[SouthernSeas]

Hi Folks -

Thanks much for the info on Beqa and Kadavu. Now for some feedback:

Kadavu had some great diving. The reef there is in pristine shape -- there are very view villages and resorts on the island, so there is little fishing and few divers to wreck the reefs. I've never seen hard corals so abundant and unspoiled. One big highlight was the "Manta Point" dive site -- huge manta rays cruising above your head like jets buzzing an airport. Very cool. Mantas also showed up at a couple of other spots, but they wouldn't get very close. The other site I liked a lot was "Golden Chimney," which had cool overhangs and a big chimeny clad with yellow soft coral.

On Kadava, we stayed at a place called "Matava Eco Resort." It isn't a "resort" in the common sense of the word. They have only about 8 private, grass-clad huts and one small shared hut. The accomodation and whole "resort" area is really basic -- its more like living in a small Fijian village than a "resort." Because its so remote, food is included -- but that too is pretty basic and a bit sparse on some days. So, be prepared for pretty rudimentary living.

Also, there is no house reef -- Matava is located near a freshwater stream and you really need kayak to paddle out to the corals. That said, their dive staff is really good and very flexible about when they take the dive boats out, what locations you go to etc. The diving and dive staff really made the trip worth while.

After a week at Matava, we went to the main island for a week to dive around Beqa. Stayed at The Pearl South Pacific Resort in Pacific Harbour. The diving in Beqa is not nearly as good as in Kadavu -- there is a lot of fishing in the area and the reefs are in much worse shape. On the other hand, there are other things to do in the area if you want to take a day off diving. We also really liked the hotel.

We dived with both Aqua-Trek (located on the grounds of The Pearl) and Beqa Adventure Divers (about 5 minutes away by shuttle). Beqa Adventure Divers were a MUCH better dive operation. Aqua-Trek seems to attract a lot of inexperienced "resort divers" and their whole attitude was pretty poor. Also, they have only one dive boat and do the shark dive three times a week -- so you don't get much variety. The whole set up at Beqa Adventure Divers is much more suited to "serious" divers. They have two boats which go to different locations, which gives you more variety. They are also much more interested in the ecology of the reef and willing to share their knowledge.

We didn't have brillant visability at either location -- but this was probably due to the time of year (its summer down here) -- in winter its supposed to be more clear. Also, I've heard that some of the northern islands have the best diving in Fiji -- so I would try there the next time I go to Fiji -- although Kadavu was a memorable experience.

Hope this helps.

Best,
SoutherSeas