Diving Taveuni
Paradise Reef
This is the house reef of Paradise Taveuni Resort, which is easily accessible from the marina's jetty and can be dived on any tide and at any time of the day. It offers divers a wide diversity of terrains so could in fact be subdivided into separate dive sites.
You can spend all your time enjoying the shallows around the jetty where you will be surrounded by quite small coral heads, or you have the option of quickly descending a steep slope of beautiful hard corals to 30 metres.
By heading north along the slope, you get the chance to discover the many small creatures that have made Paradise Reef their home. Damsels and blue chromis abound, nudibranchs and leopard cowries nestle in the crevices, and banded sea snakes delve about looking for food. The chance of big encounters always exists too. A pair of spotted eagle rays may glide silently past and manta rays have been spotted just 20 metres from the jetty.
If you choose to head south from the marina, you'll witness the sheer diversity of Paradise Reef. The steep slope shallows out, accompanied by an army of cheek-striped fusiliers, and becomes a large sandy bottomed area ranging from 5-15 metres. This is a photographer's playground with lionfish of all sizes, and displays of Christmas tree worms sprinkled over all the coral heads.
Further on you'll find yet another new territory - a field of sea grass guarded staunchly by its resident anemonefish and scoured for food by hungry titan triggers.
This incredible diversity can also be experienced at night when the reef's nocturnal residents come out to play. The rocky outcrops become the perch for hundreds of feather stars eager for food, while the eyes of hermit crabs and banded shrimps gleam in the torch light. You can also witness the true spectacle of Paradise Reef at night with the glittering dance of the flashlight fish. With their pouches of bioluminescence glowing under their eyes, the flashlight fish speed past divers like a cloud of stars before vanishing into the night.
Paradise Reef Reef Basics: Reef slope diving
Depth: 10 - 25m
Visibility: 20 - 40m
Currents: Gentle
Surface conditions: Calm
Water temperature: 22 - 30°C
Experience level: Beginner - advanced
Number of dive sites: 3
Diving season: All year round
Distance: at Paradise Taveuni Resort
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