Fiji in August

[jnberke]

Bula!

I am planning a trip to Fiji in August and was looking for recommendations for the best area to stay at with my family. Ideally it would be a place that had easy access to great snorkeling (preferably with soft coral - I know that might mean currents) for my six year old daughter (after doing a morning Scuba myself of course). Second priority is a great facility, food, pool etc.

Does anyone have any experience with the Cousteau resort? I've also heard Matangi, Rainbow Reef and Wavanavu resorts are good with access to great snorkeling sites, but the main thing we want to see is dat soft coral!

Thanks,

jnb

 

[Shasta_man]

Big bula!

You're going to have to go a little deeper for the soft coral.

My understanding of the Cousteau resort was that it had little beach and sharp coral drop off meaning snorkel unfriendly. Coral is razor sharp. It is in the area of Rainbow Reef. Matangi is around the other side of Taveuni and so boat rides will be longer. Probably at least 1/2 hour and probably more to Rainbow Reef. It took us at least 20 minutes from Taveuni airport area.

Weather can be severe in the Somosomo Strait with much rain.

You may consider the Mamanucca Islands north of Viti Levu. This area has atolls with beach and numerous little resorts. You would fly into Nandi and then take a boat out to the islands. They have regular ferries going out there. We chartered a sailboat for a week out of Nandi to the islands, including captain and chef. Fantastic experience with our own chef, going where we want and enjoying the sailing lifestyle. We hooked up with local resorts to dive. They come out to the boat to pick you up on the way to the dive. Return to a waiting gourmet meal. No seasickness. Comparably priced to a hotel and transport, but much more private and an experience rather than a vacation.

Bula!

I am planning a trip to Fiji in August and was looking for recommendations for the best area to stay at with my family. Ideally it would be a place that had easy access to great snorkeling (preferably with soft coral - I know that might mean currents) for my six year old daughter (after doing a morning Scuba myself of course). Second priority is a great facility, food, pool etc.

Does anyone have any experience with the Cousteau resort? I've also heard Matangi, Rainbow Reef and Wavanavu resorts are good with access to great snorkeling sites, but the main thing we want to see is dat soft coral!

Thanks,

jnb

 

[Mike Veitch]

Also its cold water there in August, avg water temp around 76F

 

[maddmike]

Weather can be severe in the Somosomo Strait with much rain.

You may consider the Mamanucca Islands north of Viti Levu.

How often is the Somosomo / Taveuni weather severe? On a tropical island, I expect some rain. But I've heard from several people who had "days of driving, horizontal, torrential rain" on Taveuni. Any idea how frequent that is? We'll be in Fiji late May-early June.

How does the diving quality compare between Taveuni/Somosomo and/or Kadavu/Astrolabe with the Mamanucas? I've gotten the feeling that you can go diving in the Mamanucas, but it's not nearly as good as at the wetter islands.

Thanks.

 

[Geezer]

Like most Pacific Islands, Fiji has a rainy season and a dry season. Each of the past two times I have been to Taveuni (both times in the month of March) we have had occasional days of light rain, but nothing significant.

 

[Shasta_man]

Unfortunately, I provided the torrential rain comment previously so I'll elaborate on my experience instead so you can evaluate.

We went to Taveuni on May 29 through June 6, 2004. The day we arrived it was beautiful. Hot. Somewhat humid. Next day, got up, another nice day. We rented a house on the beach right by the airport. The house was OK, but various features were not as advertised, most importantly the one person "staff". That night, the rain came in. Strong wind. Torrential rain. Really blowing. It rained with little break for the next six days straight. No sun, just solid cloud. At the same time, I got sick from some idiot on the plane out so I laid around the house for a few days trying to get better to salvage the rest of the trip. It just rained and rained. Windy like it was going to blow the roof off at night. It was difficult to go out because with the wind blowing, you just got soaked through. Newlywed neighbors who did attempt to visit the waterfalls said it was an impassable torrent. Multiple times, cells came through that would turn into white outs while they went over. We couldn't see the beach down below the house. The day we left, it was beautiful again, and the strait appeared as a lake, gently lapping. Perhaps it was me, however, we flew through plenty more storm clouds on the way out.

We went with Swiss Fiji Divers out on their smaller boats. The crew was great but conditions were pretty rough. As long as you didn't stop, you were fine. A story in itself, their small boats were enclosed so that the exhaust would fill the passenger area. Despite Bonine and no previous seasickness, my wife was twice reduced from happy diver to a sputtering mess from the carbon monoxide on the way to the dive. The divemaster always stood in the open at the back of the boat to get the most clean air. I was tall enough to get my head over the tanks along the side out into clean air. Ridiculous.

If you research Taveuni, you'll find that it has a large mountain running down the middle. On the airport side, it gets some of the most rainfall in the world. Somewhere I read that it gets some large number of feet of rain per year. Still, I wanted to go to Taveuni for the strait, so we went.

What I'm saying is: you have a high probability of running into rain which could be heavy and for multiple days. It won't stop you from diving but it may not be the sunny paradise you might be expecting.

How often is the Somosomo / Taveuni weather severe? On a tropical island, I expect some rain. But I've heard from several people who had "days of driving, horizontal, torrential rain" on Taveuni. Any idea how frequent that is? We'll be in Fiji late May-early June.

How does the diving quality compare between Taveuni/Somosomo and/or Kadavu/Astrolabe with the Mamanucas? I've gotten the feeling that you can go diving in the Mamanucas, but it's not nearly as good as at the wetter islands.

Thanks.