Fiji The Final Stop - Sportdiver.com

Fiji – The final stop

I'm playing darts at the Yacht Club in Savusavu, Fiji. It's filled with expats from around the globe. Around me are ex-doctors, ex-bankers, ex-wanderers, a plumber, my divemaster and a bunch of other escape artists who have found their bliss on this South Pacific isle. They have great stories, all with one familiar narrative thread — after traveling the world, Fiji stopped their feet or stilled their sails long enough to put down roots. I've never met as happy a bunch of souls in all my travels. And why shouldn't they be? As I explore the less populated of Fiji's two main islands, Vanua Levu, I meet probably the friendliest people on Earth, a culture that cherishes its family-centric roots. It's a natural wonderland that captivates at every turn — especially at every fin kick.

When I ask about living in Fiji, I'm told one thing matters: freehold property. Most of Fiji's property remains owned by local villages, and that property is leasehold. With freehold, you own it. You can pass it down to family, generation after generation. And, yes, they tell me, "Even Americans can own property here." I come to learn that only about 7 to 9 percent of all of Fiji's land is freehold, but on an island nation as large as Fiji (an archipelago of 330 islands), that's still plenty.

On my way back to the Jean-Michel Cousteau Fiji Islands Resort where I'm staying, my head spins with the possibility of a life of Gilligan in a tropical Pacific garden. When I head out on the dive boat the next morning, my imagination settles upon every inch of coastline, every small isle, open patches in the rainforest, everything that looks like it might make a dream homesite.

The clincher comes, though, after the giant stride. We've traveled to Namena Island — Namenalala in the local vernacular — about 40 minutes from Savusavu. This private 110-acre island sits in the middle of a 30-mile-long coral barrier reef ring filled with some of Fiji's most pristine dive areas.

We descend through a huge aggregation of swirling barracuda onto Grand Central Station. The site's name must not have come with difficulty. Rush hour pervades the water column and the reefscape. A parade of pelagics — trevally, jacks, dogtooth tuna — fill the area with movement. We spy a large zebra shark napping on the sand under a bright-red, 10-foot sea fan. But our eyes stay mostly in the blue over the drop-off. Gray reefs, a big, king-of-the-world hammerhead and whitetip reef sharks constantly patrol as we dive. Even a lone manta swims by.

Our second dive, Chimneys, a trio of coral bommies makes Grand Central Station seem like the sleepy side of town. Here, the colorful compete with the weird, wild and wacky. Soft corals — small thickets of red, yellow, orange and purple — hide medieval-looking blue ribbon eels, banded pipefish, fat groupers and some of the 1,000 resident invertebrates. Gray and whitetip reef sharks meander throughout. I could stay all day atop the bommies immersed in the clouds of purple anthias, which look like leaves caught in a perpetual wind, and carpets of anemones and their resident namesake fish. And this is just the tip of the Namena adventure wand.

Although the week brings piles of great diving and adventures, my search for a perfect paradise is settled during the first two overwhelming hours spent underwater. During my last night at the Yacht Club, everyone gives advice. For them it boils down to a statement made by a Brit expat named Trevor, who sailed in and stayed. "Mate," he says, "it's about life, then, init? A good, simple, remarkable, 'appy and fulfilling life. Just gotta 'ave your priorities on straight then. Right?"

The words brought a round of cheers. And in that moment, I realize that life could be lived in a tropical dream of blue and green, of sand and breeze, of peace and poetic ease. And that such places exist in the world.

Quick Guide
Decide which part of Fiji you want to travel to, then visit padi.com to find the closest PADI Dive Center (several dozen are scattered throughout Fiji). If Savusavu is it, check out Jean-Michel Cousteau Fiji Islands resort (fijiresort.com). Find more information through Fiji's official tourism site (www.bulafiji.com). Learn about residency, citizenship by investment and business opportunities by visiting Fiji Islands Real Estate (fijiislandsrealestate.com). Expat information can be found at escapeartist.com.

Fiji The Final Stop - Sportdiver.com

FIJI - WHERE TO DIVE - Sportdiver.com

Fiji - Where to Dive
Diving Fiji's underwater reef system is unlike anything you've ever experienced. Known the world over as the soft coral capital of the world, Fiji's underwater world offers an amazing array of fish life to observe as well, with well-over 1,000 species of fish. With such an explosion of color, there are reefs that will excite and challenge both novice and experienced divers. There are two distinctive marine environments in Fiji, a very large lagoon and the Malolo Barrier Reef.

For more information about diving Fiji visit sportdiver.com/fiji and scuba-diving-fiji.com

The Big W's
If you are looking for a thrilling dive with lots of big fish, this is the dive to do. Located on the edge of the Barrier Reef, manta rays, sharks and whale sharks are known to make an appearance on this reef. Ranging from 45 to 120 feet with excellent visibility.

The Fish Factory
A good dive for the newer diver with gentle currents and calm surface waters, this dive begins on the rising tide on Taveuni's Vuna Reef. Starting at about 32 feet, the dive leads you to a sandy bottom where, if you like, you can stay and see a multitude of coral bommies, abundant and colorful fish life –and the occasional pilot whale—without ever descending to the sloping bottom of 82 feet.

The Supermarket
Located inside the Malolo Barrier Reef, this dive site is famous for shark encounters. Here you can find grey reef sharks, whitetip reef sharks and blacktip reef sharks. If you're lucky you may get a chance to dive during a shark feeding – an experience some say is a thrilling adrenaline rush. Starting at only 29 feet and sloping to a depth of 110 feet, this is one of the most thrilling Fiji dives.

Jackies Reef
This shallow and easy to dive reef has been used for over 35 years as a fish feeding ground by area resort staff. It's thought that because of this feeding, it has brought about one of the most diverse reefs in the region, with both large and small reef fish as well as large varieties of schooling fish passing through.

Vomo Island
This site has two separate reefs. Ronnie's Reef offers canyons, gullies and diverse sea life; and Vomo Caves offers caverns and swim-throughs, featuring luminous fingers of light breaking through the cracks of the formations. At depths of 50 feet-plus, you'll see dramatic and colorful coral formation.

Barrel Heads
There are amazing hard corals and sea fans here as well as resident reef sharks and turtles. You may also see larger sharks, yellowfin tuna and various pelagic species. A huge pinnacle rises from the depths of more than 196 feet making for a majestic backdrop.

Namotu Reef
Amazing visibility will be found here with abundant marine life and coral formations. Here you'll be rewarded with manta ray, hammerhead and dolphin sightings. The site is just off Magic Island.

Salamanda Shipwreck
A 130-foot cruise ship, intentionally sunk in roughly 90 feet of water. The Salamanda is covered in soft corals and anemones with filled with masses of shrimp and crab. With crystal clear visibility, this is a prime location to get that shot you've been waiting for. An easy penetration dive, the wreck has been stripped for divers' safety.

Vuna Reef – Coral Gardens
This Taveuni dive has a gentle current, great visibility and offers a dive suitable for a variety of divers with depths from 16 to 98 feet. Here you'll descend over one of the three lava fingers that make up the site, and then begin your search for the many small residents hiding in the overhangs and crevices. With a diverse underwater landscape and a variety of depths, the area attracts larger species like hammerheads, manta rays, barracuda, snapper and yellowfin tuna.


FIJI - WHERE TO DIVE - Sportdiver.com

Sport Diver Magazine USA Oct 2008 article on on Fiji

Fiji - Scuba Diving Magazine

Fiji - Scuba Diving Magazine:

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Brilliant soft corals may be Fiji's signature dive attraction, but there's much more to the underwater story here. With more than 320 islands to choose from, divers never run out of options.

The largest island of Viti Levu offers easy access to the widest range of sites (including the world-famous Beqa Lagoon and the shark encounters off Pacific Harbour) and has the most extensive diving infrastructure.

Vanua Levu and Taveuni, to the north, feature otherworldly walls of snowy soft coral. And the smaller islands of the Yasawas, the Lau Group, the Mamanucas, the Lomaivitis and Kadavu each have a distinct underwater appeal.

Acres of plate and staghorn corals have colonized the Yasawas and Mamanucas, considered to have some of the best vis in all Fiji. The bommies off the outer Lomaivitis are known for pelagics drawn to their shoals of baitfish, and the Great Astrolabe Reef of Kadavu is a top spot for big animal encounters.

Sport Diver Magazine - Dive the Best of Fiji with Scuba Travel Ventures

Sport Diver Magazine - Dive the Best of Fiji with Scuba Travel Ventures:

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