Diving Viti Levu

Vitawatawa Channel

Once out across the open-sea lagoon, you'll drop into the Vitawatawa Channel that runs along the south coast of Viti Levu. The outside edge of the lagoon forms a wall to the open ocean, and it's here that your dive begins.

Descending down past ledges of pore corals your attention will soon be taken by the common lionfish, sometimes hidden under rock protusions, but often seen parading up and down the wall with their spectacular, barbed pectoral fins raised in display. Blue goldbelly damselfish dance in the bright shallow water, and pairs of speckled angelfish make way for you as you continue your descent.

Once at your deepest level, you just go with the flow, which ever way the current will be running, east or west, along the convoluted wall. Often large swarms of 3-striped fusiliers race past in a silvery blur. Small schools of yellow spotted, striped large-eye bream slowly move away as your approach.

Approaching the lagoon mouth, you turn inward and the reef wall makes way to a sandy, estuary-like bottom, flanked by rocky walls. If you've never seen them before, now is your chance to see guitar sharks as they often move in and out of the lagoon in search of food. Named for their unmistakable body shape, these rare creatures grow to over 3 metres, are cartilaginous, and belong to ray and shark group of species.

A little further inside the lagoon entrance, several boulder formations form large swim-throughs and, when the tide is running in or out of the lagoon, grey reef sharks gather on the boulder surfaces to hunt for food in the current.

Vitawatawa Channel Reef Basics: Wall dive
Depth: 5 - 35m
Visibility: 5 - 30m
Currents: Can be strong
Surface conditions: Can be choppy
Water temperature: 25 - 28°C
Experience level: Beginner - advanced
Number of dive sites: >20
Diving season: All year round
Distance: 500 m - 6 km from Namaqumaqua (nearest departure point on mainland)
Access: Viti Levu, Fiji dive resorts

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