DigitalDiver.net DDNet Trip Report Nai'a

DDNet Trip Report

Where: Bligh Water Fiji When: 05/27/2006 - 06/03/2006 By: johnu

Type: Live-aboard Accomodations: Nai'a Dive operator: Nai'a Overall photography friendliness: Excellent Camera tables/prep area: Not applicable Camera rinse tanks: Good Charging facilities: Excellent Voltage: 110-120 AC

Let me begin by saying that the Fijian people are some of the nicest people you will EVER encounter!
Travel into Fiji was extremely easy with direct flights to/From LA.

Upon arrival we spent a couple days at the Beachside Resort, close to Nadi (take note: Very nice place, not beachside).

On boarding day we were picked up and transported to the ship in a full size motor coach. This was nice as it was very comfortable and we only made a few pick up stops on the way.

Upon arrival at the ship we were greeted by the crew and welcomed aboard. We NEVER touched a bag, everything was loaded by the crew. During a short briefing we were given cabin assignments and our bags were delivered to our rooms.

Our dive bags were set out in the dive ready area for us to begin to prepare for the afternoon "check out" dive. This is a very efficiant crew/boat! The dive prep area is actually mid ship and allows foe PLENTY of room to suit up. You then just walk to the back of thip to board skiffs for the short ride to all dive sites. This works very well as such a large vessel cannot anchor close to dive sites. It also allows divers to return to the ship when done with their dive rather than wait for everyone to surface. This allowed us to maximize bottom time and get a few more macro shots in on each dive.

The Diving:

What can I say? The diving was GREAT!
Fiji really deserves her title as the soft coral capital of the world.
Unbelieveable colors, killer macro & countless fish (at least 90+ species on every bommie). Current was managable and kept the soft corals happy and this years bleaching was minimal in most areas. I was bit surprised at the small number of large fish and turtles. I supose this is a byproduct of local fishing although there where no outward signs of it.Most of the dives are on Bommies, tall pinacles that rise from deep water. This makes profiles easy as you will always end up at about 15-20ft with plenty of air/nitrox remaining. This allows for plenty of time for a safety stop and for chasing clownfish around and trying to get then to hold still ;o)
On your first couple dives, stick with a divemaster! These guys are really good at critter finding! A beautiful hairy ghost pipefish is a good example! It could have been swimming around inside my mask and I don't think I would have seen it without help.

Overall, the diving was top notch and I would recomend it to anyone. If you have never been diving in the South Pacific, this would be a great place to start and the best liveaboard I have ever been on! Period!

I will be returning to Fiji very soon! Not just for the diving, but also for the people. It truly is a wonderful place.


Best Fishes,

John



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Dive Zero is portal focusing on the culture and lifestyle of scuba diving. To bring the underwater world to you, we have produced a growing list of products, such

as Dive Zero Virtual "page-flip" magazine, Dive Zero high definition video magazine, Dive Zero Images, Dive Zero Internet TV and an online scuba diving community at the

Dive Village. With all 5 sources of scuba media, Dive Zero is the one stop to fill all of your scuba diving needs, so no matter what kind of diver you are, we have it all here.

DIVE ZERO :: Scuba Diving's Life+Style and Entertainment

ScubaBoard - View Single Post - Who's been to Fiji? Advice needed

ScubaBoard - View Single Post - Who's been to Fiji? Advice needed

One or two months ago, I asked a few questions down here, all related to diving or lodging in Fiji. As I'm now back from the islands, I wanted to input some feedback about my recent fijian dive experience for whomever it might interest.

Firstly I'm traveling with my wife end 14 yo. daughter, both non divers, I'm the only -quite experienced- diver of the bunch.
I had chosen Kadavu, the Yasawas (mostly as a counterpart for the two girls of my party) and Rakiraki area on a very tight schedule (only 12 days in the Fiji).

Full report: ScubaBoard - View Single Post - Who's been to Fiji? Advice needed

Scuba Diving Magazine - Fiji

Fiji

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.


Dive In

Weather: Temps stay in the low 80s most of the year and dip to about 75 degrees from May to October. The best conditions occur from March to December.

Average Water Temp: Anywhere from the mid-70s in cool months (May to October) to the mid-80s in January and February.

Average Visibility: Excellent--in the triple digits most of the year, although plankton blooms and rainfall can lower the vis during the rainy season.

Currency: Fijian dollar (F$).

Time: Fiji is 20 hours ahead of Pacific Standard Time.

Direct Dial Code: 011-679.

Language: Fijian, though English is widely spoken and understood.

Electricity: 240 volts, 50 cycles. Larger hotels also have 110-volt razor sockets.

Entry Documents: U.S. citizens need a passport and a return ticket.

Departure Tax: F$30.

For More Info: Fiji Visitors Bureau, www.bulafiji.com.
Scuba Diving Magazine - Fiji

DigitalDiver.net Trip Report: Beqa Lagoon Resort

DDNet Trip Report

Where: Beqa Lagoon Fiji When: 06/03/2006 - 06/11/2006 By: Waterboy

Type: Land based Accomodations: Beqa Lagoon Resort Dive operator: Beqa Lagoon Resort Overall photography friendliness: Good Camera tables/prep area: Not applicable Camera rinse tanks: Average Charging facilities: Not applicable Voltage: 220-240 AC

This was my 2nd trip to Fiji and Beqa Lagoon. The accomodations were very good and the food was great IMHO. The people who work at the resort and on the boats really make the trip special. We landed in Nadi and took the 3 hour bus ride to Pacific Harbor. After a 45 minute boat ride to the island we ate and took our check out dive on the house reef. The next morning we started the 2 dives a day boat diving trips. The diving is not intense if you don't want it to be. I was with a group of 24 other divers who were very experienced and dive masters allowed us to do our thing as long as we stayed within our computer limits.

After spending time on the bottom, long safety stops were the practice of the group. We spent 30-45 minutes on top of the bommies doing our safety stops and taking pictures. This made for some hour and a half to hour and 45 minute dives. There was as much to see on the top of the boomies as there was at depth. After diving in Hawaii day in and day out the change in critters is exciting. The are so many different critters and corals to see that it revs up the engines for getting out in the morning to go again.

One of the nice things about the trip was the resorts flexability in allowing us to do a house reef dive on our way in from the last dive site. They would bring extra tanks along in the morning and let us dive our way to shore. This caused them to have to serve lunch up to 2 hours late to those of us who took advantage of this perk. Our group extended lunch time already by making 45 minute dives last twice as long as scheduled. No one at the resort did anything but accomodate us in our dive style. For die hard divers this is really great.

There was unlimited shore diving at any time of the day. I did a couple of twilight dives without a light, while others did night dives from the shore. Only one organized night dive off the boat was offered, but if there where 5 or 6 people that wanted to go out, I bet the resort would have arranged it. They were that good at working with the divers.

The two boats that were used for diving were very spacious. Our group had lots of cameras and one thing that could have been better would be more fresh water tank space. There were a couple of rigs with huge domes and strobe arms and they took up a lot of space. It need not be a big deal if one rinses his camera and then wraps it in a wet towel in the cabin between and after dives.

The high light of the diving and of my personal diving experiences was the shark feed. I had done this dive as a single dive last year and they have extended it to a two dive experience (the 1st to 100 feet and the 2nd to 45 feet). It did not get real exciting until a 12 to 14 foot Tiger came calling on the 2nd dive. He spent 20-25 minutes swimming about the group, checking us out. It caused most of us to have to make a forced stop for 8-10 minutes, while he continued to buzz around the site. What a magnificant animal he was and the confidence, no arrogance, he demonstrated was like I have never seen in an animal. He was the king of this domain and he demonstrated that. All present agreed that this was one of their most memorable dive experiences and a number of these divers have 5,000 plus dives.

I have been to Beqa Lagoon twice and would return again. The price of the trip from Honolulu was $2800 all inclusive. The food was great and the diving extremely good. I do have a few pictures that I will try to post sometime in the future when I have time to photoshop them and learn how to do the posting on DDN. (If you like just gray stripes I have one of those)! Beqa Lagoon and it's people will always be a special for me. I plan on returning again next year if possible.


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Fiji - Scuba Diving Magazine

Fiji - Scuba Diving Magazine:

v

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.

Lonely Planet Diving and Snorkeling Fiji (Diving & Snorkeling)

This is an attractive book which the scuba diver will want to order. It maps and describes 74 of Fiji's top dive sites and the color photography is excellent. Despite the title, however, those interested in beach-based snorkeling will find little of use here as almost all of the sites included are accessible by boat only. Even the new Waitabu Marine Park off Taveuni is mentioned only in passing.

There's virtually no practical resort or restaurant information, and the first quarter of the book is devoted to brochure-style hype you can read on almost any Fiji website. Critical reviews of dive facilities are strikingly absent, so this book is of no help in selecting a specific scuba operator. Five pages of listings in the back of the book provide basic contact information, but even this is out of date as all Fiji telephone numbers have increased from six to seven digits since the book was published.

Most of the email addresses are also wrong, so substitute @connect.com.fj whenever you see @is.com.fj. Nevertheless, when one considers the cost of a scuba tour to the South Pacific and the lack of any alternative Fiji dive guide, all of the above criticisms are mute and serious divers will click this title straight into their shopping carts.

Fiji Scuba Diving

Fiji Scuba Diving

"First things first: There is no island of Fiji. Instead, Fiji is an island nation of about 300 islands, from small remote islets that seem caught in an old South Pacific time warp to some of the modern world's most exclusive private resort islands. So, where to go? Actually, the real question is how do you want to spend your time? Divers can pick and choose from some of the best diving locations in the South Seas (the best known, Taveuni, is legendary for its wall dives), while surfers have long favored several world-class reef breaks off Tavarua island in the Mamanuca chain just west of Fiji's largest island, Viti Levu."

Fiji Scuba Diving

Scuba Diving In Fiji

Scuba Diving In Fiji

By: Chris Chew

The islands of Fiji are famous for its spectacular scenery and a world class attraction for sea sports such as big game fishing, snorkeling, sailing and scuba diving. Fiji is a favorite scuba diving location for scuba divers from all over the world and its highlights include a fantastic variety of colorful soft corals, more than 1200 species of fish, 12 species of whales and dolphins.

There are also many scuba diving resorts in Fiji which cater to all kinds of budgets and divers. Alternatively divers can choose live aboard dive boats or if you are a tourist on vacation in Fiji do not know how to scuba dive, you can take up lessons there or simply go snorkeling off the pristine beaches.

The Fijian archipelago is encircled by a huge reef and therefore there are many shallow lagoons to swim, snorkel or frolick in. There are also thousands of scuba dive sites to choose from. Most dive locations are easy to get to with plenty of resorts offering scuba diving scattered around the Fijian islands.

The water temperature is just perfect for scuba diving with at its coldest at only 25C. On warmer days, it is about 30C. Water visibility in Fiji is excellent with superb visibility of up to 40m or 120ft is a norm rather than exception."

Vatu-i-ra - Bird Island - dive in Bligh Water, Fiji - scuba diving on deep walls and reefs.

Vatu-i-ra - Bird Island - dive in Bligh Water, Fiji - scuba diving on deep walls and reefs.:

"Vatu-i-ra is a small, uninhabited island about 20km off the north east coast of Viti Levu in Fiji. It is also known as 'Bird Island' because of the huge population of seabirds on the island. There is a rocky hill and thick vegetation making it an interesting shore excursion.

There are also many dive sites near the island and along the Vatu-i-ra Channel including the following:
Bligh Ridge
Pacific Garden
See & Sea
Greg's Point
Nikonos
E-6
High 8
North and South Lighthouses"

Vatu-i-ra - Bird Island - dive in Bligh Water, Fiji - scuba diving on deep walls and reefs.:

Master Guide for Underwater Digital Photography

New book shows how to make the most of digital technology, with tips for purchasing gear, selecting camera settings and taking the first dive with a digital camera.

Also included are exposure techniques; lighting tips; ideas for close-up and super-macro photography; tips for fish photography, reducing backscatter; travelling with and caring for underwater digital equipment; and tips for reef protection.

Shark Declines Threaten Shellfish Stocks, Study Says

Dramatic declines of large North Atlantic sharks due to overfishing have upset the balance of entire marine ecosystems, a new study shows. Now scallops, clams, and oysters are paying the price. Smaller sharks, skates, and rays that are normally eaten by the large sharks have become so abundant that they are ravaging shellfish stocks, the researchers say.

Read more at National Geographic...

Dive In To Earth Day 2007

Dive In To Earth Day is an international Earth Day celebration that mobilizes environmentally conscious communities, park managers, dive shops and other marine lovers around the world to take a stand in protecting our endangered water world.

Dive In has become a huge driving force for environmental awareness and has involved thousands of participants in active marine conservation. In the past seven years, Dive In organizers have held 2,000 marine conservation events in 117 countries worldwide, removing trash, educating children and their communities, supporting marine protected areas, and much more.

Sign up their website here...

Millionaire diver wins right to explore wreck of the Lusitania

Mystery surrounding the sinking of the Lusitania may be resolved after the American owner of the Cunard liner won his case to dive on the wreck.

The decision by the Supreme Court in Dublin, the highest court in the Irish Republic, to overturn a refusal for an exploration licence from the Arts and Heritage Ministry clears the way for Gregg Bemis to realise a 40-year dream to uncover what made “the Greyhound of the Sea” sink so fast after she was torpedoed by a German U-boat off southwest Ireland in May 1915.

Mr Bemis, 78, is planning a dive on the Lusitania, lying in 300ft of water, this summer. But his main research will be conducted next year. “All the equipment that I need has already been booked for this year,” he told Irish newspapers.

Read the full story on Times Online...

Vitamins benefit divers' health

Vitamin doses can reduce ill-effects of scuba diving on divers' circulation, a study suggests. Scientists gave vitamins C and E, which work as antioxidants, to divers. The vitamins stopped ill-effects of the dive on the cells lining blood vessels, which can lead to high blood pressure and other associated diving problems. But diving experts said the vitamins would have a limited impact.

See more of this on BBC News