Qamea Resort Diving, Northern Fiji

Qamea has been nominated by Rodale's Scuba Dive Magazine as one of the 'Ten Best Snorkelling Reefs'. The scuba diving is equally world famous with such local dive sites as the Purple Wall, Devil's Canyon and Qamea Freeway - in fact, there are more than 20 excellent quality dive experiences for novices through to experts within a short boat ride of the resort. The resort offers scuba courses through to dive master level and full equipment rental.

Just minutes from your bure is the dive hut, where you will find all the rental equipment you'll need for an enjoyable day of scuba diving! Boats leave around 8:30 a.m.for the morning dive, or if you wish you can dive after lunch.

There is fantastic diving right off-shore! So you can grab a tank just about anytime to enjoy the beautiful reefs that surround Qamea

BOTH INCOMING OR OUTGOING TIDES: 

1."The Rock": Vertical wall from surface dropping to over 100ft. Sea grapes, some soft corals, but more hard corals, large schools of small tropicals, occasional white tip sharks and turtles. Currents can be fast during Full and New Moons. Depth: 40-75' 

2."The Fans": Large gorgonian sea fans, soft corals, and anemones with anemone fish galore. Large schools of fusiliers when dived during faster currents. Have seen mantas here. Depth: 25-75' 

3. "Nuku Bay": Easy shallow dive with a large pinnacle covered with soft corals. Sightings of turtles somehow more frequent here. Currents mild. Depth: 35-55' 

4."The Caves": Large cavern at 25' and a swim through "tunnel" in the reef at 20' at opposite ends of this dive. Many soft corals, large tridacna clams, healthy hard corals. Usually excellent visibility due to distance from land. About 20 minutes from QBC. Currents mild. Depth: 20-65' 

5."Broken Reef": Usually good visibility. Large schools of small tropicals, healthy hard corals, clams, regular sightings of white tip reef sharks. Currents usually mild. Depth: 40-70' 

6."Chief's Garden: Also in the same reef system as "The Caves", "Broken Reef" and the "Playground". Good vis., healthy hard coral reef. Occasional white tips and turtles. Gentle drift. Depth: 40-80' 

7."The Playground": Similar to "Chief's Garden" but more of a spur & groove formation. Patch of garden eels. Usually excellent visibility. Mild current. Depth: 40-80' 

8."Coral Gardens": Healthy hard coral reef system with some soft corals usually with superb visibility. Large tridacna clams common as well as large schools of fusiliers. Enormous 12 ft. brain coral at end of dive on incoming tide. Depth: 35-75' 

NO CURRENT: 

9."Qamea Shore": Good check out dive and night dive. Resident lionfish occupy two separate coral heads. Anemones with anemone fish and live egg cowries are found in shallow water. Depth: 10-50' 

10."Rainbow Sands": Matagi Island-Reciprocal heading or can be done as an outgoing drift. Sloping reef with some soft corals and mini-walls. Large clams and more turtle and eagle ray sightings than other sites. Depth: 30'-80' 

INCOMING TIDE: 

11."Maraia's Cove": Mild to moderate current depending on time of month. One wall is thick with concentrations of soft corals, large patch of garden eels, frequent sightings of resident 6 foot white tip shark, and swirling schools of striped mackerels feeding off the drop-off. Depth: 35-65' 

12."Swirling Coconut": (Vara Niu is Fijian name; also known as "Still Waters"); currents can be swift. Exciting and fish active drift. Descend among a school of chevron barracudas, lush soft corals, numerous large schools of tropicals. White tips common. Mid-way, the dive swirls around two large pinnacles with large concentrations of purple soft corals and swarms of orange anthias. At the end of dive, there are 2-3 baby white tip sharks resting in the sand under a large coral head. Depth: 40-75' 

13."Long Beach Point": Easy drift until the turn around the point. Current gradually increases and can be swift. Soft corals, many feather star crinoids clinging to sea fans. Depth: 40-75' 

14."Barracuda Pinnacle": Offshore reef so visibility is usually good. Another very fish active dive along a healthy reef that includes a steep vertical wall. Sightings of schooling barracudas fairly common with large schools of tropicals and jacks. Large walu are also seen. Depth: 40-90' 

OUTGOING TIDE: 

15."Purple Wall": Actually three separate vertical walls with thick concentrations of purple soft corals. Currents can be fast but therefore the fish activity is great. Have seen more banded sea snakes here than other sites. Depth: 45-65' 

16."Qamea Freeway": Starts near the resort with a sloping wall. Then a right turn and a racing drift over a sandy patch with hard coral bommies. Large schools of tropicals and sightings of white tip sharks are common in the sand. Dive finishes with a gentle drift up the reef. Whew! Depth: 45-80' 

17."Suthu": A large pinnacle resembling a woman's breast begins at 30 feet. Large schools of tropicals. Currents can be strong and change as divers circle the pinnacle. Best dived at slack low tide. Depth: 30-70' 

18."Lost Reef": Another large pinnacle near Suthu. Top of reef is also 30 feet but slopes down to over 100 feet. A school of chevron barracuda are usually seen. Divers are engulfed in large schools of fusiliers and jacks as they cascade over the top of the pinnacle. Large sea fans and soft corals abound. Currents are similar but a bit stronger than at Suthu. Large colonies of blue tipped anemones with anemone fish on the lee side of pinnacle. Depth: 30'-90' 

19."South Passage": Divers are dropped off at the outer edge of the fringing reef on the southern side of Qamea. A short swim underwater across a sand patch to a parallel reef. Divers follow along the top drifting with a mild current. Sea grapes abound, white tip reef sharks are common and large schools of shy, bumphead parrot fish occasionally cruise by. Depth: 45-80' 

20."Shark Patch" 

21."School House Rock"