After our first three days of diving in the southern part of Viti Levu (the largest and most populated island in Fiji), we headed around to the northernmost tip of the island to the Volivoli Beach Resort.
It was late and we were hungry, but we stopped briefly to admire the luxurious ocean-view room that would be our home for the next week, before heading to the onsite restaurant, from which we had pre-ordered our meal before arriving. Live music and very friendly staff greeted us warmly.
Next morning, we enjoyed stunning views of the water and nearby islands while preparing for our first day of diving in this new location. The dive guides and boat captains from Ra Divers organized our gear and got us onto the two boats that our 25 divers would use throughout the week.
As I mentioned in our previous blog post, Fiji is known as the soft coral capital of the world, because of the currents that pass through the waters between the islands and around the undersea coral pinnacles and reefs. These currents bring with them the tiny edibles that soft coral polyps like to eat. With almost 400 coral species around the islands of Fiji, there is a huge variety of fish, anemones, and other sea creatures that enjoy this abundance and variation.
Our first day of diving (two dive sites: Tequila Sunrise, Bula Maker) near Volivoli gave us beautiful, clear water (in the low 80s) and lots of favorites: bannerfish, butterflyfish, anemonefish, a giant moray eel, nudibranchs (sea slugs), and bivalves such as this honeycomb oyster that looks like a clam. (As always, the underwater photos below are stills taken from our GoPro video footage.)
For the next four days, we headed northeast to dive in the Bligh Waters separating Viti Levu and Vanua Levu. This is considered to be the premiere diving location on this side of the island, so we were excited for our 11 dives here.
Named after the infamous Captain Bligh (from Mutiny on the Bounty), the Bligh Waters are home to strong currents that attract both coral and an abundance of sea life. Captain Bligh traveled through this area in 1789 (shortly after the mutiny occurred when he and several crew members were set adrift in a smaller boat). The islands here are quite high because of central mountain ranges with many inactive volcanoes, so that probably helped the naval officers spot land. Bligh and his crew were probably the first Europeans to sail through this area of Fiji. They did not land on the islands because they had been warned about cannibalism.
During our four days of diving in the Bligh Waters, we experienced some of the most beautiful dive sites we have ever enjoyed, including Mellow Yellow, Black Magic Mountain (possibly my favorite), Instant Replay, Heartbreak Ridge, Port Luck, Chilly, Nemo’s Playground, Jemma, Hi-8, and Wheat Field.
Here are some highlights from those amazing sites, starting with some soft corals in a rainbow of colors:
Here are some favorite fish sightings from the Bligh Waters!
And here are some of the weird things we saw!
Once we had finished diving each day, we had photo and video workshops hosted by Todd and Nirupam (from Bluewater Photo and Bluewater Travel), and we even fit in a great massage one afternoon. One evening, the local villagers came to sing and dance for us and with us. I got recruited into the conga line by a sweet little girl.
As we woke up for our final day of diving, I was able to capture the moon setting over the water near our location.
Our final day of diving took us away from the Bligh Waters (heading west this time), where we dove two final sites: Neptune and Fisherman’s Rock.
As Hank and I prepared to leave the water at the end of the last dive, we were greeted by a school of barracuda who gave us a great show.
That evening, we enjoyed a beautiful sunset and the continued hospitality of Ra Divers and the Volivoli staff.
Though the trip home was long, and I ended up with some kind of intestinal bug, we made it home safely, where a very happy kitty (Leilani) snuggled up on my lap. We are already talking about returning to Fiji. We hope you agree that its colorful soft corals make it one of the most scenic underwater destinations we have had the privilege to experience. (The next blog post will have a video of these beautiful dive sites in Fiji–stay tuned.) As always, thanks for reading!
Amazing corals thanks for spotlighting the unusual or weird
Animal life in abundance it seems among the corals. Waiting for the next blog!
Hope your “bug” is cured.
Thank you for taking us along on your trip. I feel like I got to experience the beauty with you vicariously!
Fantasmic colors and creative creatures!
This is a fantastic blog! I feel like I just relived the entire trip!!! Amazing!!! This makes me want to go back. I’ve always loved diving with Cindy and Hank. Their passion and appreciation for the life in our oceans is incredible. I can’t imagine being on a boat without them.