fiji diving

[carlw]

I was wondering how the diving is in Fiji. What kind of marine and reef life you see. When is best time to dive there. What is the best liveaboard to dive with? I was specificly looking at the Sere ni Wai. How does Fiji compare in diving to other PEACEFUL dive destinations to go to? Please give me details. Thanks.
'Carl

 

[Scuba Jim]

Fiji is a great dive destination - the soft corals are the best in the world and the hard coral formations are beautiful too.

Sere is a lovely boat - she is to be renamed Fiji Aggressor II now that the other boat has moved to Tahiti.

Nai'a is another nice boat, but Sere is smaller and more intimate.

You could also consider land based diving on Taveuni, Beqa or Kadavu, but the 2 main islands are more touristy, with bigger hotels and less impressive diving in general.

In view of the distance, I would consider a few days shore based prior to the boat trip, to recover from the flight, get over the jetlag and get in the swing of things.

Hope this assists.

Regards
Jim

 

[scorpionfish]

Carl,

Fiji is a great diver's destination. I have never used a live-aboard, but can attest to the great diving off of Taveuni and Matangi. Matangi is my favorite because the "resort" is so pleasant. You can do boat dives and some of the best shore dives I have ever done. Lots and lots to see.

If you are interested in small things, Fiji has some of the most beautiful nudibranchs I have ever seen. Numerous dive sites will feature schooling barracudas and groupers that seem large enough to swallow a boat! On almost any dive you might see what I think is the most beautiful fish in the region, the Clown Triggerfish. If you are a photographer, they represent a real challange for selecting the correct strobe and camera settings: they just have such a large range of shades from snowiest of white to "coaliest" of black, and everything in between!

Oh, yes, do you like shrimp? Numerous varieties live in the Fijian waters. Perhaps the most novel are Popcorn Shrimp; they are like Anenomefish, living within the protective confines of stinging anenomies. And they look like little pieces of popped corn.

Definitely do Fiji if you get the chance!

Scorpionfish--lots of them there, too!

 

[RSdiver]

How did you get to Matangi? Can you fly directly?

 

[scorpionfish]

Hi, RSDiver!

From the US you can leave San Francisco or LA on the west coast and land at Nadi (pronounced, "Nandi") via Air New Zealand. From the a/p at Nadi you take Sun Air to Taveuni a/p. The resort folks pick you at the a/p in a minibus and bring you to the watertaxi. There, you remove your shoes and wade out to the boat for the last leg of your journey to Matangi Is. Makes for a long day, but it is worth it!


There are a number of agencies that can assist you, if you do not have a regular agent that helps you. Two that I like and can recommend are:

http://www.trip-n-tour.com

and

http://www.islandream.com

Hope this helps.

Scorpionfish

 

[donacheson]

carlw once bubbled...
I was wondering how the diving is in Fiji. What kind of marine and reef life you see. When is best time to dive there. What is the best liveaboard to dive with? I was specificly looking at the Sere ni Wai. How does Fiji compare in diving to other PEACEFUL dive destinations to go to? Please give me details. Thanks.
'Carl

Fiji diving can be magnificent - hard and soft corals, small stuff, pelagics, it's all there at some dive sites. Don't fail to consider Crystal Divers, operating at the northern tip of the big island, Viti Levu.