh Waters. I used Kai Viti divers because they were said to know the tides and currents very well. For example, we did a morning dive at G6, which is a fantastic site (it's my favorite). I asked if we could do the afternoon dive there. The captain explained that with the tide changing, the currents would be tricky. Instead we went to another site. The afternoon was also a drift dive. There was a strong current, but we swam with it, not against it. If you have 90 dives, you won't have any problems.

You can see anemones everywhere.

 

[CCreature]

I just came back from diving in Fiji. First on the Aggressor and then Beqa. Beqa is not the best diving in Fiji, but it's still enjoyable. There can be strong run-off from the main island into Beqa laqoon making the the vis not great. I strongly recommend a live aboard or Taveuni for diving. Beqa Lagoon Resort was wonderful for relaxing after a week on a live-aboard. But the diving was ho-hum in comparison.

 

[Jim Kerr]

Great report Bill,
I really loved the part of the Tiger shark doing a head stand on the camera lens. Now I'm even more excited! I'll be going there in Nov with a group out of Sacramento. From the report Hodge Podge gave though it sounds like conditions will be a little less than ideal during that time of year. Thanks for the tip on the dive sites being better further out. I'll be sure and mention it to our group leader to be sure we get the most for our money.

gdenny,
Since you're from the area if your plans are flexable there's plenty of space available on this trip. This is a "very" fun group! If you're interested you can PM me for more info. If not then I hope you'll post a trip report and tell us what you thought of it when you get back.

Hello...I recently did a trip to Beqa Lagoon Resort that you may be interested in reading. I think wherever you go though, you will love Fiji ! Have fun...
Bill


http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=143214&highlight=beqa