No matter how hard you try you just can't ignore Fiji's lush coral gardens; they are just about everywhere you go. This has to be the soft coral capital of the world.
Some walls - Yellow Wall, Purple Wall. While Wall - are carpeted with coral trees from 15 metres to depths far beyond the recreational divers limit. At other sites soft coral covered bommies almost reach the surface. But Fiji's true world-class and offers far more than just coral, although, quite truthfully, I feel that Fiji is well worth visiting just to dive in these multi-hued submarine gardens. I have not seen anything like it anywhere else in the Pacific. But the same currents which provide nutrient-rich water for ultimate coral blossoming also supports an enormous variety of marine creatures.
The more we dived Fiji, the more we loved it. And the more we sailed the islands, the more we appreciated travelling aboard NAI'A. a gorgeous 110 metre motor sailer. The best of the dive sites in Fiji are quite exposed to the elements so a heavy and stable ship is a must to ensure a comfortable, safe journey. But NAI'A is not just extremely seaworthy, When she was purchased in 1992 by the Hana NAI'A Project. she was stripped bare right back to the hull and rebuilt with not just maximum safety in mind, but also the passengers ultimate comfort all under the supervision of Rob Barrel, cruise director and designer of the ship. Her interior is beautifully decorated with exquisite cabinetry throughout the salon and spacious staterooms and a crew of twelve caters to the guests needs. Two skiffs are available to drop divers right on top of each and every dive site and pick them up wherever they surface. This is absolutely essential in Fiji, since strong currents could quickly move you off the dive sites.
Fiji diving magic revolves around the currents -most of the top dive sites are in ocean channels. When currents run in the right direction, the soft corals flourish; millions of tiny polyps open up to feed. Jacks and barracudas school up into dense clouds and sharks eagerly patrol the reefs. If the currents run the opposite direction they can sweep murky inner lagoon water onto the dive site, spreading debris over the coral gardens and limiting visibility. When the currents slack. the corals trees somberly drop their heads and pelagic activity slows down, but it s then that divers are given the perfect opportunity to search out and photograph small critters. This is where Rob's expertise comes in handy. He has the currents down to a science and maneuvers the ship accordingly.
E6 is perhaps Fiji s most extraordinary dive site. A sheer-sided seamount rising from 1000 metres to the surface is located right in the narrowest part of Bligh Water, the huge channel which separates Fiji s two main islands Viti Levu and Vanua Levu. Here, every diver's wish comes true. The most obvious attractions are the enormous coral trees and seafans, as well as pelagics and schooling fish. Cathedral Cave is probably the best spot on the seamount. A narrow opening in the cavern's ceiling allows sun rays to enter, illuminating delicately-hued coral trees, like the panes of stained glass. There's also a resident whitetip reef shark living underneath a large overhang. Outside the cavern are bommies sensationally embellished with carpets of pink, purple, orange and red soft corals. Amongst them, like living jewels, swirl thousands of fairy basslets . A true feast for the eye! But there's much more. When the current slows down, it's time to explore the macro life. Inside the cavern we discovered courting dragonets, poison-bristle nudibranchs, lobsters and yellow-banded shrimp gobies. In the shallows above the cavern, tiny hermit crabs have taken over the abandoned holes which formerly belonged to tube worms and have created a miniature condominium complex. These hermit crabs are filterfeeders and upon close observation you'll see their tiny feathery fans which filter plankton. At night you're likely to encounter cuttlefish, more giant lobsters and delicate little soft coral cowries as well as thousands of flashlight fish. If you turn off your light you can see their illuminant patch glow with an intense green sheen.
Named after Captain Bligh, Mount Mutiny is a similar seamount like E6, though much smaller and perhaps not quite as diverse. The primary attraction is the rare golden Siphonogorgia soft coral which blankets the walls, photographic opportunities are spectacular here, and the true colours of the fragile and thin-stalked Siphonogorgia are often not fully appreciated until rediscovered on film.
Although Wakaya a small island with an exclusive resort, is well known for hammerhead sharks and manta rays, we indulged ourselves in the resident reef creatures. Rob took us on tour and we discovered the rare deepwater Helfrich's dartfish which we had been searching for in areas of the Pacific without success. Along the reef wall reside a white and a purple leaf fish, as well as several stunning blue ribbon eels. In a sandy channel we discovered other unusual fish such as the stunning yellow-nosed shrimp goby and the still undescribed decora goby.
Grand Central Station near Namena Island is the dive site which drew Cousteau to Fiji, and I could understand why. When the current is right, this site has it all - concentrated schools of big fish and breathtaking soft coral bommies. With an incoming current we dropped into the deep blue and swam along a sheer wall which tops out in about 30 metres (or 100 feet). On the plateau above the wall giant schools of bigeye trevally, scad, and barracuda were watched over by several grey reef sharks. Whitetips napped on the sandy bottom along with numerous species of shrimp gobies, peacock flounders and flying gumards.
Then the current took us deeper into the channel where a line of bommies rise almost to the surface. The sides and tops of the bommies were alive with colour; gorgonia fans, black coral, soft coral, and every reef fish imaginable. As if this wasn't enough, we could let ourselves to drift even further into the channel to Kansas, a small bommie covered with Sinlaria soft coral which looks just like wheat fields swaying in the wind. We discovered several banded pipefish and an unusual decorator crab, which had camouflaged itself with a rug of reddish-brown algae and sat fearlessly on a bubble coral. It genuinely resembled a lump of algae - only its crimson red eyes gave it away.
Another great winner is the island of Gau (pronounced now). One side is a true macro photographers' paradise - an abundance of blue ribbon eels calls this home, as well as scarlet cleaner shrimp which, when given the opportunity, will climb into a diver's mouth and clean their teeth with great care and efficiency. There's also a resident ghost pipefish, mantis shrimp, leaf fish and the flame hawkfish - which is just as skittish as it is spectacular.
On the other side of Gau is Nigali Passage, a narrow cut in the surrounding barrier reef which concentrates pelagics from miles around. This dive could easily rate as Fiji's best dive site, although my personal favourite will remain E6. However Nigali Passage was an exceptional dive, an one of those places which became better every time we dived it. "Because of the unique configuration of the channel, the incoming current doesn't coincide with rising tide as one might expect", explained Rob. "Diving Nigali for over six years and using a computer database to log current observations, we've become experts at diving the channel during its optimum four hour window of opportunity".
The channel concentrates a huge school of trevally, schools of barracuda about a dozen big flowery cod and an annoying concentration of fish which Rob called 'red snapass' (one reference calls them snapper, one calls them bass). But the most exciting to me are grey reef sharks, which accumulate here. We saw up to ten sharks at any given time and my last dive was by far me most thrilling. The current was ripping through and my best way to watch the sharks was to find a place on the wall and hold on tight. At times the sharks approached within arm's reach, an experience which could hardly be topped. Or could it? Perhaps not underwater
But visiting Sawaieke Village on the island of Gau was truly wonderful, which had to be rated equally for precious memories. Fijians are the friendliest people on earth and a visit to Sawaieke was like being invited home by a new friend. Many villagers were somewhat in awe that we'd travelled across the world to dive on their reefs, and were honoured to have people from so many countries come and visit their remote village. We strolled through Sawaieke, visiting the traditional bure and church which was built during the era of the first missionaries, then gathered in me large meeting hall. Here me villagers prepared a good batch of mildly-narcotic kava, the Fijian's favourite drink made from the pounded roots of the yaqona pepper plant. Good stuff is at least three years old, fine quality is six years old, and the twelve year old stash is saved for special occasions. Meanwhile the NAI'A crew as well as the rest of the villagers put on a meke, a traditional song and dance. This event was not only a highlight for us divers - it was also quite obviously greatly cherished by the villagers.
Fiji is one of those rare places on this
planet which leave you wanting to return for more. Its far more than a
cruise ship port-of-call; it's just like visiting an extended family and
is every bit as welcoming. And underwater you'll find its exquisite loaded
with special adventures, and the challenge of exploration.