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Dive Review of Aqua Trek/Garden Island Resort in
Fiji and Tuvalu/Taveuni

Aqua Trek/Garden Island Resort, Nov, 2002,

by Steve Evers, CA, USA . Report 316.

No photos available at this time

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Accommodations 4 stars Food 5 stars
Service and Attitude 4 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 3 stars Shore Diving 1 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ N/A
Beginners 2 stars
Advanced 4 stars
Comments Garden Island resort is located on the Island of Taveuni. It is the closest dive operation to Rainbow Reef which is one of the best dive areas in Fiji. The resort originally was a Travel Lodge so when I booked my stay there I thought that the place might be a bit tacky. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the accommodations had incorporated a fair amount of Fijian ambiance to counter the American style building. Granted, the rooms looked like they could have been from any typical motel, but the restaurant/bar area had a nice tropical feel. The restaurant food was unbelievably good. Breakfast is buffet or cook to order, and an excellent menu is provided for lunch and dinner. I highly recommend going with the food plan when making reservations. A rather good house band plays every night in the bar area which is a pleasant way to spend some time after dinner. There is no beach at this resort and that’s a good thing. The shoreline area is notorious for shark attacks. Fortunately that isn’t a problem in the diving area in Somosomo Strait. The diving is typically in current, although, on this trip, I did the Great White Wall twice – both times at the same time of day – the first time in a strong current and two days later in no current at all! The dive operation was OK. The boats were fine, the briefings were adequate, but the guides were not as good as I have seen at other resorts in Fiji. Somosomo Strait has strong currents so I would have expected the guides to be more attentive to watching divers. On a number of dives the current was significantly stronger near the surface but became quite manageable at the bottom. Because of this a descent/ascent line was used for entry and exit. The guides don’t seem to mind swimming into strong currents, but a lot of divers don’t go diving for the exercise!

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 251-500 dives
Where else diving Palau, Truk, Hawaii, Costa Rica, Cozumel, Grand Cayman
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather cloudy Seas calm
Water Temp 77-79°F / 25-26°C Wetsuit Thickness 3
Water Visibility 60-80 Ft/ 18-24 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions [Unspecified]
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks 1 or 2 Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles None Whales None
Corals 4 stars Tropical Fish 4 stars
Small Critters 3 stars Large Fish 2 stars
Large Pelagics 2 stars

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subject Matter N/A Boat Facilities N/A
Overall rating for UWP's N/A Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments [None]
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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