Dive Review of Naia in
Fiji and Tuvalu

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Naia, Feb, 2004, by Diana Dickinson, WA, USA . Report 1018.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity	N/A
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$	N/A
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	This was our second trip on the Naia and I'd still go back. The Naia is a well-run operation that caters to divers. With 16 divers on board, it is slightly crowded, but with two skiffs, there are never more than 8 divers in a skiff. On most dive sites, divers are in two groups, so that there are no more than 8 on the site itself. You can dive with the guides or explore on your own. Rob and Cat are currently land-based with their new baby, and this trip was run by Josh and Liz. They are experienced boat operators and the trip ran smoothly. Josh was able to identify many fish from a simple description. His Aussie-isms sometimes left us a little confused, though. (We had trouble with the exact difference between a "rippin' current" and a "screamin' current.") The dive video Liz made was the best I've ever seen. Most diving in Fiji is bommie diving--large underwater plateaus of coral that ascend from the bottom (at 100-200 feet) to the surface or almost to the surface. On most dives, I descended to about 100 feet, then worked my way up the side to a long safety stop at the top of the bommie. Some dives were 70-75 minutes, as a result. When you come up, the skiffs are waiting to ferry you back to the boat--no waiting for the rest of the group. (A safety sausage and dive alert are required, but I never had to use either---the skiff was always right there.) The soft corals in Fiji are beginning to recover from the El Nino of 98 (where they were burnt out), but E-6 is still not as good as its pictures. (Improvement was apparent between this trip and our trip in the fall of 2002, however.) However, Naia's active program of Fiji exploration has added some fabulous sites to the list of colorful locations. Anthias are plentiful--huge schools at every bommie. Clownfish and anemones abound. Every dive yielded multiple fish that I hadn't seen before. (We saw two "Irish Setter" ghost pipefish!) Fiji is a 10-hour flight from LAX. While some people advise re-checking bags at LAX (so Air Pacific is less likely to lose them), the baggage inspection procedures at LAX seem completely chaotic to me, so I'd check my bags through, rather than deal with them twice! The Naia's office was able to arrange a round-trip fare from LAX of $1000.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	101-250 dives
Where else diving	[Unspecified]
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, windy, rainy, cloudy	Seas	choppy
Water Temp	78-82°F / 26-28°C	Wetsuit Thickness	0
Water Visibility	50-100 Ft/ 15-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	1 or 2
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	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	Dedicated room for photographers includes power strips. On board slide processing.

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Dive Review of Naia in Fiji and Tuvalu

Naia, Feb, 2004,

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 Naia in
Fiji and Tuvalu