August 2010

[Mamanuca ] [Astrolabe Reef ] [Beqa Lagoon] [Rainbow Reef] [Great White Wall] [E6 Reef]

The E6 Reef Scuba Diving Fiji and other dive sites in Fiji

TAVEUNI ISLAND

Perhaps the most famous diving area in Fiji, the dive sites around Taveuni Island, with Matagi Island to the east and the Somosomo Straist to the west, have long been popular with divers from all over the world. They provide some of the finest soft coral and reef diving in the world - E6 reef scuba diving Fiji.

GREAT YELLOW WALL
One of those must-see dive sites in Fiji, a vertical drop-off starting around 15ft is quite literally covered from top to bottom in yellow soft corals. Sprouting out from the soft corals can be seen large sea fans, sea whips and sponges. The reef is home to black-spotted toadfish, unicornfish, surgeonfish, fusiliers, butterflyfish and many species of damselfish. For the nudibranch lover, many spceis can be found amongst the corals - E6 reef scuba diving Fiji.

NOEL'S WALL
Close to the Great Yellow Wall, Noel's Wall is a vertical drop to over 1000ft, with canyons, gullies and swim-throughs on the reef top at 30ft. These swim-throughs are blanketed in spectacular purple & white soft corals, home to nudibranchs & feathers stars. For the lover of pelagic fish you are likely to see vast schools of jacks & barracuda and bronze whaler sharks cruising the open water - E6 reef scuba diving Fiji.

CROSS CHANNEL
A vertical wall from 15-150ft which then slopes more gently to over 1000ft. Black coral trees and sea whipsa bound at depth, but the shallower portions of the reef are dominated by fabulous hard coral formations including massive blue porites corals. Sea fans are home to long-nose hawkfish and large schools of blue & gold fusiliers and yellow chromis are also prevalent. For critter lovers, there are fire & two-tone dartfish, mandarin goby, brittle stars and nudibranchs. On the shallows is a large colony of giant clams - E6 reef scuba diving Fiji.

SEVEN PEAKS
Named after the seven coral bommies through which the dive is enjoyed this is a stunning and exciting dive for the diversity of topography and marine life. A huge variety of fish species, notably titan triggerfish, brushtail tangs, princess damsel, blue-lined surgeonfish, and peacock grouper, 3-spot dascyllus, anthias and fairy basslets abound. In the channels between the peaks look out for white tips & bronze whaler sharks, banded sea snake, blue-spotted ray and giant clams - E6 reef scuba diving Fiji.

THE LEDGE
A coral pinnacle 300ft high that reaches to just 15ft from the surface, the main attraction here is an overhang covered with huge varieties of multi-coloured soft corals and home to numerous lion fish. The reef is also home to very friendly and inquisitive golden damselfish and clownfish that come right up to your mask and peer at you! The pinnacle abounds with every conceivable reef fish and out in open water you can see schools of tuna and plenty of sharks. One of the most spectacular dive sites in the Taveuni area! - E6 reef scuba diving Fiji.

RAINBOW REEF
Protruding from the east coast of Vanua Levu just south of Vatudamu Point, and thrusting out into the Somosomo Straits, can be found the world renowned Rainbow Reef, so named because of the profusion of multi-coloured soft corals that carpet almost the entire reef. Here can be found just about every type of coral reef topography that is possible: Walls on the outer edge of the reef pitted with caves and swim-throughs, along which cruise sharks and schools of pelagics. Shallow coral gardens on the inner edge of the reef interspersed with sandy channels and home to giant clams and a variety of reef tropicals. Bommies thrusting up to the surface, a profusion of anemones, soft & hard corals, home to every conceivable critter. Narrow passes through the reef that attract predators on incoming tides, waiting to pick off unsuspecting prey. Rainbow Reef has it all! There are numerous dive sites on Rainbow Reef, each different, and each as beautiful as the last. Doing a month of diving on this one reef will not do it justice! - E6 reef scuba diving Fiji.

THE GREAT WHITE WALL
The start of this dive involves a swim through a tunnel which has two exits, the first exit at 30ft, the second one at 90ft. Upon exiting the tunnel at whichever depth you prefer you are met by a sheer wall that plunges to 250ft that is quite literally covered in what appear to be white soft corals. In fact a torch will reveal that they are a delicate lavender purple in colour, but the water has filtered out the colour, making them look white - hence the name of the dive site. Because of the sheer quantities and uniformity of the soft corals this dive site is quite spectacular. The corals give off an almost luminous glow that cannot really be captured on film! Whip corals and sea fans sprout from the wall, and are home to long-nose hawkfish and other interesting critters. One of the great soft coral dives in the world - E6 reef scuba diving Fiji.

CABBAGE PATCH
A single large patch of cabbage coral over 50ft across at a depth of 30-60ft, this coral formation, like all cabbage corals it seems, is home to squirrelfish and sea anemones. It would seem that each fish gets its own little "cabbage patch"! The sandy area around the formation provides a wonderfully undulating quality of light that flickers with the waves above. Once you have explored the corals, have a good look in the sand and you will find commensal shrimps, gobies, pipefish, lizardfish and sand divers. A great shallow dive - E6 reef scuba diving Fiji.

GAU ISLAND

JIM'S ALLEY
Consists of 3 large bommies that start at about 15 feet from the surface and drop to the floor at about 60 to 70 feet. The bommies are covered in soft and hard corals, sea fans, whips and anemones. This sight also frequently has white tips, turtles, barracudas and an occasional ray -E6 reef scuba diving Fiji.

NINGALI PASS
Ningali Pass is a small cut in the reef that can only be dived 1 1/2 hours before low water to 1 1/2 hours after low water, otherwise the visibility is poor and the current can exceed 4 knots. At this sight we see large grouper/jew fish, barracuda, big eyed jacks, snapper, big gray reef sharks and an occasional sea snake. We also have seen eagle rays, mantas and hammerhead sharks - E6 reef scuba diving Fiji.

WAKAYA ISLAND

WAKAYA PASS
This site starts at about 35 ft. sandy bottom then you swim out over a wall and turn to the left. As you come over the drop off of the wall you can look straight down to about 140 ft. While swimming along the wall you may see blue ribbon eels, white tip, nurse, and hammerhead sharks along with mantas, marble rays, turtles, eagle rays and Barracudas - E6 reef scuba diving Fiji.

GOLDEN ROCK
A bommie that starts at 35 ft. on the high inside edge it then comes up to 10 ft. and is 20 ft. across. This site has soft coral, hard coral, cleaner shrimp, blue ribbon eels, lionfish, and most important it is a cleaning station for mantas and we see mantas here 90% of the time - E6 reef scuba diving Fiji.

GEMSTONE
Gemstone is on the outside edge of Wakaya passage. This is a wall dive with swim throughs, hard and soft corals and as one guests who has dived around the world said, this sight is as good as they have in the Red Sea. Mantas also frequently visit this location along with hammer head and white tips sharks. When diving this location on a night dive the light fish here are very abundant and make for a great light show - E6 reef scuba diving Fiji.

SAND POINT
Sand point is a wall dive between the island of Wakaya and Mokongi. On this dive we frequently see mantas, eagles rays, turtles, white tips and the various colorful fish of the South Pacific in abundance along with hard and soft corals - E6 reef scuba diving Fiji.

MAKONGI ISLAND
At the turn of the century Makongi Island was the home of the last leper colony in Fiji but today its the home of the Fijian turtle and clam farm. The north end of the island is protected by a barrier reef which has a lot of great dive sights. The most popular are White Rock, Rustic Arch, Coral Garden & Makongi Channel. Each of these sights has wide variety of colourful tropical fish - E6 reef scuba diving Fiji.

WHITE ROCK
White Rock is at the entrance of Makongi Channel and aptly called because the waves always break on it causing the reef to have a white cap. This sight has white tips, occasionally eagle rays and mantas, eels, large file fish, an abundance of hard and soft corals but most of all it has the friendliest school of fuseliers - E6 reef scuba diving Fiji.

RUSTIC ARCH
This sight has excellent hard and soft corals, sea fans, sea anemones, lion fish, moray eels, white tips and a recently discovered home to a large Napoleon wrasse - E6 reef scuba diving Fiji.

CORAL GARDENS
A series of bommies that have a beautiful supply of hard and soft corals. This sight also has turtles, white tips sharks, moray eels, lion fish and once in a while a nurse shark. Visibility can sometimes be below 40 feet because of heavy plankton - E6 reef scuba diving Fiji.

MAKONGI CHANNEL
Makongi channel is most often a drift dive due to the fact its at an entrance to the inner reef. On an incoming tide the visibility is quite good and sometimes exceeds 100 feet. The usual party of Makongi sea life abounds here in the channel as well - E6 reef scuba diving Fiji.

E6 AND Hi8
These two sites are aptly named: E6 for the amount of film shot at this site and likewise Hi-8 for the amount of video footage taken. Both E-6 and Hi-8 are pinnacles that start at a depth of 3,000 feet and rise to the surface. E-6 has a horseshoe shaped grotto which is filled with anemones, large clams, lionfish and spectacular red sea fans and soft corals. Each has a virtual smorgasbord of soft corals, hard corals, sea fans, sea anemones, octicoral, swim-throughs and are teeming with smaller fishes of the South Pacific. Included at both sights are sweet lips, hammer heads, white tips, occasional silver tips and if we're lucky a whale - E6 reef scuba diving Fiji.

NAMENA (NAMENALALA ISLAND)

The Namena Barrier Reef stretches a distance of over 10 miles. There is an abundance of dive sights here but many are unprotected in open waters and can't be dived in bad weather. Most of these sites have the possibility of high currents and as a result the sea life here is abundant and very active. It is not uncommon to see gray reefs, white tips, silver tips, barracuda and dog tooth tuna on a 30 minute dive. The following are the most popular dive sights - E6 reef scuba diving Fiji.

CHIMNEYS
Three slender bommies which start at about 74 feet and come to within 10 feet of the surface. On the sandy bottom you'll find a field of garden eels with gobies and shrimp scattered throughout. Everywhere in the bommies of this site you can find pipe fish, cleaner fish, nudibranches, soft corals, hard corals, sea anemones with clown fish, and free swimming in the current above the bommies are unicorn fish and anthiest. Between the bommies in midwater are resident barracudas and it's not uncommon to see white tips or grey reefs - E6 reef scuba diving Fiji.

MAGIC MOUND
This dive sight is a single bommie 80 to 100 feet long and 30 to 40 feet wide. It starts at 80 feet on one side and comes up to within 15 feet of the surface. Its covered in hard corals, soft corals, sea anemones, sea fans and lots of lionfish lurking in between or hanging around under ledges. This sight is also known for its white tips and grey reef action - E6 reef scuba diving Fiji.

NORTH SAVE-A-TACK
On an incoming tide the action is fast and furious. A diver must descend to a depth of 70 feet in water that often has a visibility of over 150 feet. On the bottom a diver may see grey reefs, white tips, barracudas and dog tooth tuna with an occasional silver tip without even moving. The current is strong and during an incoming tide and the visibility is excellent. Divers normally start on the east side of North Save-a-tack and end their dive on the west side among the hard and soft coral covered bommies. This side is excellent for macro and wide angle shots - E6 reef scuba diving Fiji.

KORO ISLAND

BLACK ROCK CAVERNS
In the mouth of Dere Bay and the host of many swim-throughs, caverns and caves. This is also one of our favorite night dive sights that is the host to large file fish, many decorator crab, white tips, flashlight fish, eels and occasionally squid. This site also has a large school of barracuda. It is in the lee of the island of Koro and can be dived most any time during the year but visibility is usually limited to 60 feet - E6 reef scuba diving Fiji.

KORO GARDENS
Koro Gardens is marked by a single large bommie that comes to within 15 feet of the surface. The area around the bommie is about 45 feet to the bottom and drops off to 95 feet in some areas. Hard corals cover everything while an abundance of reef fish crowd the waters and make the diving spectacular - E6 reef scuba diving Fiji.

SHARK FIN POINT
This site on the north east point of Koro Island can be action central. On most dives you will see a large school of about 500 barracudas, eagle rays, many white tip, lots of grey reefs, lobster, eels, and we have even seen whale shark here, yes we really have. Not only are the fish and shark abundant but it's covered in both hard and soft corals. When the tide is running this can be a most enjoyable drift dive because little effort is needed to move and its seems as if the show just swims by you - E6 reef scuba diving Fiji.

KADAVU ISLAND

Kadavu's best dive sites are located on the world-famous Great Astrolabe Reef. This huge reef system sweeps north from the island in a vast loop; plunging into the Pacific abyss on the outside, within its embracing arms lie miles of patch reefs, bommies, shallow sandy lagoons and verdant islands surrounded by stunning white beaches - E6 reef scuba diving Fiji.

NAIQORO PASSAGE
Location of Spot X and Japanese Gardens. This pass offers some of the finest dives in Fiji, abounding in pelagic fish including schools of sharks, wrasse and barracuda, and coral gardens exploding with colour. The passage is a marine reserve - E6 reef scuba diving Fiji.

NACOMOTO PASSAGE
This passage includes Eagle Rock and Cabbage Patch. Eagle Rock is named after a school of eagle rays which fly around the bommie at the mouth of this passage. The dive also typically hosts reef sharks, barracuda and turtles. Cabbage Patch is home to one of the biggest cabbage coral patches you are ever likely to see. Reef sharks, humphead wrasse and colourful schools of reef fish are commonly seen on this relaxing dive. The passage is a marine reserve - E6 reef scuba diving Fiji.

SOSO PASSAGE
Home to Golden Chimney and Coral Wonderland. Golden Chimney is a large coral structure completely covered in golden soft corals which, when feeding, light up the entire area. Gorgonian fans, moray eels, reef sharks and garden eels are other highlights of this dive. Coral Wonderland combines the best of wall, drift and relaxed coral watching. The dive starts deep with some very large fan corals on the edge of a very deep drop off. At the end of the wall, large schools of barracuda often hang out along with a grey reef shark or two. The last part of the dive is spent in shallower coral gardens which go on and on with reef fish schooling in large numbers - E6 reef scuba diving Fiji.

MANTA REEF
A very special dive on Vai Reef and one of the few places in the world where manta rays can be seen regularly. Here these magnificent creatures circle and summersault in front and above you, showing how graceful us scuba divers are NOT! The reef itself is outstanding in its quality and diversity of fish life. If you see mantas as well, this dive will always rank amongst the best you will ever do - E6 reef scuba diving Fiji.

more on Fiji dive sites ...... Fiji travel for Scuba diving in Fiji

[Mamanuca ] [Astrolabe Reef ] [Beqa Lagoon] [Rainbow Reef] [Great White Wall] [E6 Reef]

back to Ecotourism-activityguide main page