Diving the best coral in the world?

Posted by Scuba Herald at 5:08 pm 0 Comment Print

Fiji has earned the nickname as ‘ soft coral capital of the world ‘. However, there is more to dive sites in Fiji than a colourful underwater garden. Dive sites for beginners and dive sites that are more challenging offer a diverse range of sub-ocean marine life that also includes hard corals, colourful coral fish, pelagics such as barracuda, tuna, wahoo and walu, reef sharks, manta rays, turtles and much much more. Scuba divers from around the world visit Fiji to experience an all-round diving holiday, staying at dive resorts (luxury to budget), dive lodges, liveaboards, sailing cruises and small motorised cruise ships. On non-dive days, Fiji also offers so many activities, both on the water and on land.

Taveuni – one of the best dive locations in Fiji because of the world-class Rainbow Reef. Accessed from Taveuni and some parts of Vanua Levu, the reef sits in the Somosomo Strait that divides the two islands. Fed by nutrient-rich ocean currents passing through the strait has ensured a rich coral wonderland, coral fishes and pelagics. Don’t miss the Great White Wall, one of the reef’s world-famous dive sites.

Although Taveuni is called the “Garden Island” because of the richness of its topside flora, the name
could equally apply to the remarkable, colourful scenes beneath its waters. The Somosomo Strait is the stretch of water between the island and Vanua Levu. The Strait almost single-handedly earns Fiji its title as “The Soft Coral Capital of the World”. Nearby, the world famous Rainbow Reef and Great White Wall have been noted in the ‘Top 10 Dive Locations in the World’ by U.S. Divers magazine, and Rainbow Reef has been consider one of the top 7 dive sites in the world by the Jacques Costeau Exploration team.

Currents are variable in Taveuni but you should at least be prepared for some as it is seldom entirely still here. Normally the currents are little more than a gentle helping hand along the way, guiding you past some of the most wonderful proliferations of soft corals on the planet. When the current is present to any reasonable extent the grateful corals expand to their finest and most enchanting, whereas without the current they would retract into barely visible balls – and who wants that?
It is not all sessile stuff when diving in Taveuni however as the nutrient rich waters also result in the presence of plenty of pelagic fish species and you can expect to see barracudas, reef sharks and manta rays, particularly at a site aptly named The Zoo.

There are also some really rewarding sites off the little islands to the north east which you will surely visit if staying for several days. Here there is less current but still plenty to see and these sites can make an interesting change from the Somosomo Strait where diving can, in every sense, be truly breath-taking.

So if you are looking to one of the best Soft Coral Dive sites in the world: Rainbow Reef in Taveuni can be a great choice.

Marine Science best dive site, coral dive, rainbow weef, Scuba Sites, Taveuni