THE NAI'A vs. THE MATAGI PRINCESS II --looking at half of Fiji's diving liveaboard fleet
Dear Reader,
Standing in line to clear immigration always makes me nervous. It's worst when I'm next in line. As I stare down at that bold yellow line, my palms sweat and I always fidget with my passport and immigration forms. God help me if my paperwork is not in order! My apprehension was no different as I waited my turn to enter Fiji, at least not yet.
Once the man motioned for me to approach the counter, things immediately improved. To my surprise, he was pleasant! He greeted me with a friendly "bula" ("hello") and a comforting smile. After stamping my passport and handing it back, he quietly added, "Vinaka - Have a nice stay." Right away I was liking this place.
The layout and operation of the Nadi airport added to my growing admiration. Any time there are free luggage carts that one can actually take outside the baggage claim area, I'm impressed. Even though it was 6:30 a.m., Fijian ladies in colorful dresses greeted arrivals with soft-spoken "bulus" and offered directions and assistance. Their genuine sincerity confirmed what I had read in the Lonely Planet Guide: "Fijians are the friendliest people in the world."
As you can tell, I firmly believe that this South Pacific paradise is worth visiting, but what about the liveaboards? Although the Matagi (pronounced Ma-tan'-gi) Princess II and the NAI'A both vie for your liveaboard vacation dollars, that's where the competition ends. Their itineraries don't overlap, and they both offer unique and rewarding diving adventures.
If you're sailing aboard the NAI'A, a bus will pick you up at around 10 a.m. at your hotel, or at the airport if you opt to remain there following your 2:40 a.m. or 6:30 a.m. arrival. The Matagi Princess II (The Princess) departs from Taveuni, a 55-minute inter-island flight from Nadi. You can wait at the airport and catch the early flight or take a nap in a dayroom at a nearby resort/hotel and board the midday flight north.
We were met at the Taveuni airport and transported by minivan to a remote landing where the boat's tender shuttled us and our gear aboard. Depending upon the length of the charter, guests board the vessel at Waiyevo Pier or Vacala Beach on Taveuni or are sometimes ferried to Matagi Island to meet the boat there. Four- through seven- night charters are available.
The longer trips divide the week's diving between Fiji's trademark Somosomo Strait and the Ringold Reef area farther north. Shorter charters usually concentrate on the Somosomo. Due to the narrowness of the strait and the close proximity of Fiji's northern islands, the Princess is never over an hour's voyage away from Matagi or Taveuni. In contrast to NAI'A's itinerary, the Princess stays pretty close to home.
Ringold Reef is located northeast of Taveuni in an area visited only by the land-based operators on Matagi and Laucala. Much of the diving involves circumnavigating football-field-size bommies that rise from the depths to within 20 feet to 20 feet of the surface.
For the first dive of my charter, we visited a seemingly bottomless vertical wall. With the intent of drifting and being picked up wherever we surfaced, we entered the water on what was supposed to be the upcurrent corner of the mammoth pinnacle. However, as is often the case with the South Pacific's difficult-to-predict ebbs and flows, the crew had wrongly judged the current and we found ourselves swimming against fairly stiff resistance. After 10 minutes of clawing along the facade, the guide apparently decided that we had been submitted to enough punishment and reversed field. We took refuge in a large cut in the wall and used the rest of our air exploring beneath ledges and combing the staghorn rubble.
That's pretty much what diving Ringold seems to be all about: vertical walls with a few large sea fans and soft corals, topped by shallow rubble patches and fields of plate and table corals. A couple of large pinnacles were blanketed with acres of staghorn coral housing thousands -maybe millions- of bobbing chromides. Pelagics are often sighted, especially on the early morning dives. A night dive to the Red Wall was also especially intriguing. Different than most of the other dives in the Ringold area, this wall was covered with radiant soft coral.
Ringold was only a warm-up for the Somosomo Strait. Everything you've heard about the colorful soft corals is probably true -the title Rainbow Reefs is definitely fitting. However, soft corals are very persnickety. They only display their brilliant hues when the current is running hard; that's when they open up to feed. Therefore, don't expect the world-famous White Wall to be in bloom every time you dive it. But that's where the Princess has an advantage over Taveuni's land-based dive operators. Because there is no pressure to be anywhere, the liveaboard can wait for the right conditions.
Many of the Somosomo sites visited by the Princess are also the primary sites frequented by Taveuni operators. It's not uncommon to pull up to a site that has just been vacated by a boat-load of day trippers or to be strolling on a seemingly deserted beach and run into a land-based group lounging away its surface interval. However, the diving in the Somosomo is spectacular. Besides the soft corals, you'll encounter everything from lion-fish to pelagics.
In comparison, the NAI'A leaves from the harbor at Lautoka on the west coast of Viti Levu. It's a scenic 30-minute tour-bus ride from Nadi. The NAI'A makes seven- and ten- day cruises around the north end of Viti Levu and then down the east side to the island of Gau (pronounced åNgau') and back, covering over 700 kilometers during a seven-day charter.
I boarded the NAI'A at 10 a.m. and was in the water by 2 that afternoon. That was the first of an endless succession of fascinating dive sites, one of the most rewarding being E-6. A large, undercut seamount crouching lion-like in open ocean, E-6 rises from the depths to just a few feet below the surface. By popular demand, we spent most of the day (as many dives as your computer would tolerate) and night there. Pelagics, 12-foot sea fans, soft coral trees - yes, TREES!, swim-throughs, cathedral formations, lion-fish, anemones, and on and on. Just for the record, the NAI'A's crew named it E-6 because of all the film that it processes after diving there. It's a photographer's dream.
As the NAI'A traveled further east and then turned south, we visited places like Wakaya, Nigali Passage, Jim's Alley, and Anthias Avenue - all different and all exceptional. In addition to the staged shark feed, pelagics, lion-fish, leaf fish, and stunning soft corals abound. Although my visit aboard was dulled by the weather, it was unusually cloudy and wet all week, the diving opportunities were superb. I went away cautioning myself, "If there were any sunlight at all, these sites would be too much to handle."
Now that we've established that you'll experience a variety of world-class diving on either charter, let's take a look at the boats themselves. The NAI'A and the Princess are both superior liveaboard vessels. They are well-designed and richly appointed.
The NAI'A (named after the Hawaiian word for dolphin) is both big (120 feet long and 30 feet wide) and beautiful. Her towering white mast etches an imposing silhouette into the Fijian horizon. Built in Holland, in 1992 this steel-hulled, motor-sailing mega yacht was acquired my managing director Rob Barrel, sailed to Fiji, gutted, and reconstructed as one of the most spacious and elegant liveaboard dive vessels afloat. Although she's a moto-sailer, don't travel to Fiji just to see her rigging in action; she travels mostly under power.
Entering NAI'A's expensive main cabin is like stepping into an exclusive mountain retreat. It is tastefully done in select Fijian timber, and the highly polished dining tables are crafted of hand-laid planks that represent the seven types of wood used in the vessel. The NAI'A is designed for 16 guests, and there's plenty of room to spare. The eight cabins - staterooms might be a more accurate description - are located below deck. Each has a good-sized private head and shower, individually controlled air conditioning, and all of the other appointments expected in a a vessel of this caliber. Unlike many liveaboards, the NAI'A is usually quiet. My cabin abutted the engine room bulkhead and noise was not a problem, even while we were underway at night.
The Matagi Princess II is considerably smaller than the NAI'A but carries only 12 guests. At 85 feet long and 22 feet wide, she takes on the appearance of a sturdily-built, blue-hulled work boat when plowing through the water. But inside, the Princess too is very nicely appointed. The main salon is spacious and well laid out. On a per-guest basis, the Princess has about the same dining area as the NAI'A, but in addition, she has a comfortable lounge area with padded wicker furnishings. The Princess has two guest cabins on the main deck and four more below. Although not quite as roomy as the NAI'A's, the cabins have an above-average amount of storage space and are good as what discerning divers have come to expect from quality liveaboards. The only exception is the sink in the end suite head. How small is it? I had to turn my head sideways to brush my teeth.
Another major difference between the vessels is the space allocated to catching rays. The spacious upper deck area on the NAI'A is divided into two sections: Aft is a covered area with chairs and tables; the forward deck is open to the heavens and furnished with lounge chairs. The Princess' sun deck is limited to the area above the dive deck and except for the extreme aft portion, is mostly shaded. The Princess carries a crew of five, all native Fijians. Led by Captain and Cruise Director Pete, the crew members were attentive and helpful but seemed slightly more tentative than some Fijian crews I've encountered. Every night after dinner, they disappeared. However, the ship did have a sophisticated intercom system with telephones everywhere you looked, so if you really needed something, the crew was probably only a phone call away.
The NAI'A sails with a crew of 12 Fijians plus the cruise director, which is often Managing Director Rob Barrel. As with the Princess, things on board NAI'A ran fairly smoothly. Aside from Rob, most of my interaction with the crew was limited to divemasters John, Rusi, and maitre d' Mike. Mike was the man in the salon who generally hung in the background in case you needed anything. Other crew members assisted with cameras and loading the dinghies and, as was usually the case on the Princess, were there to help on the dive deck.
Food on board the vessels was fairly comparable, with the Princess possibly taking a slight edge when it comes to healthy eating. The Princess did, however, lack the normal post dive snacks that were so readily available on the NAI'A, and we also had a problem keeping the water pitcher filled. On the other hand, the NAI'A is a coffee drinker's nightmare - it's instant (not uncommon in Fiji) and self-service. Other than for those shortcomings, meals were plentiful and wholesome on both boats, and unlike in many parts of the world, liveaboards in Fiji are able to maintain an assortment of fresh fruits and vegetables throughout the charter.
The diving programs on board the two boats are decisively different. The NAI'A's dive briefings were much more thorough and informative than on the Princess, and the guides seemed more genuinely interested in showing guests a good time. The dive deck on NAI'A is located far forward, in front of the main cabin. All personal gear is stored there, and that's where the camera rinse tanks and the largest and most convenient camera storage /workroom found on any liveaboard are located. However, your tank, with BC and regulator attached, is filled and stored on the open-to-the-sun dive platform located across the transom. All the diving is done from aluminum-decked (floored) inflatables, which are boarded from the dive platform. Before each dive, the crew transfers your tank and BC from the filling /storage area to the floor of the inflatable. When it's time to board, you suit up and carry your mask and fins from the forward dive deck to the aft loading area. For those using large, clumsy camera setups, this was a challenge. The walkway is narrow, and there is only one ladder leading to the loading platform.
With a full contingent of divers, NAI'A's inflatables got a little cramped, especially with the volume of camera equipment. At the site, the divemaster and the boat driver help you don your BC and you backroll when ready. It's mostly drift diving, but the currents are generally mild, nothing like in Palau. Each boatload of divers is accompanied by a guide. If you're into macro-photography, Rusi is an expert at finding the smallest, most fascinating variety of nudibranchs imaginable. You have the option of joining the group or venturing off on your own. The NAI'A treats divers like responsible individuals; there are few rules or regulations. Divers surface whenever they want and are picked up by dinghies. Even though they're not equipped with boarding ladders, NAI'A's inflatables are some of the easiest I've seen to crawl back into. Since the mothership is usually not far away, the two inflatables work as a team in shuttling divers back to the boat.
Most of the diving from the Matagi Princess II is done directly from the mothership, without anchoring. Her dive deck is in the stern and laid out in typical liveaboard fashion. It's only shortcoming is where the wet suits are hung. The permanently attached hangers are located directly above the gearing-up benches, and the dripping suits are always slapping someone in the face.
Offsetting that annoyance, however, is the fluffy Peter Hughes type terry-cloth robe found in you cabin at the beginning of the charter. But on board the Princess, it's used a bit differently. You wear it between your cabin and the dive deck before and after each dive. While you're diving, the robe and towel hang on a designated hook on the dive deck. After the dive, you use the deck shower, dry yourself with a towel, and slip into your cuddly robe. As nice as it is, I still felt like a flasher every time I walked through the salon in my robe.
When it's time to dive, you gear up and stand on the water-level swim platform while the vessel maneuvers into position over the site. On command, you stride into the water. It's a fairly effortless process, but when there are 12 divers aboard, the boat must make more than one pass. Unless you're careful, you'll drift away before everyone has entered.
When the current is strong, the guides asked that the divers stay together as a group. Otherwise, you can dive your own plan; and when you surface, the mothership comes to you. That takes getting used to; it's a bit intimidating bobbing on the surface as this 85-foot bulldozer bears down on you. Although the guides were always very safety-conscious, and I have no reason to believe that we were in any danger, when they reversed the prop to stop the boat alongside us, being blinded by the wash from that massive propeller sent chills up my spine.
There you have it. Both vessels are quality operations. If you want to dive the Somosomo and diving directly from the unanchored mothership matches your style, the Matagi Princess II could be for you. Likewise, if covering a lot more territory, experiencing a bit more variety, and climbing in and out of an inflatable four or five times a day meets your needs, the NAI'A is the one. The choice is yours. They're both class acts.
Diver's Compass:
Seven-day charters aboard the NAI'A cost US $1,980; aboard the Matagi Princess II, they're $1,750 ($250 per day). Both packages include onboard meals, double-occupancy accommodations, four dives per day with optional night dives, tanks, weights and belts, unlimited air fills, and airport transfers. The NAI'A includes complimentary wine with dinner. All other bottled beverages, alcoholic and otherwise, on both vessels are at no extra cost. Getting there: Air New Zealand runs four flights a week to Nadi from Los Angeles; Air Pacific/Quantas operate two per week. Airfare from L.A. is $900-$1300 depending upon the season and day of the week. For Matagi Princess II, the inter-island flight from Nadi to Taveuni is F$116 (US$84) each way on Sunflower Air. Special Note: The baggage limit on inter-island flights is 44 pounds per passenger. Excess charges are 1.5% of the full fare for every kilogram (2.5 lbs.) over the limit. This can get very expensive; pack lightly. There is a F$20 departure tax payable in Fijian money at the airport. Weather: The Summer months (Dec.-Mar.) are wetter than the winter. Diving is good year-round, but the water is much cooler (high F70's) June - September. Book Matagi Princess II through Tropical Dive Enterprises, 1-800-3 MATAGI & NAI'A in Fiji at 011-679-450382/fax 011-679-450566.
Booking Information is now available on the web!