Fiji-Raki Raki & Beqa Lagoon info?

[azdiver]

Actually, you might have just hit that dive spot at the wrong time. On the way back from Cayman Brac two years ago I was sitting next to someone who showed me a video he had take of the channel in Yap with one manta after another flying by. He had a lot of underwater videos from all over which sure made for a fun flight home!

[Travelnsj]

I don't know if I was there at the wrong time....I have talked to a few dozen people who have been to Yap...probably about 10% had your experience. The majority saw Mantas as I did but a couple or three here and there.....I was just in Papua and saw 2 of the big Black Mantas at one time....that was really cool.

[azdiver]

Maybe they're starting to move elsewhere do to all the divers or water/weather patterns. When I was there in '90 only a handlful of people traveled there and there was only 1 place to stay... Bill's place!

[Travelnsj]

Bill's Place?.....you are dating yourself!.....LOL

[boarder06]

Sorry to drag up an old thread but now that I have been there I might be able to shed some light on "Raki Raki" diving. First off, it is quite a way from Raki Raki, hence the quotes. It is a lot closer to Nananu-I-Ra island.

While Kai Viti Divers is close to Wananavu Beach Resort, I think you are much better off staying on Nananu-I-Ra island, a short boat ride away. Much nicer scenery and plenty of options. The owner of Kai Viti lives there and they will pick you up and drop you off. I stayed with Safari Lodge, which was nice, but wouldn't be my first choice anymore. Betham's and MacDonald's seem very nice and are right on the beach.

The point that previous posts seem to have missed, is that the dives around Nananu-I-Ra are nothing spectacular and there are other places around Fiji were you get to see more for your money. The attraction is actually the diving out at Bligh Water (yes, named after the Bounty's infamous Cpt. Bligh), almost an hour away by boat.

At the time I was there only Kai Viti would go out on a three tank dive and to be honest, I wouldn't want to spend a whole day on Ra Divers smaller boat. Diving with Kai Viti was OK and they let us do our thing. We had our own gear, as did everyone else on the boat. The rental gear I saw in the shop looked OK and I wouldn't hesitate to rent from them.

Some of the guest that have been there the previous week complained about the old "bait and switch", i.e. being told that it would be a three tank to Bligh Water only to find out that they were in for a local two tank when they showed up in the morning. I do understand that there are simple fuel economics involved but the operator should be upfront about this. We also had some issues with the price they asked for, which was substantially higher than the one quoted on the web page. However, they did have at least one returning customer (he has been coming for years and had great slides), so they must be doing something right. I would recommend to arrange a multi-tank package with them ahead of time to avoid any financial hassles.

So, in summary not a wholehearted recommendation but I didn't regret going there.

[Reg]

What is the equipment hire like in Fiji.

[azdiver]

Can't help you with that one.... I have never rented equipment. I even learned how to dive using my own gear.

[Reg]

No problem we will taking our own gear anyway. Just curious, when i first went to thailand i didn't have my own gear but i was really impressesed with the good quality equipment they hired out.

We leave in 1 weeks time for Beqa, so i'll take note and post back.

Can anyone suggest some non-diving activities to do around the area?

[Reg]

Just got back from 8 days in Fiji, diving at Beqa Lagoon. We did 6 Dives with Beqa Adventure Divers. 3 Soft Coral Dives and 3 Shark Dives. The Vis was about 25-30 and at each of the locations the water temp was on average 30 degrees C. Even though we didn't use it the hire equipment looked fairly new and well looked after. The Shark dive was a great experience and I'm still trying to find the words to explain although overwhelming comes to mind. We saw White and Black Tips, Grey Reef and probably 4-5 Bull Sharks. The Soft Coral dives had Ribbon Eels, Lion Fish and huge number of sea fans, swim through's and abundance of fish i'm yet to ID.

[Travelnsj]

Originally Posted by Reg

Just got back from 8 days in Fiji, diving at Beqa Lagoon. We did 6 Dives with Beqa Adventure Divers. 3 Soft Coral Dives and 3 Shark Dives. The Vis was about 25-30 and at each of the locations the water temp was on average 30 degrees C. Even though we didn't use it the hire equipment looked fairly new and well looked after. The Shark dive was a great experience and I'm still trying to find the words to explain although overwhelming comes to mind. We saw White and Black Tips, Grey Reef and probably 4-5 Bull Sharks. The Soft Coral dives had Ribbon Eels, Lion Fish and huge number of sea fans, swim through's and abundance of fish i'm yet to ID.

How do you consider the diving around Beqa? I do not do Shark dives, so is there anything else to see?....I'm trying to decide whether to do Raki Raki or Beqa.