Dive Review of Nai'a Fiji in
Fiji and Tuvalu

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Nai'a Fiji, May, 2011, by Mel Cundiff, CO, US ( Sr. Reviewer 11 reports with 4 Helpful votes). Report 6162.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Fiji / Nai’a Synopsis May 2011 Fiji has the reputation of having some of the best soft coral reefs in the world. When I was there diving in Taveuni in 1997 I wasn’t overly excited about the reefs and found the lack of hard corals to be disappointing. Diving the Bligh Waters this May on the Nai’a (www.naia.com.fj/) was unquestionably better, and diving that itinerary on the Nai’a makes a combination hard to beat for experiencing the best of the Fijian reefs. These reefs represent an excellent cross-section of the beauty and diversity of healthy coral and they are much more accessible from the USA than PNG and Indonesia. Many of the sea mounts/pinnacles had beautiful and diverse hard corals on their upper 30 ft. including their tops which were often less than 10 ft. below the surface. Overall, there was less rubble in these areas indicating a lack of recent storm damage. We saw a healthy number of pelagics in the form of sharks, trevallys, mackerels, tuna and barracudas; but as a measure of reef diversity, the most excitement elicited by the dive masters was when they found a leaf scorpionfish – a half dozen were seen on the trip. I would point out that I saw a larger diversity and number of sea cucumbers on this trip than I have seen in other locations; but overall, among all reef organisms, I saw less than a dozen species that I hadn’t remembered as seeing previously. As can be said about Fiji and almost all other reefs in a comparative way – “It is not Indonesia!” Indonesian reefs are significantly more diverse with both soft and hard corals and all the critters and fishes associated with them. Having previously been on about 30 live aboards, I found the Nai’a to be one of the best-equipped and most comfortable dive boats. It has cabin space for 18 divers with a crew of 11. Via mug shots taken of us the first day they quickly learned to call us all by name. All diving was from two zodiacs and with 16 of us on board with two non-divers, it operated very comfortably for the 4-5 dives we could take each day starting at 7 am. We traveled west to east and back across the archipelago of the Fijian Bligh Waters and the Nai’a was very stable. We were fortunate to have very good weather. There was always one dive master with each zodiac, rotating between Sam, the head dive master, and Bridgette and Mo (Moses). They were all competent and familiar with the reefs but neither of them was an active hustler, energetically finding new critters for us. We were free to dive our own profiles and about half of us used Nitrox, which ended up being comped because we had a full charter. Unlike most other boats, the dive deck and camera areas were large and forward of the mid deck. Except for our masks and fins our dive gear stayed on the stern deck where crew filled tanks and off- and on-loaded them from the zodiacs. Dive sites were seldom more than ten minutes away, and each zodiac visited a separate site, generally exchanging sites with the other on the next dive. Currents were typically moderate to brisk as one expects on diverse reefs since the currents are bringing in the plankton on which the corals are feeding. The visibility ranged from 30-90 feet, and the temperature ranged from 83 to 86 degrees F. Entering the zodiac after a dive was difficult for someone who was heavy and/or out of shape. After their tanks were removed, he/she needed help in being pulled into the boat. There was a ladder that could be deployed on the stern area, but it wasn’t regularly used. Dusk dives in the early evening before dinner appeared to be the preferred routine of the dive staff and supporting this from the mess, generous amounts of wine were served at dinner. The staff seemed somewhat surprised that so many of us preferred night dives and at our request after the third day a fifth/night dive was added to our daily routine. The accommodations in the salon and cabins were spacious and first class, and while the salon was not air conditioned, it directly connected via stairs to the air conditioned cabins below, and the cool air from that area kept the upper deck quite comfortable during the whole cruise. The sun deck would have been more comfortable and usable had part of it been shaded. While there were ample quantities of eloquently presented food, in my opinion it was mediocre at best and not as tasty as I have experienced on other dive boats. During the course of our cruise we did a land-based visit to Makogi village, which was hosting a conservation student overseeing a giant clam mariculture project. Besides being educated about this program we were entertained into the evening by a number traditional Fijian dances and a kava ceremony. During a previous evening on the ship the crew had hosted a kava ceremony with a Fijian songfest. On almost all occasions when Sam was diving with us and during many of our activities both on and off the boat, he was videoing us with a high-definition camera which he had recently purchased with his own funds. On the last day of our trip he announced that for $60 we could purchase a DVD copy of the trip with the money going toward the purchase of his camera. Having suspected early on that he might be putting together such a DVD and without mention of a cost, I guessed that this might be a perk that the Nai’a was providing for each of us. When I confronted him about a possible conflict of interest of his using dive master time on the boat for his personal gain, he reminded me that one of the other dive masters was always in the water with us. While that may have been true, his services as a dive master were compromised by the distraction of his filming. The DVD he produced was of high quality and in line with the cost of those produced on other boats by a person dedicated for that duty. In spite of the fact that the Nai’a was a bit pricy, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it for diving on some of the best coral reefs in Fiji. Mel Cundiff, Broomfield, Colorado Cundiff@Colorado.edu 8/06/2011
Websites	Nai'a Fiji
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	On all the major coral reefs in the world
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	currents
Water Temp	83-86°F / 28-30°C	Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility	30-90 Ft/ 9-27 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	none
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	None	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	Great set up for U/W photographers

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Dive Review of Nai'a Fiji in Fiji and Tuvalu

Nai'a Fiji, May, 2011,

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

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

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

Dive Review of Nai'a Fiji in
Fiji and Tuvalu