Dive Operators in Taveuni Fiji?

[Pony]

What dive operations are there currently operating on Taveuni Island? I know there is Swiss Fiji and Aqua-trek. I will be staying at Maravu in November and Need to know Divers personal experiences with local dive Ops, and if it is feasable to use other dive shops while staying at Maravu?

I do not like to pre-judge Dive Shop operations as there are always 2 sides to a story (or complaint), but there have been a few bad comments on Swiss Fiji divers. Are these just from difficult/snotty clients? Sometimes good, safty conscious operators get a bad rap from bad divers who just don't follow simple rules or instructions.

I have tried searching threads for the following information, but hope someone can set myself and others staight. If there is a site that has current dive shop Names, email addresses please post. PADI for example does not list Swiss Fiji in their directory.Thanks in advance.

 

[RockyHeap]

Wow, your join date is April of 2005 and your first post is now, August of 2006? Welcome!

We'll be at Maravu for Christmas, and I've not heard anything but raving reviews of the on-site dive op. The next closest is Garden Island Resort, but here are the rest of the main resorts on the island..

http://www.taveuni.islands-resorts.com/searchaction_index.cfm

 

[maddmike]

Aquaventure is out of business.

I think Aqua-Trek at Garden Island Resort is too far to drive from Matei/Maravu.

I've also heard mixed things about Swiss Fiji Divers. My sister-in-law went there to use the internet one day. Despite warnings about "don't forget to remove your shoes, or they'll yell at you," from locals, she was amazed by their gruff attitude and rigid rules. Definitely not Fiji style.

We dove with Jewel Bubble Divers. They're next to Susie's Plantation; practically across the street from Maravu. Qio is a Fijian who worked at other dive operations (including Swiss Fiji for a while) and started his own shop last year. Nothing fancy, but he's competent and easy to deal with. The boat is single engine, with no shade or camera facilities. Rental gear is fine. On our 3 days diving, we were the only customers, so we got plenty of attention and friendly service.

Email: jeweldivers@connect.com.fj
Web: http://www.jeweldivers.com/

When we return to Taveuni we'll dive with Jewel Bubble again.

 

[Bunnyhon]

We will be heading to Maravu in October - will let you know what Swiss Fiji Divers is like.

 

[Pony]

Thanks in advance for any feedback bunnyhon. Hope you have a wonderful time at Maravu. P.S. Check to see if SFD are PADI Certified shop. According to PADI whom I called yesterday...they are not, but advertise as such. Then again, PADI has lots of shops to keep track of.

 

[Bunnyhon]

Hi Pony just got back from Fiji - hope my reply is not too late.

Stayed in Maravu and dived with Swiss Fiji for 6 days. Didn't have a problem at all and the DMs were all very nice, friendly and accomodating. The group varied from just the 2 of us (1 DM) to 7 or 8 (at least 2 DMs, mostly 3). At times people were dropping out of dives due to being cold or sea sick and the DMs were quick to make an ascend with them. The gear I rented - the BC and the reg were all good. I was having problems adjusting to a back buoyancy BC but it took a or 2 dives to get used to it. Good thing I had my own wetsuit as the rental ones didn't look too good.

We felt safe and looked after in general...although one girl did find her tank wasn't changed after the first dive when it should have been. There was also another incident which happened a few days before we got there. We heard from other divers (and later one DM) that the dive boat capsized (!) after the first morning dive. Basically some divers were on the boat and some were getting on and it just rolled over. People were dangling off for a while in the water and then the boat sank! They got rescued at the end (about 30 mins?)and the dive shop managed to retrieve the boat and all the gear the next day. I would have been freaked out if not pissed off - apparently the owner refused to give people a refund for their missing 2nd dive. (This is from another diver who heard about it from someone else but we have no way of verifying it since all the ones involed were all gone by the time we were there.) I was a little cheesed off as when we got there we asked the owner about night dives and she coyly replied that the lights on the boat wasn't working, although everything else was and she would want to test everything first. I thought it was a weird way of putting things...looking back she was probably trying to avoid telling us about the capsize.

The thing which gets me is us divers have to sign so many waivers disclamiers and yet a dive shop doesn't have the obligation to inform us of a major incident relating to safety? I suppose you can't expect the owners to come running out and say hi our boat sank last week please enjoy your dives. In this case though I think we would probably still dive with Swiss Fiji even if we had found out about the incident. There were others who knew and they were still there - so why the "cover up"?

Anyways. I believe Aquaventres is still operating? I never went to the shop (by the way the 3 dive shops (SFD, Aquaventures, and Jewel Bubbles) are right next to each other. One diver who apparently got bummed off the Aquaventure boat (he had "buoyancy problems") ended up on our boat. (He was a nightmare, but that's another story.)

 

[Pony]

Thanks Bunnyhon for the infomation. We will be off in 3 weeks and will diving with a DM named Tyrone Valentine with Vunibokoi Divers. Seems to have good credentials and may offer a little more 1 on 1 with us and my "new" diver wife. Let you know more when we get back. Thanks again.

 

[msyentah]

I like Aqua-trek a lot at the Garden Island resort. They washed out our gear every day and hung it up to dry. Good dive masters. Kept us safe.

 

[RockyHeap]

After diving with Swiss Fiji divers, I can see what some people are saying about the owners..........sorta gruff and edgey, dive crew was fine, but really not that attentive to equipment help on the boat or helping you in or out of your gear. Average in all means, but wouldn't dive with them or stay at Maravu again. (for no particular reason)

 

[lk187]

I was in Taveuni in August staying at Susie's Plantation. Great people, relaxed, awesome location, inexpensive and beautiful. It is the Prodive resort there and the crew were helpful, thorough and good fun. Plus the dive trip to the Great White Wall was once in a lifetime - apart from the fact that i will be going back