Diving Fiji - Confused, Bega or Kadavu in early January?

[rugbynutta]

I am currently planning a stopover of 4-5 days in Fiji (I know not very long!) and we are keen holiday/vacation scuba divers who have dived a few excellent dive locations around the world (Egypt, Mozambique, Thailand, Mexico, Belize...)

During my research I have realised we probably don't have the time to do more than one location and we don't have the budget for liveaboard. The two locations that so far really appeal are Bega Lagoon (for the shark dive) and Kadavu Island (for the Astrolabe reef).

The things that we are really interested in diving with are the sharks and mantas. We love the sharks! Actually any big marine life. We also love the coral reefs and diversity of marine life especially when it comes to some of those wild reefs in Belize.

We are stopping in Fiji in very early Jan (new moon) so my question is, with all above taken into account, what would be the best place to base ourselves at this time of the year? I know that Nov-Dec the Bull Sharks have nearly all vanished due to mating season, but are they back by early January? Are the Manta numbers in Kadavu ok in early January? I know it's not a zoo down there but statistically speaking.

Obviously I don't want to end up going to Bega for example and not seeing the Sharks and knowing that we could have had better odds at Kadavu of seeing Mantas.

Actually, is there some better location in Fiji I haven't looked into?

Your help and experiences will be most appreciated.

 

[diver 85]

We were @ Beqa Lagoon Resort about 3 weeks ago-------Our group did the Friday shark dive(3rd one of the week & the other 2 groups struck out) & 2(TWO) tiger sharks visited us---but---it had been almost 3 weeks since they were there--We got LUCKY.....

Here are some pics & videos of the 2 shark dives we did that day..
Fiji shark dive pictures by GEAUXtiger - Photobucket

 

[ssturges]

I takes extra time to get to Kadavu, the layover in the airport is quite long. I do love the hard coral richness on the Astrolab reef. Most the operations on the Kadavu might only have 2 dives a day. A couple offer shore diving however. I enjoyed shore diving in front of Matava resort, I have been there twice. Kadavu is also very primitive, you leave the west behind. Because of this you are more likely to meet some interesting people vs your typical vacation tourist. Bega to me looked more like the typical resort, but maybe you are looking for that.

If sharks are what you are looking for you might want to find a place that offers shark dives. In kadavu you will find them in the drift drives in and out of the passages. The mantas are there but they are hit and miss, In 5 attempts I saw 1 on the the manta dive on the Astrolab, so don't expect the Big Island Kona Manta night dive.

 

[fiji_diver]

Hi
No one will guarantee you particular sharks at Beqa, but drop an e-mail to Brandon who runs the Aquatrek shark dive at Beqa
mailto:brandon@aquatrek.com
and he will give you the best info you can get. He has been running it for over 10 years.
The soft coral dives there are also very good and worth a couple of days diving at least. Look at staying at Uprising
Welcome to Uprising Beach Resort
Tell Brandon I sent you if you go

ssturges is right in that it will take you time to get to Kadavu. The earliest you can arrive on Kadavu is 12.45 (lunch time) then you have to transfer to the resort so not much chance of a dive on that day but it might be possible if you arrange it in advance.
Returning, you will have to leave Kadavu airport at 13.05 so probably an 11.30am departure from the resort - depending where you are on the island - it's quite big with most resorts only accessible by boat. So again, little chance of a dive in the morning - yes, I know you mustn't dive before flying, but the internal flights are "usually" low level, i.e. 8,000 ft which DAN consider a safe flying height, but much better to not take a chance of course.

So on balance I would not recommend Kadavu for a short stop.

There are other choices though.
Have a look at Volivoli Beach Resort - Fiji This is a resort about 2 1/2 hours from Nadi airport and offers some very cool dives including the Vatu-i-ra passage which is great for large pelagics and drift dives. Bargain prices to but not luxury.

If you really want to see Mantas, you can go out to Manta Island and snorkel with them - lots of them - 9 times out of 10. Manta's are often spooked by divers bubbles, at least the ones we have here are
Manta Ray island is one of many resorts in the Mananuca and Yasawa islands. Not the best diving in Fiji for sure, but if it's mantas you want.....

One more idea for you. Have a look at Levuka as a destination. Stay at the Royal Hotel - the oldest in Fiji, very cheap, and dive with Ovalau Water Sports
Ovalau Watersports Fiji Islands - Fiji Scuba diving, Padi scuba diving instruction, Dive shop. Levuka, Ovalau, Fiji Islands
You can arrive in Levuka early enough to dive - if your flight is an early morning one that is. It takes about 50 mins by bus from the airport to the town (not a resort). Levuka is the old colonial capital of Fiji and very historic (in a small way). The diving is great especially if you can get across to the Wakaya passage where it is common to see Mantas, grey reef sharks and hammerheads.

Now I think about it, you can get an extra days diving in if you don't mind travelling by bus rather than flying internally. This depends a lot on your flight times, but it is not too bad a trip. I would be happy to give you exact travel logistics if you tell me your flight itinerary.

OK, last option. If you want to see and feel a real part of Fiji, and get some great dives in, look at Cagali?
Viti Watersports - Caqalai
Very basic accommodation, great locally run operation with no frills. Diving can be superb. They can also take you to the Wakaya passage as above.

I hope that gives you a few ideas.

I live and dive in Fiji but am not associated to any specific resort.
Welcome to the Suva Diving Club
Cheers
Greg

 

[rugbynutta]

Wow Greg (fiji_diver), very impressed with the detailed response! You're certainly the man who knows. Well, I'm going to go away and digest all this info (research) and try and figure out some itinerary. The good thing is that we arrive from Auckland in the morning and leave to LA in the late evening so the first and last days will be nice and easy going for travel without disrupting any other days for diving! Can't wait! I know we'll be back to Fiji again (as we're from NZ) so we may leave Kadavu for another time with more time.

Thanks everyone else for your responses. I knew scubaboard forums would be the most helpful.

Mark

 

[Eau_Girl]

Hi Rubynutta! I know Fiji Diver answered in lots of detail. I faced a similar dilemma this time last year. I have about a week in Fiji before heading to the Solomon Islands. The flight to Honiara is only once per week so there was no back up. I had looked a Kadavu but opted not to do it because there was no 'Plan B' if there were any issues with weather/delayed flights (limited flights between Nadi/Kadavu).

I had about 7/8 days so didn't want to spend that much time at Beqa. I ended up going to Savusavu and really enjoyed it. There are so many places to chose from you can't go too wrong! Especially since you're likely to be back, I'd pick something with uncomplicated logistics and save the treks for your next visit.

Have a great time!

 

[fiji_diver]

Hi, I definitely agree with Eau_Girl. Simple is generally best and Savusavu is also a great spot but you will have to fly there so probably losing a day each end.
I talk too much
FD

 

[Eau_Girl]

Agree Fiji Diver -- I wasn't suggesting that they go to Savusavu given their limited number of days -- I'd stay closer to Nadi.

I chose Savusavu (stayed a Daku and dove with Cousteau) because I had over a week and there were multiple flights per day back to Nadi. I'm glad I did since a weather system came in on Saturday night. On Monday morning the first flight from Savusavu was cancelled (the inbound plane actually turned around and went back to Nadi). Plan B was the 2nd flight which was cancelled. So it was on to Plan C -- 4 of us got a taxi to Labasa since all flights were being diverted there! We crossed all of the resort/boats vans on the road to Labasa since they had to collect their incoming guests from the other side of the island.

 

[OnTheSpot]

I aggree with the general consensus - you need more time to fully appreciate Kadavu.

Why not have a stay at Beqa Lagoon Resort on Beqa Island?

You can do the shark encounter dives, soft coral dives and unlimited shore dives.

You dont need to fly there but you do need to match up with the bus and boat transfers but they are included.

 

[1davey]

I agree that you would need more time at Matava. I did the Manta reef dive last Aug. It was outstanding saw two different Mantas. They did not seemed to spooked by our bubbles. I stayed a week at Bequa Lgoon then a week at Matava. Two different resorts Bequa more toursty than Matava. Just depends on which you like. Really can't go wrong with eather.