Diving in Kadavu

Seafan Alley

Seafan Alley lies at the extreme western end of Kadavu. Once the dive boat rounds Mount Washington, or Nabukulevu, and motors its way down the short western coast , you'll come across a rather unusual geographical feature. A small ragged islet, perhaps 80 metres across, lies a hundred metres off the coast. Nagigia Island is tree topped and almost spirit-level flat, 3 or 4 metres above the water's surface. The outer edge, rocked by breaking swells is where you start your descent.

The indigo water here is a clear indication that the visibility is truly special, and the water drops away quite deep. The dive begins with a gentle slope running down to 20 metres or so. Here the reef is healthy and dominated by lobe and porites corals and green sponges. Warty finger corals host pretty pixy hawkfish, white-tailed damsels swim across your approach, green turtles dive from your advance.

Once down to 20 metres the reef begins to slope steeply away. Now the landscape in punctuated by deep crevices through which swim black and white banded sea snakes. Gold and green seafans populate the steep bank, taking advantage of the steady currents. Pinktail triggerfish and pinstriped angelfish move up and down the wall.

At certain times during the dive, the bank is so heavily indented that you'll need to swim out a little into the blue. Look down into the deep water here because hammerhead sharks are sometimes glimpsed lurking in the depths. More often though, you'll see small schools of blacktailed barracuda moving on mass through the open sea.

Finally, you'll come across an 18 metre ledge jutting out from the deeper water. This signifies time to ascend and you can now enjoy a relaxing safety stop, playing with the anemonefish that come up to inspect you.

Seafan Alley Reef Basics: Reef slope
Depth: 18 - >40m
Visibility: 25 - 40m
Currents: Medium
Surface conditions: Can be choppy
Water temperature: 24 - 30°C
Experience level: Intermediate - advanced
Number of dive sites: 1
Diving season: All year round
Distance: 20 km west from Vunisea
Access: Kadavu diving resorts

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