The islands of Fiji are surrounded by some of the world's most colorful reefs and healthiest marine environments. One of the best ways to take in Fiji's exceptional diving opportunities is aboard the liveaboard dive boat Nai'a. This upscale expedition yacht gives divers unprecedented access to Fiji's top underwater attractions, as it has the ability to visit a broader range of sites than any single land-based operation.
The Boat
Calling the Nai'a an expedition yacht isn't hyperbole. This 120-foot vessel was purpose-built in one of Holland's premier shipyards to serve as a passenger-supported marine mammal research vessel. After entering service in 1993 Nai'a spent 15 years on far-ranging missions across the western Pacific, traveling from Fiji to Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Tonga, Samoa, Tuvalu, Funafuti and the Phoenix Islands in Kiribati. In 2010 the vessel underwent a complete refit, and now devotes its schedule to hosting divers in the waters of Fiji.
Nai'a Liveaboard accommodates up to 18 guests in nine climate-controlled staterooms that include ample storage space for personal items. To ensure maximum flexibility and comfort, each private cabin can be configured to accommodate single guests or couples. Guests are attended by a crew of 14 to ensure the highest standards of personal attention, comfort, and professionalism. The social centers of the vessel are the large central salon and the forward sun deck.
A substantial portion of the main deck is dedicated to a large dive station, which is flanked by a dedicated camera room. A full range of rental equipment is available on board for guests looking to travel light. All qualified divers are provided with nitrox at no additional charge, and the Nai'a can support rebreather diving with pure oxygen fills and a collection of 14 and 21 CF cylinders.
The Nai'a's stern is fitted with a large water-level dive platform for easy access to the ship's dive tenders. All dives are conducted from a pair of 22-foot rigid inflatable launches that feature sturdy ladders and stable, low-profile hulls that facilitate water entries and re-boarding. All qualified divers are provided with nitrox at no additional cost.
Untethered skiff diving is the Nai'a's preferred method of exploring the majority of Fiji's dive sites because anchoring is often not an option, and many sites experience varying degrees of current. Divers soon discover the advantages of this style of diving, as there is no need to retrace the route to a mooring line, and no need for complicating navigation and air management plans. Instead, divers simply “go with the flow,” and can surface as gas management dictates. Those surfacing first are taken back to the Nai'a to relax while awaiting photographers and others focused on extending their bottom times.
The Diving
Nai'a offers one-week and ten-day itineraries into the Bligh Waters and the Koro Sea. These regions, which lie between and to the east of Fiji's two largest islands, offer a dynamic range of underwater experiences that the Nai'a crew describe as “everything from manta rays to mantis shrimp, dolphins to dartfish, voracious sharks to vibrant soft corals.”
The Bligh Waters are home to a series of barrier reefs covered in some of Fiji's most colorful soft coral gardens. Clear waters and ample sunlight highlight corals that explode in hues from bright red to deep indigo and everything in between. Steady flows of nutrient-rich waters create ideal conditions for prolific soft coral growth and create habitat for hundreds of species of reef fish. Colorful clouds of anthias and fusiliers swarm reef tops. As an added bonus, some of these same sites are frequented by manta rays that glide in for a grooming session at cleaning stations manned by peripatetic wrasses and delicate cleaner shrimp.
Macro enthusiasts can spend hours searching shallow sites where rock and coral rubble provide habitat for favorite finds such as mantis shrimp, dragonets ghost pipefish, octopus and an intriguing assortment of nudibranchs. These areas are a good place to seek out some of Fiji's endemic species, which include the tomato clownfish, canary fangblenny, domino damselfish and Terry’s dwarfgobie. Closer inspection of a gorgonian may also yield a prized sighting of a pygmy seahorse.
The Blight Waters are also cut by a deep oceanic channel where pinnacles rise from the depths to create open-water oases of life. Large shoals of snapper, trevally, red sea bass, surgeonfish and barracuda congregate close to these structures, and patient divers may be rewarded by a visit from cruising eagle rays and hammerhead sharks that pop up from the depth on occasion.
The Blight Waters and Koro Sea are known for healthy shark populations. In addition to a resident but sometimes elusive population of hammerheads, the most common sightings are white-tips and grey reef sharks. Though never guaranteed, divers also have a reasonable chance of meeting up black-tip, tiger, bull, nurse, and silver-tip sharks, plus the treasured possibility of whale shark encounters and seasonal encounters with passing humpback or sperm whales.
The Nai'a departs and returns to the port of Lautoka on Fiji's main island of Viti Levu. This starting point is just a 15-mile van transfer from Fiji's international airport in Nadi, eliminating the need for connecting flights or long overland transfers. With numerous direct connections between Fiji and North American air hubs, getting to and from the Nai'a is a far easier process than at many other South Pacific diving destinations. Caradonna's agents can create dive vacation packages with Nai'a that showcase the best that Fiji has to offer.