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Dive Review of Ra Divers/Wananavu in
Fiji and Tuvalu/Vitu Levu

Ra Divers/Wananavu, Feb, 2011,

by Victor A Bary, NJ, US (Contributor Contributor 13 reports). Report 5940.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 5 stars Food 4 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity 5 stars
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 5 stars
Beginners 3 stars
Advanced 5 stars
Comments Wananavu resort sits in the northwest corner of Viti Levu, and is the closest resort to the Bligh Waters. Our beach front bure was a bit smaller than some we’ve had in Fiji, but well laid out. The king size bed had good reading lights and the room featured two ceiling fans and air conditioning (although we chose to turn it off). The two sink bath ran the full length of the bure and featured a large glass walled (with privacy screen) shower. Bures have a partially covered front patio with table and chairs, and foot bath. Mosquito repellent is recommended.

The main building, at the crest of the well manicured property, had a large inside and outside dining area. We chose Wananavu, in part, because food service was overseen by Beato, who was head chef during our 2005 visit to Lalati. Meals were good and varied and the wait staff was very friendly, quickly learning everyone’s name and personality, as we did theirs. We found ourselves looking forward to Vulo’s hearty greetings and Ma’s birdlike laugh. The 3 PM Fiji culture presentations by Evaluni should not be missed.

Diving services are provided by Ra Divers, which maintains a building at the resort beach. Equipment was new and well-maintained, and rinsed and dried for you by Vinie at the end of every day’s dives. Ra’s two 35’ aluminum Robinsons were spacious, provided good overhead cover, and had oxygen, first aid kit, GPS and cell phone communication. Each dive was preceded by a thorough briefing and diagram of the dive site, and dive masters Bulo, Joe, and Bob went out of their way to find macro subjects for us.

The Bligh waters, where most of the diving was conducted, were alive with soft corals and gorgonians of every color. The bommies held clouds of small fish, and we saw gray reef and white tip sharks about every other dive. We also saw a number of goby/blind shrimp pairs. While we have dived Fiji 3 times before (as well as Sipidan and Sulawesi), this trip introduced us to a number of nudibranchs of the facelindae and eubranchidae families which we’ve never seen before.

On a dive at “Breath Taker” we lay on the reef at 50’ for 15 minutes watching sharks, schools of barracuda, jacks and snappers patrol the drop-off looking for prey.

The prices for dives and equipment rental seemed reasonable, until you realized they were quoted in Fiji dollars (57 cents US), and then they were very reasonable. The same was true for drinks at the resort ($6 Fiji for local beer, $8 Fiji for premium European beers).
Websites Ra Divers   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 251-500 dives
Where else diving Aruba, Bermuda, Bonaire, Borneo, Cayman Brac, Curacao, Grand Cayman, Little Cayman, North Sulawesi, St Lucia, Turls & Caicos
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, windy, rainy, cloudy Seas calm, choppy
Water Temp 81-83°F / 27-28°C Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility 30-60 Ft/ 9-18 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions Max recommended depth and time (60 minutes) given at beginning of each dive, and were recorded at the end of the dive. Divers with computers were free to dive their own profile.
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks Lots Mantas None
Dolphins Schools Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 5 stars Tropical Fish 5 stars
Small Critters 5 stars Large Fish 3 stars
Large Pelagics 4 stars

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

Subject Matter 4 stars Boat Facilities 4 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 4 stars Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments Boats had separate camera rinse tanks. Dive masters looked for macro subjects when we showed great interest in them
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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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