DIVErsion Dive (B)LOG » Fiji

You Never Ever Know if You Never Ever Go

diversiondivetravel — Tue, 24 Sep 2013 02:14:45 +0000

Garry and Sue recently stayed at Beqa Lagoon Resort in Fiji and posted this report on Tripadvisor:

Reviewed 5 September 2013

I recently returned from an 8 night diving trip to Beqa Lagoon Resort and had a great time. I found a package through Diversion Dive Travel which was extremely good value and very well organised from start to finish. I agree with all the positive comments on this resort with Trip Advisor but disregard the negative comments as I had no negative experiences during my stay. Firstly, this is a dive resort. I met a couple of non-divers and while one mature aged woman had a great time a younger woman was bored stiff. She did not dive and I think wanted to party. While there is a bar and you can party if you wish, as mostly dedicated divers use this resort, at the end of a days diving and after a good meal and a few drinks most people retire to their room reasonably early to rest up for the next days diving.

This is probably a 3 star property which is reflected in the rates which are very reasonable if you shop around for a diving/accommodation/meals/transfers package. So, if you want 5 star and to party all night with good diving, I suggest you spend a few days in a mainland resort first, then head over the Beqa Island for the diving. Having lived in Melanesian countries previously, I learned not to expect everything to run to plan. Things go wrong in developing countries. But, I was pleasantly surprised. The transfers went on time and pretty much to schedule. I read varying accounts of how long it takes to get there many of which were wrong. It is a 2.5 hour ride in a mini bus on a long and winding road from Nandi airport to Pacific Harbour. If you want to take some beer or drinks ask the bus driver to call into the shop at Pacific Harbour before you get on the boat and a case of Fiji Gold costs about 55FJD. It is then 45 mins to 1 hour boat transfer depending on the seas. But, when you get there it is well worth it. Most of the staff and some villagers turn out to welcome you with a traditional song which is quite humbling. There were only 2 of us arriving but we still got the full treatment. You then get a complimentary foot massage if that’s your thing.

We heard the Beach Front Bures were the go, so considered we might upgrade as we were booked into the pond side Bures. But, we were so satisfied with our room we did not bother. The room was very large with a lounge room, lounge and coffee table, comfortable king bed, bedside tables and lamps for reading, a new bar fridge that kept drinks icy cold, a fairly new air-conditioner which worked well but which we never needed and a large bathroom and shower which was recently renovated. We had hot water the whole time there and forget the bottled water, we drank tap rain water the whole time with no ill effects. There is tea and coffee making facilities in the room and soap and shampoo/conditioner provided. The Bure also has a deck with table, chairs and a deck chair. No need to bring a towel for swimming, snorkelling or diving as the resort provides towels. The meals are good and ample like everyone agrees. So, who cares if the roofs of some of the Bures need a few more palm leaves. The gardens are manicured and well maintained, the staff are friendly and a more peaceful and relaxing place would be difficult to find. The resort is managed by Mark a South African and his wife Poldi an Austrian lady. Both are very friendly, experienced, interesting and well travelled hosts. I have stayed at resorts where the ex-pat managers actually avoid the guests. This is not one of them.Mark and Poldi dine and mingle with the guest at all times, were most helpful in all respects and are excellent ambassadors for the resort, island and it’s people. I can not praise these people highly enough. All the staff were friendly and helpful and it is true they do know your name by day 2. There is a PADI dive shop right next to the resort dining room and office.

The dive shop is very well run by Joeli who is also a dive instructor, dive master and one of the guys who pioneered the Beqa Lagoon Shark Dives some years back. There are 3 dive boats owned by the resort but when we were there one was running charters from the Coral Coast so 2 dive boats were in use at the resort. This was more than ample as there were only about 6 to 8 divers as we were there on a quiet week. So, as you can imagine the service was excellent. The dive boat had a skipper, a couple of deck hands and 2 dive masters so all levels of diving experience were easily catered for. All the dive boat staff are local islanders, as are all the other employees. So, they take pride in their resort on their island and it shows. A typical day is up at 6.45am for 7.15am breakfast, then to the dive shop to get your wetsuit and then to the beach for 7.45am departure to the dive boat in a big tinny. All the other dive gear, BCD’s, tanks and weights is taken on board by the dive crew and set up for you. Then off to a dive site for 1st dive about 9am. Dives are not deep and the deepest I went was to about 28.5 metres on a wreck. Dive time is restricted only by the amount of air you have in your tank and all dives are guided by 2 dive masters so it is very safe. Some experienced divers stayed down for 45 to 50 mins while the less experienced had about 30 to 35 minute dives. Surface interval is 1 hour during which time the boat moves to a different site. As a mature aged diver I found the diving easy as when exiting the water you can take off your weights and BCD/tank and a boat crew member will haul it on board for you. Second dive is about 11am and then they head back to the resort for a 12.30pm arrival and 1pm lunch. Diving is basically reefs, wrecks and sharks. We dived on a couple of old fishing trawlers which had good soft and hard coral growth and an abundance of fish life. The rest of the day is free to engage in other island activities. There is unlimited shore diving which is only restricted by the tides. The lagoon is tidal so obviously the best time for shore dives is around high tide. After lunch most divers seemed to prefer to find a hammock, rest or have an afternoon nap as the morning diving, sun, sea breezes and unspoiled beauty of the place seemed to instil a sense of peace, tranquillity and quiet relaxation into ones soul.

I did not intend to do the shark dive as I have done one previously and my partner is a relatively new diver with an O/W ticket who like most of us had initially expressed a mortal fear of sharks. Also both shark dives exceed 18 meters. But she met some other lady divers who talked her into it. So, I decided to go as her buddy.

I am so glad I did. The 2 shark dives are spectacular. The first is in 24 meters. All divers descend down the anchor line onto a wreck and are guided to a roped off area where they position themselves holding on to a rope barrier. Then the chum comes down in large wheelie bins and the action starts. Literally millions of fish of all shapes sized and species appear. The first sharks were several large nurse sharks followed by 3 or 4 large silvertips. Bottom time is about 15 minutes and then divers move up to the reef and wreck to complete the dive and safety stops. I had not seen any bull sharks on the first dive and asked the dive master why and he said the first dive attracts them and they will be there on the second dive. He was right. The second dive follows the same procedure but is at 19 metres with a bottom time of 20 mins. When we got bottom and took the rope there were bull sharks everywhere. There must have been 20 to 30 bull sharks swimming very close to divers. Divers with cameras were taken inside the roped off area to vantage points where they could get better photos. But, with so many sharks in the water divers were completely safe. 3 dive operators were on this shark dive in 3 dive boats so there must have been 30 divers in the water. But, there were at least 10 ‘shark wranglers’ who kept watch behind and all around the divers and were right on the ball if any big sharks got too close. It was a truly good dive and my novice partner loved it and is now a seasoned shark diver, who like the rest of us now understands the beauty of these animals and why they so desperately need protection. The shark dive is conducted 3 times a week but we only did it once. But, non-shark divers can go to the same site and dive on the reef and wreck which is only a short distance from where the shark dive is being conducted. We did 2 dives thus and saw plenty of white tip, black tip, grey reef sharks and I thought I saw a mako shark. All of which were attracted to the area by the shark feeding nearby.

This was a great trip, great value for money and a great diving resort. We met some very interesting people from all over the world which gave the place a great international flavour. There were Aussies, Americans, Brits, Russians, French, Korean and Columbian and everyone got on very well. While there were some nice young couples, most of the divers were of the more mature aged variety, keen divers and the undisciplined backpacker element was not present. It is very sad to leave this wonderful place and when we did, again Mark, Poldi and the island people turned out to sing us off with a sad traditional song. Like some others, I felt quite emotional when leaving and looked around to see other people also had a tear in their eye. I can not speak highly enough about this place. My advice is if you are considering a dive trip to an exotic location, far from the maddening crowd, which is not going to cost the earth, stop thinking and just go to Beqa Lagoon Resort. You won’t regret it.
Like they say, Life’s a Beach and then you Dive.
Garry and Sue
Australia

Trip Report: Matava Resort Fiji Diving the Astrolabe Reef

diversiondivetravel — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 07:14:23 +0000

Here is a very nice review of Matava Island resort by Barbara Winters, a client of us who recently spend a week there:

I wanted to surprise my partner for his 40^th holiday and decided onFiji. We met when we learnt scuba diving inHonduras 11 years ago, and he became an instructor and I a rescue diver since. Since just over a year we both work at Adreno Scuba Diving centre in Brisbane, but we hardly ever go diving ourselves. So it was about time we got back in the water!

Through the website of Diversion Dive Travel I found a very good package deal: eight days in Eco-Resort Matava, including daily dives with a PADI Green Star Awarded dive centre, all meals included and the second person would go for half price. The fact that we would go to an Eco-Resort, without mass tourism and no families with small kids, made this holiday perfect for us because we love travelling to places where it is still largely unspoiled and peaceful.

After a short flight to Fiji and another one to the small island of Kadavu, we were collected at the airport and brought to the other side of the island. The crew of Mad Dive Centre awaited us and entertained us during the 45 min trip to the resort. We were welcomed by more friendly people and shown our beautiful wooden ‘bure’ (hut). It was surrounded by rainforest and had the best view I’ve seen in my 20+ years of overseas travels! This was paradise!

Critter juntion

Matava is right on the doorstep of the Great Astrolabe Reef. This is the fourth largest barrier reef in the world. It offers colourful soft corals, warm and clear waters and many different dive sites, such as walls, passages to the outer reef, big drop-offs and drift dives in mild currents. There is only a handful of dive operators that go to the reef and you and when we did a shore dive on our first day at Critter Junction, just in front of the resort, we were the only two there. We saw many very colourful and cute looking baby fish and spent a good hour filming and photographing it all. These shore dives are included in the package by the way, which was great.

Outer reef
We had also booked 10 boat dives and most days we went to the outer reef, The Astrolabe Reef has many channels leading from extremely deep water into shallow lagoons and we visited these channels and on more windy days the lagoons. A beautiful dive is Naiqoro Passage, which was a drift dive along a massive coral wall.

We were lucky enough to see some of the finest the Astrolabe reef has to offer: reef sharks, moray eels, colourful angelfish, many different types of clownfish in waving anemones, a banded eel that behaves a lot like a sea snake, tiny nudibranch of only fingernail size, and even a comb jellyfish, flashing its tiny hairs in the sun as it moved past us during one safety stop. But best of all was the Manta encounter at Manta Reef. We saw them feeding, doing barrel rolls in order to get the plankton-filled water to flow through their gills. What an amazing sight and how lucky we were to witness this from up close. I was cheering underwater.

Perfect holiday

As regular backpackers, this was our most luxurious trip ever, but it was worth it: in all respects a holiday we can’t fault. Mainly the friendliness of the Fijians and the staff at Matava made it exceptional and we loved the traditional Kava ceremony they invited us to, and special Lovo feast they served. All other days we had a mix of Mexican, Indian, English and Italian-style food, and it just kept coming, which is amazing considering the remote location and the lack of electricity most of the day. They even made my partner and another guest a birthday cake!

We were also very pleased to see that Matava runs its own organic garden and has many fruit trees in between the bures. The fact that you can leave the resort and explore the island a bit, canoe around the nearby island or walk to the village and swim under a waterfall, makes this holiday all the more adventurous.

Bula!

How to choose the best family holidays for divers with kids

diversiondivetravel — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 23:42:05 +0000

Our ideas for best family holidays!

It was often difficult for divers with kids to find the right holiday where everybody can have some fun. By now there are a number of liveboard vessels around the world who accept children on some of there cruises which are specifically scheduled as family trips. The Aggressor fleet for example offers some family trips in the Caribbean, closer to our part of the world there are family liveaboard cruises in the Philippines and Indonesia available, for example with

Dive instructor on the Pindito with a child during an intro dive

the Pindito. Babies, toddlers, teenagers all are welcome on board Pindito and some other liveaboards for designated family excisions!

Many dive resorts are offering rooms or bungalows for families which are very suitable.

We think there are some considerations to be taken into account when you plan a dive holiday with the whole family.

A resort stay is the most common way to do this. Most resorts offer children’s’ rates (some more some less attractive), but this does not mean that they are naturally suitable for a family holidays. We just like to give you some pointers to select a great diving holiday for the family.

Important questions to ask:

Pack the bags!

Does the resort have a nice beach for kids to play and swim?
Do they offer a nanny service for a reasonable price?
Are the dive sites close by so you can be back in the resort after a dive or two without spending most of the day in the dive boat away from the non divers?
Apart from diving, what other activities can you engage in which are fun for the entire family?
Depending what age your kids are, you may get them into a bubble maker or similar early dive/snorkel program. Check if this is available
Does the resort offer kids sizes snorkel/dive gear?

Volivoli Resort in Fiji has a beach how kids love it!

We have done these checks and found some resorts that fit the bill. They tick the boxes and are quite affordable particularly in the Philippines, in Fiji and in Indonesia. Please check these resort out for your family holiday and ask us for their family rates:

In Fiji
Volivoli Resort
We have a family special for you for the beautiful Volivoli Resort: Stay 7 pay 5 at 2011 rates for families! (must be booked latest by 31st March 2012) Please email us for details!

Here some more resorts that fit the bill:

Indonesia's beautiful reefs

In the Philippines:
Pura Vida Beach Resort
Alona Vida Beach Resort

In Indonesia:
Tasik Ria Resort
Siladen Resort & Spa

Also fantastic, but on a higher budget are: Gangga Island Resort & Spa and Wakatobi Dive Resort.

Liveaboard Familiy cruises

The Pindito offers Wake Boarding as a fun activity for small and grown up guests!

In case you really want something very special, why not consider a liveboard dive cruise on the Pindito. Once a year they offer a family cruise of a lifetime! The crew has plenty ideas to make this trip exciting for grand and small guests. They offer a lot of activities around the water and on land for kids. Visit the Komodo dragons in the National Park, collect shells on the beach, spend an afternoon wakeboarding or a visit of an old fishing village. Introductory dives are possible as well. On this cruise kids under 10 years travel for free! 10-15 year olds pay 50% of trip price.

Pindito - a beautiful Indonesian liveaboard

Family liveaboard trips 2012:
30 Jul – 10 Aug 2012 Dive Komodo! Pindito Family diving cruise
3-10 August 2012 (7 nights) Philippines diving Philippine Siren Family trip

Family Liveaboard trips 2013:
28 Jul – 4 Aug 2013 (7 nights) dive Komodo with Indo Siren Family dive trip
29 Jul – 9 Aug 2013 (11 nights) Dive Komodo with the Pindito Family dive trip

The Australasia Challenge: u/w shootout

diversiondivetravel — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 06:04:48 +0000

Join the “Australasia Challenge” – at the 5th Underwater Festival 2011

Over 100.000,00 AUD worth of prizes to be won!

What: Go diving and take pictures
When: 2-11 Sep 2011
Where: Anywhere in over 20 Australasian countries or at one of the designated “fringe” events

The Underwater Festival 2011 will be the biggest one yet. It will be lots of fun and activities. Many dive operators are offering special “Underwater Festival Fringe Events” anything from photography workshops with Photo & Video Pros to photo shootout competitions, is available!

Entrants do not have to participate in Fringe Events, they simply can go diving and shoot with a buddy, the dives can be anywhere in over 20 countries as long as they are diving during the designated shootout days 2 to 11 September 2011. Your favourite backyard dive, a fancy trip to a dive resort you always wanted to go, one of the many Festival Fringe Events that will be offered, the choice is yours. The aim is to make it possible for anybody with any budget to participate.

The organisers want people to feel that they are part of creating a snapshot of the underwater beauty but also the issues of our amazing region have lots of fun. The social aspect of the Underwater Festival has always been an important element of the event and by spreading the shootout part of the festival over a larger region, much of the socializing on the large scale will take place during the associated dive & travel trade show ODEX in Brisbane (7-9 October 2011). Here it is where the whole festival will come together to showcase and celebrate its achievements.

Fringe events are happening all over Australasia as part of the Underwater Festival 2011
To name a few of the Fringe Events which we feature in our program:
Australia: Heron Island, Spoilsport, Cocos Keeling and Christmas Islands.
Fiji: Matava Resort
Indonesia: Gangga Island Resort
Yap: Manta Ray Bay Resort
Palau: Fish’n Fins
Philippines: ABWonderdive
PNG: Tawali Resort

These 25 countries are part of Australasia for this competition:
Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, Cook Islands, East Timor, Fiji, French Polynesia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Federated States of Micronesia, Myanmar, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Thailand, Tonga, Vanuatu, Vietnam.

For more information, check out:

Cathay Pacific to code-share with Air Pacific to Fiji

Diversion Dive Travel — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 05:12:13 +0000

Cathay Pacific Airways will code-share with Air Pacific, placing its CX code on the Fijian carrier’s new twice-weekly flight between Hong Kong and Nadi, launching December 3 2009. Cathay Pacific aims to use its extensive international network to feed mainly holiday traffic to the island nation. Air Pacific currently serves 25 destinations using a fleet of Boeing 747, 767 and 737 aircraft and offering travel in two classes: Tabua Class (Business) and Pacific Voyager.

This will give travellers from Europe a great alternative to visit Fiji’s magic dive resorts!

Qamea Resort & Spa – low season rates all year!

Diversion Dive Travel — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 05:56:08 +0000

Qamea is a magical place to the East of Taveuni in Fiji. They just anounced great low season stay/pay specials during the coming high season. For as little as $US247.00 per person/per night, with all gourmet meals, you can enjoy the award winning all beachfront, all air conditioned, Qamea Resort & Spa, the most intimate beach and spa resort in Fiji’s beautiful tropical Northern Islands.

Due to the recent currency devaluation in Fiji, Qamea Resort & Spa is offering you this special deal through the high season effective immediately.

Bure Category Stay/Pay Special Per Person/Per Night*
BEACHFRONT BURES: Stay 7 Pay 5 Nights US$ 247.00

HONEYMOON VILLA                    Stay 7 Pay 6 Nights                US$ 354.00
HONEYMOOM BURE                   Stay 7 Pay 6 Nights                US$ 386.00
PREMIUM VILLAS                        Stay 7 Pay 6 Nights                US$ 407.00

*Per person / Per Night rate is based on a seven paid night stay, and does not include taxes and transfers.

These specials are valid through the remainder of our high season (31 October 2009).

GOOD ECONOMIC NEWS FOR TRAVELLERS

Diversion Dive Travel — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 03:38:36 +0000

15 April 2009:
In reaction to the global economic crisis, the FIJI Reserve Bank has devalued the Fijian Dollar by by 20%.
As a result most Fiji Dive Resorts are 20% cheaper until further notice.

Until the prices are updated in the system here an overview on popular 7 nights packages, twin share, 10 dives, all meals and transfers:

Matava Resort, Kadavu was AU$ 1625
now AU$ 1300 !!
Plus get 1 extra night and 2 dives for FREE!!!

Beqa Lagoon Resort Special date:
first two weeks in December only AU$ 1150.00/person!

Waidroka Bay Resort was AU$ 1480
now AU$ 1190 !!

Wananavu Beach Resort, North Coast was AU$ 1820
now AU$ 1456 !!

Fiji – Nai'a Liveaboard cruises

Diversion Dive Travel — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 04:33:19 +0000

Fiji – Nai’a Liveaboard cruises

Save 10% on 4 departures:

10-nights: save 445
US$4485 now: US$ 4040

Jun 13 – 23

7 Nights: save US$ 314 US$3140 now: US$ 2826

May 23 – 30
May 30 – Jun 6

This is your chance to join one of the world’s best dive cruises as voted by their growing number of loyal fans from around the world. limited spaces available for this special price.

Learn u/w video production from a Pro

Diversion Dive Travel — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 00:10:50 +0000

By Rob Barrel, Nai’a, Fiji

What a great combination: a New Years cruise in Fiji and the chance to work alongside a world class filmmaker!

Many of us are aspiring underwater filmmakers. I have a huge library that I’m sure includes some magnificent footage, except that it is buried among 200 uncataloged tapes growing moldy in an old Pelican case. There are a few who have done much better, and one of the best is hosting a natural history filmmaking seminar during next year’s New Year expedition (2010/2011).

Meet Mark Shelley, a founder and the executive director of Sea Studios Foundation, a non-profit team of filmmakers, scientists and social entrepreneurs, united by common passion to inspire a healthy and sustainable future. The producer of many award-winning films, Sea Studios Foundation is best known for the National Geographic prime-time series, Shape of Life, and Strange Days on Planet Earth.

During ten days aboard NAI’A, Mark will team up with his mentor, retired Monterey Bay Aquarium Senior Scientist (and co-founder), Steve Webster, to conceive, write, shoot, edit and present a short natural history documentary. Mark, with more than 30 years experience making ocean films for global broadcast, will focus on the story, shooting and editing while Steve, who is allegedly the reincarnation Doc Ricketts, will help with the story and critter biology/natural history. Everyone aboard is invited to jump right in and learn the ropes from the masters. We’ll build the videos the first seven days and share them the last three.

I say “we” because I’m so excited about this opportunity that I have sent the Cruise Directors away on holiday so that Cat and I can run the trip. We’ll have three aspiring actresses aboard too, our 5 and 6 year-olds and Mark’s 10 year-old. It’s gonna be fun!

Lucky Draw at OZTEK 09

Diversion Dive Travel — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 05:16:08 +0000

from left: Richard Akhtar (Matava),
Claudia Lutrop (Diversion Dive Travel), Barry Andrewartha (Sport Diving)

Barry Andrewartha from Sport Diving Magazine did the honours and drew the winning ticket for a free week of diving in Fiji.
The lucky winner is Mark JOLLY, an ambulance driver and passionate diver from Narooma, NSW.
He was over the moon when Cherie called him straight after the draw:

“I couldn’t win an all day sucker in a kids lolly raffle “

Well, his luck has definitely changed:
He and his partner will enjoy 7 nights at Matava Resort on Kadavu Island, Fiji, in a double Oceanview Bure, with all meals, Lovo and Kava ceremony, transfers in Kadavu, 12 fantastic boat dives each plus unlimited dives on Matava’s house reef.

Congratulations!