Diving the Astrolabe Reef, Kadavu

Hi all,

I flew back in from Fiji to Auckland this morning and already miss the awesome diving and time I had in Kadavu.

I have put it on my website complete with photos or just read the text here if you're interested.

CLICK HERE TO READ WITH PHOTOS

---

I have spent about a month in Fiji. I'm certainly not an expert, but I know what I want and this time I was looking for something off the beaten track with outstanding diving, nature, snorkelling and genuine Fijians. I also wanted it to be traveller orientated, well priced and a bit of an adventure. I have been through the Yasawas before and been to several of the resorts. My favourite is easily Octopus Resort, but having been there and having had some amazing memories I wanted to try somewhere else.

I ended up choosing Waisalima Beach Resort in Kadavu. Kadavu is the fourth largest island in Fiji but is almost entirely covered in bush (forest) and is about as natural as you can get. I also chose Waisalima because it is opposite the Astrolabe Reef, the 3rd largest reef system in the world and offered great rates for diving.

Getting to Kadavu is an adventure and fun. I caught the Air New Zealand 07:20 flight out of Auckland and arrived in Nadi 3 hours later. I then caught the Twin Otter run by Air Pacific from Nadi to Kadavu at midday. It was an awesome flight. Partially because I love small aircraft and partially because the scenery is stunning. You fly at around 2,000 metres above Viti Levu (the main island of Fiji - on the way back we flew at about 1,000m which was even better), down the coast and then over small atolls and reefs. After 45 minutes we landed in Vunasia, the capital of Kadavu. The runway is tar sealed and stretches from coast to coast of a narrow isthmus. The airport and waiting room is a shed. I was met by Salimoni who would take me by boat to Waisalima. We walked off the end of the runway, onto the beach and I chucked my bags in the boat and we headed off.

On the way we stopped at the general store. It is on the same bay as the airport and has one of the few roads of the island running in front of it. Locals brought their boats up and wondered into the store. It didn't stock much. Just the basics including the obligatory tins of corned beef.

Salimoni, who had popped off the get some fuel for the boat came back and we were off again. The trip took over an hour, but it was a series of golden sandy bays with bush down to the sand, steep hill rising behind them, that water colour that you only get in the tropics over white sand and a clear blue sky. To thing that about 5 hours earlier I was in Auckland, and had I not been going to Fiji would have spent at leas 40 minutes sitting in traffic so far.

We got to Waisalima Beach Resort and I was greated by Mo, the very friendly and knowledgeable owner. I had chosen to stay in the standard bure ( traditional Fijian hut built from thatch). Waisalima is a small resort with only 6 bures but they are all absolute beach front. My standard bure had a double and single bed and shared shower and toilet. All well maintained and clean for only F$50! (approx US$25 / AUD$35 / NZ$40)

For dinner that night we had a huge crab with green papaya, some green vegetable that is like silverbeet or spinach and potato. The following night we have fish with a coconut cream sauce and vegetables. Lonely Planet give Waisalima a serve saying that the food is card-laden. In my experience this is inaccurate. In fact, the whole LP review is so wrong you would have to wonder if the reviewer visited the resort at all. The food was made with local produce and was Fijian in style for dinner, but was always fresh, filling and delicious. I want to have Fijian-style food when I'm in Fiji - and when it is this good why wouldn't you?!?!

The following day I went for a snorkel off the beach. The resort is on about 1km of golden sand. Parts of the bay have sea grass showing at low tide, but most of the area in front of the resort if great for swimming at most tide conditions. The sea grass is a great nursery for young and small fish. Herons, kingfishers and gulls work this part of the beach. Often you will see whole schools of small silver fish leap from the water as they are chased.

Anyway, the snorkelling is great. I actually can't remember seeing more species of fish snorkelling in one place ever - and this is right off the beach! Even this close in reef is made up of lots of very healthy hard corals. If you have young kids or haven't snorkelled much before then this is an ideal place to get many hours of floating and watching done. You see new things all the time and the bay is sheltered enough that the waves don't push you around at all.

One of the main reasons I went to Waisalima was to dive. The Astrolade Reef is about 5 minutes by boat directly in front of the resort and you can see and hear the breakers over the reef clearly from the beach. The Astrolabe is the 3rd largest reef in the world and is backed by the 4th deepest trench. Add to this that it is virtually undived, in pristine condition and I was in diver's paradise! I'm a PADI Divemaster and have been lucky enough to work and dive in many countries in Asia, the Pacific and the Caribbean. The chance to dive an eco-system like this is amazing - and not to have another dive boat anywhere else on the reef that I could see makes it even more special.

The fish life was again superb. No dominant species, but hundreds of different species. Lots of schools, lots of different hard and soft corals and lots of small stuff. The first dive we did was a drift dive. The current raced along doing a good few knots. I think the last dive I did at that speed was on a site called Texas in Roatan, Honduras. Because of the proximity of the trench the reef is a great place to see pelagics.

The 2nd dive was out of the current on a site called Mo's Garden. Again, lots of colourful soft and hard corals and lots and lots of fish (the area is a marine reserve and Mo was one of the people who helped create it!). This time we didn't have to fight the current to stop and check out all the small stuff all over the reef!

Anyway, all the diving is excellent and would have been the healthiest reef eco system I have ever been on. The water was 27C, viz about 30m (Maika, the DM who I was diving with said that was about as bad as it gets) and it is so close to the resort that you can pop back for lunch! The other advantage with Waisalima is that if the weather is really coming in from one direction then they can just pop around the corner to other sites that are sheltered by Ono island, just across the channel from the resort. There are also sites where there is a high probability of diving or snorkelling with manta rays. If you haven't done this, then it's not to be missed!

There are other dive operators on Kadavu but I believe that Waisalima has the best location. Dive Kadavu and Papageno about 40 minutes away from the Astrolabe and so dive their local reefs, which are, from all reports are inferior. Matava is about the only other option and they don't have a beach. Albert's Place and Jona's Paradise are closed.

Back at the resort there are plenty of other things to do. Kayaking, walks to the local waterfalls, reading in the hammocks and so. If you are a keen bird-watcher then Waisalima is also excellent as Kadavu is the best island in Fiji for bird watching. There are parrots, doves, all sorts of sea birds and small finches all in the gardens around the resort. In fact, almost the only noises you can hear most of the time are the gentle sounds of the waves and birds.

In the evenings, after a full day and dinner it is lovely to chat with the locals or other travellers and divers, have a bowl of kava or Fiji Bitter. I would say about 10 days of this would be enough to de-stress anybody!

Anyway, I'm back to work today and I know I would much rather be diving in Kadavu!

I have been reliably informed that I can't spell and that it is Vunisea. I also understand that Kenya and Albert's Place aren't closed, but just aren't actively looking for business.

B-)

I enjoyed reading your post about Waisalima. Do you have any reports about Jona's place. I'd appreciate it if anyone has a comparison particularly about the cooking.

I just noticed they're on different sides of the channel. Is it difficult to get across?

"Do you have any reports about Jona's place"
Jona's is closed-Jona and Ledua divorced/moved back to Suva.
The property has been sold and the new owners have a low profile to date.

"I just noticed they're on different sides of the channel. Is it difficult to get across?"
All you need is a motorboat-just like all of Kadavu.

I haven't obviously tried the cooking at Jona's (now Kenya) obviously. I was expecting the food at Waisalima to be average given the LP review. However, I found it to be great - tasty, healthy and authentic Fijian. Reading through the Waisalima visitors book there are also lots of people commenting on how good the food is.

You could paddle a kayak between Waisalima and Kenya. I would think it would take about an hour so long as the sea was calm and the current wasn't strong.

B-)

Just came back from Kadavu on Sunday. LPs description of Reece's Place is a bit misleading. The renovations haven't been done and the place is a little bit run down. It was leased to an American fellow that has done a bit of a runner. Humphrey Reece and his wife are care taking the place and do accept visitors at some really cheap rates. However realize that the roofs leaks on some of the buildings and there probably won't be anyone else around to chat with.
I also stayed at Matava Resort and it is still up and running. Super food, one fabulous host(ess), decent diving, some surfing, marlin/blue fin/ barracuda fishing, snorkeling and kayaking. I won't go off on the diving however I did get to see the mantas and a decent amount of sharks. Enough to satisfy me for a while.

Great pictures! My husband and our two 16 year old boys are thinking of staying at Waisalima for a week in August. They all scuba dive. I do not. Have heard the beach there has issues with high and low tides and can be quite rough. Can one snorkel off the beach there? Also, will be hiking solo during the day. Any issues. Hate snakes! Are they an issue?
Any insights to other resorts on the leeward side of Kadavu that may have a few more amenities to keep me occupied during the day? Thanks-hope the memories of your trip are getting you thru your days at work.

Hi Michele,

Glad you like the photos - it is a pretty awesome part of the world.

Yes, you can snorkel off the beach at any tide level. An incoming tide gives you great viz and there are plenty of good reefs in the area to snorkel. I would recommend also taking a kayak and paddling around to explore some of the others too. As I said in my report originally though, there are heaps of fish right off the beach. Even the moring block for the boats has piles of fish around and a wee moray eel. Cute.

The weather while I was there was mixed, but it was never that rough so I don't know what it would be like in a storm. However, because the beach at Waisalima is on a headland you could just walk around to the next bay (5 minutes) and you have a beach facing a different direction and so less prone to waves. Having said that, because the Astrolabe forms a huge natural barrier a few Ks offshore I would have thought that the waves never get huge.

Solo hiking is possible I think. Having one of the staff take you is obviously the normal option. Tom, who usually does this seems like a nice guy and is knowledgable about local plants, their medicinal uses, birds and so on. He would also be able to show you the ways to the waterfalls, and all that kind of thing. I personally usually prefer walking without a guide, so understand why you're asking the question.

I didn't see any land snakes (unfortunately, I would have like to :-). There are no poisonous land snakes on Kadavu.

I don't have any personal experience of the other resorts on Kadavu so don't know if others have more things to do. They might be a bit more sheltered depending on the previaling weather. Having said that, that time of year in Fiji should be pretty good weather. I usually find that between a good book, a hammock, good snorkelling, kayaking, trekking, bird-watching and swimming I have pretty much done enough to head to the restaurant for a feed!

Hope you have a great time where ever you go.

B-)

Beren

Thanks so much Beren! We are vacillating between there and the Octopus Resort. Will make sure we mention your recommendation if we opt for Waisalima. You calmed me down about the snakes and close to shore snorkeling, so am not worried about filling my days there. Michele

Octopus is superb and is definitely one of my favourite places. However, it does have a lot more people, and for getting away from it all and just doing stuff like kayaking and snorkeling Waisalima is great. Waisalima is also cheaper and has better diving. Both hace good contact with locals - this is always a highlight of any time I spend in Fiji. I would recommend going and listening to the church service on Sunday in either place. The singing is magical!

Feedback on Waisalima stay.
Bula! current or future Kadavu fans, here's a very brief post about me and my partner's recent stay at Waisalima for a week.
We took Beren's advice (nice one!) to go to Kadavu as it offered more sheltered diving given the weather, which had been very windy and wet just before we got to Fiji. Went to Waisalima resort and warmly welcomed by Mo and everyone. The Astrolabe is a great reef, amazing variety and extent of hard corals and worth visit to see it. Widespread spearfishing by locals has reduced fish numbers but there was still a good amount to see including some medium sized Grey Reef sharks, white tips, green and hawksbill turtles, tuna, and lots of smaller fish and inverts. Each resort on Kadavu dives 'its' section of the reef, and Waisalima has one of the largest number of sites on offer around this part of the island. It means you are the ONLY dive boat for miles! Dive operation is part of Viti Divers, and very professionally (and very friendly) run at Waisalima by Sharon and Maika. Good quality kit hire, nice location for courses too. The resort itself is more basic than Matava but the food is good and largely local dishes - yum! Lot of locals come through the resort so there is a great opportunity to meet them and drink the kava or beer with them (ie. you don't pay to see an artificial kava ceremony, you are invited to join a local one that happens at the resort most Friday/Saturdays). People we met who stayed at Waisalima then moved on to stay at Matava commented to us that Matava is more a formal (and more popular) resort - but you don't get that local contact, Waisalima has a more homestay feel. Matava accomodation quality and host(ess) quality is higher but is on a hill, whereas Waisalima's bures are 4metres from the beach. Downsides to Waisalima - its more basic an operation, no generator or solar electricity on several nights, no water some mornings. However all resorts here are really remote (that's their beauty) and these things happen - if you're after a 5 star resort go eslewhere. However one word of warning to potential Waisalima visitors - make sure you have agreed the cost for accomodation, transfers & food (or these elements of a package with diving) IN WRITING AND BEFORE arriving. We were asked to pay a lot extra once we were there, and we heard from others that this had happened before. We stuck to the original email quote we had received and eventually this was accepted. Note that the dive centre is a separate operation from the resort and this issue is nothing to do with them. In summary if I went to Kadavu again, I would stay at Waisalima and the excellently run dive centre for a few days, dive their wonderful sites and then transfer to Matava resort to dive a few more days in that area including their manta site.
Smile when diving!