62 FIJITIME

DIVE

By DRUE SLATTER

The Pacific Ocean, the earth’s largest oceanic division, is brimming with life. There is a phenomenon that occurs when a portion of that ocean is forced through a narrow, shallow channel between two islands in the Fiji archipelago – and that phenomenon is the Rainbow Reef. Fiji’s status as the soft coral capital of the world is cemented by the gardens of brilliant colour

that are the reefs off Fiji’s garden island of Taveuni. The Somosomo Strait, site of Rainbow Reef, is a whirlpool of nutrients twirling along the reef by tidal currents.Taveuni Dive Resort has opened after more than 12 years of operating as Taveuni Dive, one of the island’s busiest diving operations. Their long years of experience have allowed Taveuni Dive Resort to refine a version of a tropical island resort that caters to the needs of underwater explorers – designed for divers, by divers.

I arrived at Matei airport from my Fiji Link flight earlier than scheduled, and worried about an extended airstrip wait, called to notify the resort of my arrival.“Don’t worry, we heard the plane go overhead so we sent the truck up early. He should be there,” replied the resort manager.Sure enough, the small-island nature of Taveuni ensured that everyone had either heard the aircraft (or news of it) arriving early, and our chariots were ready. Most resorts on the island

rIdiNg the RainbOwIn tAveUni

Photo by HeatHer Sutton

Divers on taveuni’s famous rainbow reef

63FIJITIME

provide airport transfers, as Taveuni’s roads require a certain amount of driving finesse. Four-wheel drives are the go-to for navigating around the island, and after loading my gear into the tray, we hopped in and began the seaside tour of Taveuni.Fiji’s garden island is entirely the product of volcanic activity and has the fertility to show for it. The island is the top of a dormant, elongated shield volcano with volcanic cones dotted across it, one being the famous Des Voeux Peak.

From ridges to reefs, Taveuni is full of life but not necessarily bustling. Our drive was punctuated by only a handful of passing vehicles. Villages were widespread and like many other places in Fiji, hues of forest green and ocean blue fully saturated the scenery. On our way to the resort we passed the famous Waitavala Waterslide. A daring feat for tourists and weekend pastime for local children, the natural streambed chute is a rough-and-tumble waterslide of about 50 meters. It’s a definite list

topper if I can drag myself away from the next few days of delicious diving.I was surprised by the level of luxury of the resort nestled in the middle of dense Taveuni vegetation. It is not only designed to suit the needs of divers, but the ‘wants’ as well. While not extravagant, the boutique diving resort is all comfort, with eight bures aptly named after various dive sites, a swimming pool, and open-air restaurant. I was placed in the ‘Zoo’, an airy open-design bure with cool, tropical tones and

top: a tropical sunset over the taveuni estates bottom: Wairiki Catholic Church, built in 1907

Photos by FeroZ KHaLIL

64 FIJITIME

solar heated water. When Carl and Muriel speak of their arrival in Fiji, it is with fondness, and now after 12 years, practically from the viewpoint of a local ‘Taveunian’. “I owned a dive store in Colorado and there are a lot of divers in Colorado, but some of the best diving in the world is sitting right here,” Carl said. “Many divers were looking for places to stay and for convenience. At that time, we were spending more money than we were making, so starting the resort was one of the best choices we made,” he recalled.

Convenience is exactly what divers pay for, with the dive shop for Rainbow Reef right across the road and the marina a ten-minute walk away. For the next few days of diving, I rose with the sun for a light breakfast at the Salty Fox, the resort restaurant and bar. Dining is flexible and food plenty, with the kitchen open to requests of most sorts before meals. However, the exquisite dining wasn’t nearly as impressive as main attraction: the Taveuni diving. Taveuni is arguably Fiji’s scuba diving capital and for two days, I got to roam the crevices and

curves of one of the most beautiful reef systems in the world. A particular stretch of underwater architecture I was especially excited about: the Great White Wall.If dived in the right conditions, it is exactly as its name describes, a great white wall reminiscent of a field of cotton. The tidal current pushes nutrients onto the reef to feed a blanket of ice-coloured soft coral. But without the right current, it remains bare.The tidal currents that the Somosomo Strait is known for soon made themselves evident. The

DIVE

Bathed in firelight, the bures of taveuni Dive resort Photo by FeroZ KHaLIL

Photo by FeroZ KHaLIL

The open, tropical interior of taveuni Dive resort bures

65FIJITIME

site is typically a drift dive and as tempting as it is, we do not recommend it for first time drift divers. There are swim-throughs and coral caves that, upon closer inspection, house a number of colourful critters bound to delight macro-lovers. In the more sheltered areas, Gregorian fans and reef fish can be found in vivid bursts. What I was there for, however, was the White Wall

experience, like drifting past a perpendicular field of snow. It’s easy to forget the lushness of Taveuni on land when you’re confronted by the wonder underwater. What isn’t easy to forget is the small-town friendliness that greets you after a morning of south sea diving. We returned to the resort to the smiles of Star, our bartender, and the keen interest of Carl and Muriel our hosts, all eager to hear our reaction to their

“front yard”. With waters like that at your doorstep and the team at Taveuni Dive Resort as your comrades, it’s easy not to want to leave the Garden Island of Fiji.

Fiji airways’ subsidiary Fiji Link flies to taveuni daily from nadi and three times

weekly from Suva. Visit fijiairways.com

Photo by HeatHer Sutton

The Dendronepthya soft corals of the famous Great White Wall