Best places to dive in Fiji--Mamanuca and Kadavu Groups

This is the second in a series of three blogs by Scott Kukral, founder of Seafiji.com on the best places to dive in Fiji.

Mamanuca and Yasawa Groups:

This is the perfect area for divers who are new to the sport, returning after an extended absence from diving, or just want to have some nice, relaxing dives. It is also great for honing your skills prior to diving the more advanced sites in other areas, or for getting your certification. There are lots of bommies and fairly shallow reefs, with pinnacles, walls and swim-throughs sprinkled in as well. While there is generally not as much current in this area, the soft corals are also less prolific. However, there is still plenty of marine life and hard coral. ‘The Supermarket’ is one of Fiji’s first shark dives, and can be an adrenalin-filled adventure. There are also wrecks, channels to the outer barrier reef and unique areas where resorts and dive operators have created protected areas and special environments. Of course, you can still see most of the marine life that exists throughout Fiji. The Mamanuca sites are the closest to Nadi and many can be reached from Nadi resorts within 20 minutes or so.

Kadavu, Ono and the Astrolabe Reef:

Here you will find one of Fiji’s most reliable manta areas for year-round sightings, and a greater diversity of dive types with both soft and hard coral. From huge walls and ravines to swim-throughs, bommies, pinnacles and languid reefs, Kadavu can satisfy a wide range of ability levels and is frequented by pelagics as well as a plethora of reef dwellers. It seems that I always see many of the beautiful ceremonial (live) egg cowries when I dive Kadavu. Currents and surge can be fairly strong here. Kadavu is also popular due in part to its remoteness, and due to a lack of roads all of the resorts pick up their guests at or near the airport by boat to make the journey to your final destination. Once you are there, boat and foot travel are the only modes of transportation.

Scott Kukral has over 12 years experience as a Scuba Dive Instructor and a command officer with a dive rescue team, accruing thousands of hours of underwater experience and over 3500 dives (over 700 in Fiji alone) If you have any questions contact him at kukral@seafiji.com, 1 (800) 854-3454 or visit his website www.seafiji.com.