Dive Review of Nai'a Fiji in
Fiji and Tuvalu/Bligh Waters

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Nai'a Fiji: "World-Class Pinnacle Diving", Nov, 2014, by Jorge J. Moré, IL, US ( Contributor 15 reports with 7 Helpful votes). Report 8057.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Do you want to dive in Fiji? Then I suggest that the Nai'a is the liveaboard for you. We were diving the Bligh Waters, between the Fiji islands of Viti Levu and Vanua Levu. This area is rich in history and natural beauty. The Naia is well-designed, and has all the standard amenities (but not a hot tub). The rooms are large and beautiful (I had a king size bed!), and so are the showers. The AC worked well with control in every cabin, a feature that I love. The food was fantastic. Mita, the head chef, prepared first-rate meals. You choose the breakfast, lunch, and dinner menu each day, with three choices for each meal. Wine was complimentary at dinner time. The hosts, Josh and Amanda, are a wonderful team, knowledgeable, and with a great sense of humor. On the evening of the first day, Joshua joined some of the crew in a welcome ceremony with songs in some dialect of Fijian; Josh knew the songs and sang along. It seems like both he and Amanda know Fijian. Amazing! Of special interest were the ecological lectures on marine life that Joshua offered each day after lunch. Josh and Amanda wrote a DiveMaster diary that makes a nice complement to this report. Read at [naia.com.fj link]. The crew was top-notch. On many liveaboards you get to know a few of the crew, like the captain, the skiff drivers, and the divemasters. In this case, I interacted with almost all the crew. After a dive the receiving crew would be waiting for us, shouting Bula!. We would shout back, with great gusto, Bula!. It was really fun. At night some of the crew would gather and play guitar (and other string instruments) and drink kava (I would tell you more about this, but it would take too long). If you wanted, you could join them. These were special occasions indeed. Many in the crew have been with the Nai'a for several years. Indeed, the Nai'a has only one crew; they sail together and take breaks together. I have the impression that this is a unique feature of the Nai'a. The advantage is that the crew is essentially a family that works together. But what about the diving? We saw grey reef and white tip sharks, a few hammerheads, a scalloped hammerhead, and tons and tons of barracuda. On one dive a massive silver tip came to inspect some of us; some time later we were surrounded by more than 100 barracudas. This is good in terms of pelagics but it does not compare with Cocos or Galapagos where you can count on dozens of sharks on most dives. Much depends on the current, and we did not meet stiff currents on most days. On the other hand, if you are looking for amazing, really amazing soft corals, and large schools of fish, then this is the place for you. The Namena marine reserve has several wonderful pinnacle dives that are world-class. If you get bored looking at the coral or the schools of fish, you can look at the cracks in the corals for nudibranches and cleaning shrimp, for example. These pinnacle dives were the best that I can remember. Not to be missed was the visit to Makogai Island. There was a short tour of the island with visits to the giant clams and the historical leper colony buildings, and then a small ceremony with dancing by some of the local children (they are given time off from school during these visits) and kava drinking. I did not feel awkward and throughly enjoyed the visit.
Websites	Nai'a Fiji
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	Truk (Chuuk), Philippines, Palau, Yap, Socorro, Galapagos, Cocos, Cayman Islands, Turk and Caicos, Bahamas, Thailand, Coral Sea, Cozumel, Bermudas, Belize
Closest Airport	Nadi	Getting There	Los Angeles to Nadi direct via New Zealand Airways
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, dry	Seas	calm
Water Temp	79-80°F / 26-27°C	Wetsuit Thickness	5
Water Visibility	50-100 Ft/ 15-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	They assumed that you were a responsible diver but if asked, they would provide as much guidance as needed.
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	1 or 2
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish	N/A
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter	N/A	Boat Facilities	N/A
Overall rating for UWP's	N/A	Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	[None]

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Dive Review of Nai'a Fiji in Fiji and Tuvalu/Bligh Waters

Nai'a Fiji: "World-Class Pinnacle Diving", Nov, 2014,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Nai'a Fiji in
Fiji and Tuvalu/Bligh Waters