TLBoehnke
Registered
Hello. I just returned on April 9, 2023 from a vacation at VoliVoli Resort and diving eight days with their on-site operation - Ra Divers. The resort facilities, rooms, and food are all top-shelf excellent. Best of all is their staff in all areas of their operations. The nicest and sweetest human beings on the planet! As awesome as the diving is in the Bligh Straits, the Fiji people were the best part of the trip. The Kiwi owners and their children and grandchildren were all present too. They're all like family with the staff.
The water this season has been unusually warmer than normal and has caused some minor bleaching of hard coral, but I didn't know the difference as it was my first trip to Fiji. It was all wonderful and hard to imagine an area that has the abundant fish life as the Bligh Straits, which is the area you dive there. The water averaged around 84F. I wore a 3mm short sleeve top on the first day and quickly abandoned it for a rash guard the rest of the trip and never felt cold. I run a bit hot though. Folks in full 3mm wetsuits were complaining of being too hot though! But their winter is on the horizon and they said the hard coral colors will rebound quickly. The soft coral appeared unaffected and stunning.
There are numerous dive sites that are 10-15 minutes away, but 'most' of the sites I liked the most were further out on the way to or in the Marine Park. The water was clearer out that way than closer to the resort. The current or lack of current coincides closely with the tides and I was there during a full moon, so extreme tides and changes in the current - sometimes during the dive. Most are not drift dives, rather dive in one direction of the reef and then return. But we had two drift dives and one dive where we kicked against the current going out, then had to kick against the current going back because the tide had flipped directions. Some dives had no current. I wouldn't recommend the Bligh Straits for a beginner diver but don't consider them hard dives either. Some beginners were struggling a bit at times with the erratic (at times) current.
There were always more life on the current side of the reefs, so the leeward current sides were less hectic with fish but still there. There is so much floating biota in the water and the reason for the abundant fish life, but it also affects vis.
Depending on the dive site and also current or leeward side of the reef, the visibility varied greatly. A few of the worst vis dives were ~ 40-60 feet on one side and more like 60-100 feet on the other side. The vis seemed more like 100-150 feet or further in the Marine Park but I'm not an expert on such matters. On average, I'd say to expect visibility to average 60-100 feet. Just my estimate and talking with others.
We encountered the Nai'a live aboard whenever in the Marine Park and were diving the same sites they were...at different times as the boat drivers coordinate with each other and are friendly and courteous. Ra Divers are the only land-based dive operation in the Bligh Straits so it was us and a couple live aboards. Ra Divers uses 3 dive boats and also has a snorkel boat and a fishing boat. I wouldn't think it worthwhile to dive with Ra Divers and then take a week on a live aboard in the Bligh Straits as you'd be diving the same sites. Everyone I talked to who were experienced, split their time between VoliVoli (or Nai'a) and a trip to Taveuni to drift dive the Rainbow Reef. I was told it is very different and more large sea life. We didn't see too many big creatures in the Bligh Straits except for a shark dive (Breath Taker). I saw four large sharks on that dive. Some in our group said they saw more.
Wananavu (swp?) across the bay from VoliVoli is being renovated by a resort company and is expected to open with dive operations in another year or so. But I highly recommend all aspects of VoliVoli and would return there if I wanted to dive the Bligh Straits again. I already miss their people!
The water this season has been unusually warmer than normal and has caused some minor bleaching of hard coral, but I didn't know the difference as it was my first trip to Fiji. It was all wonderful and hard to imagine an area that has the abundant fish life as the Bligh Straits, which is the area you dive there. The water averaged around 84F. I wore a 3mm short sleeve top on the first day and quickly abandoned it for a rash guard the rest of the trip and never felt cold. I run a bit hot though. Folks in full 3mm wetsuits were complaining of being too hot though! But their winter is on the horizon and they said the hard coral colors will rebound quickly. The soft coral appeared unaffected and stunning.
There are numerous dive sites that are 10-15 minutes away, but 'most' of the sites I liked the most were further out on the way to or in the Marine Park. The water was clearer out that way than closer to the resort. The current or lack of current coincides closely with the tides and I was there during a full moon, so extreme tides and changes in the current - sometimes during the dive. Most are not drift dives, rather dive in one direction of the reef and then return. But we had two drift dives and one dive where we kicked against the current going out, then had to kick against the current going back because the tide had flipped directions. Some dives had no current. I wouldn't recommend the Bligh Straits for a beginner diver but don't consider them hard dives either. Some beginners were struggling a bit at times with the erratic (at times) current.
There were always more life on the current side of the reefs, so the leeward current sides were less hectic with fish but still there. There is so much floating biota in the water and the reason for the abundant fish life, but it also affects vis.
Depending on the dive site and also current or leeward side of the reef, the visibility varied greatly. A few of the worst vis dives were ~ 40-60 feet on one side and more like 60-100 feet on the other side. The vis seemed more like 100-150 feet or further in the Marine Park but I'm not an expert on such matters. On average, I'd say to expect visibility to average 60-100 feet. Just my estimate and talking with others.
We encountered the Nai'a live aboard whenever in the Marine Park and were diving the same sites they were...at different times as the boat drivers coordinate with each other and are friendly and courteous. Ra Divers are the only land-based dive operation in the Bligh Straits so it was us and a couple live aboards. Ra Divers uses 3 dive boats and also has a snorkel boat and a fishing boat. I wouldn't think it worthwhile to dive with Ra Divers and then take a week on a live aboard in the Bligh Straits as you'd be diving the same sites. Everyone I talked to who were experienced, split their time between VoliVoli (or Nai'a) and a trip to Taveuni to drift dive the Rainbow Reef. I was told it is very different and more large sea life. We didn't see too many big creatures in the Bligh Straits except for a shark dive (Breath Taker). I saw four large sharks on that dive. Some in our group said they saw more.
Wananavu (swp?) across the bay from VoliVoli is being renovated by a resort company and is expected to open with dive operations in another year or so. But I highly recommend all aspects of VoliVoli and would return there if I wanted to dive the Bligh Straits again. I already miss their people!
I ate more than I dived!
