Paradise Renewed at Volivoli Beach Resort

The one-hour trip to the Bligh waters, east of Volivoli Resort, takes us to one of the best dive locations in Fiji. On the way, my mind is filled with anticipation of the grand dives described by the guests that had been diving here before.

As I gear up, the current is visibly quite strong, even from the surface. Our dive guide, Seci, pronounced ‘Sethi’, tells us that it is a one-way drift dive called ‘G6’. This refers to the six ‘G’ forces that inspired a past guest to name the site.

I enter the water at a protected corner. As I swim around the corner, I feel the power of the current and glide along with it. I spot a beautifully coloured coral head and try to get in behind the reef for protection to take a few photos. I see many colours of soft coral, flashing schools of fairy basslets, angelfish and butterflyfish. I can see my buddies drifting downstream and have to catch up.

The next dive is ‘Maytag.’ Why would someone name a dive after a washing machine? It did not take long to find out. The strong current was over two knots. There was no swimming against it; you simply have to use the current to your advantage. In fact, I watched with amusement as small reef fish were buffeted by the current and had to steel themselves against its power.

I was diving with Steve Darling, one of the owners of Volivoli Resort. Maytag follows a deep reef wall with large scattered coral bommies. We ducked in behind one of them. It was covered with bright red and pink soft corals. I’d dived here before and knew about the large cave inside this bommie with its resident imperial angelfish and sweetlips.

We swam back into the current allowing it to carry us forward and headed for the coral wall, about twenty metres away, following the wall up into the shallows where there was less current to complete our safe dive plan.

On a calm day, it is possible to go further afield to the east and dive two of Fiji’s more famous dives, ‘E6’ and ‘Mount Mutiny’. Both dives rise up from nine hundred metres to within a few metres of the surface. Mount Mutiny has some of the most colourful soft coral gardens you are likely to see, featuring pendulous golden and pink soft corals.

These create windows of colour that are perfect for underwater photography.

E6 has some of the best sea caves, many of which are filled with soft corals. When the sun is overhead, it is a photographer’s dream. Flickering rays of sunshine stream down into the caves creating spectacular effects. I try to capture a diver posing in the sunbeams with a soft coral in the foreground. The checkerboard wrasse I had in the frame was very helpfully crossing back and forth in front of my lens. E6 is one dive site where your shutter release button will get a good workout.

If the wind blows too hard from the south east, Volivoli has a few dozen dive sites twenty to thirty minutes north of the resort. These are excellent dive sites.
One of my favourite dive experiences here was photographing the hairy ghost pipefish. It hides amongst the orange filamentous weed. From a distance of half a metre, it is perfectly camouflaged and almost impossible to see. The robust ghost pipefish can be found here as well.

Volivoli is also home to the Fiji Siren. I have been fortunate to have dived from it twice. It usually begins its ten-day trip with a day at the Bligh Passage before motoring down to Gau Island, east of Suva. This is where they do an excellent shark-attract dive and where manta rays are sometimes seen. The Fiji Siren winds its way up through the island chain and reef complexes of the Somo Somo Sea as far north as Rainbow Reef off Taveuni Island.

I have spent over six months diving in seventeen resorts in Fiji. I have dived east, west, south and north. I have had a very good look around. The Fiji Siren does most of the best of the diving in Fiji, without a doubt. It has excellent dives at Bligh Passage, Nigali Passage, Wakaya Island, Namena Marine Park and Taveuni Island.
It is a real challenge to decide where the best diving is. The Vatu-i-Ra, or Bligh Passage, has always been a favourite of mine. It has the advantage of being easily accessible from Volivoli Resort. Each location has its unique attractions. I also enjoy diving at Namena Marine Park. It is a totally protected Marine Park with underwater life as close to pristine as is possible.

Cyclone Winston After Volivoli was devastated by Cyclone Winston, the owners, the Darling family from Christchurch New Zealand, have rebuilt the resort. They have long had a plan to elevate the resort to four-star standard and this has been their aim during the reconstruction phase.

Steve Senior, sons Nick and Steve and their families and staff have made significant improvements to the resort. They have trained staff with new skills and employed a new Executive Chef. They have redesigned the menu with a strong emphasis on fresh, healthy, local produce and the freshest seafood. The reception has been fully refitted and the bar and restaurant area has been upgraded.

Volivoli is on the northernmost part of Viti Levu, Fiji, known as the Suncoast, and has access to great diving and game fishing. It is a very comfortable resort with spacious luxurious accommodation. As an underwater photographer, I like the fact that there are large areas for setting up photographic equipment with ten power points in each room.
Bathrooms have double sinks lined with mahogany tops. Each villa has a washing machine and a fridge. When you are travelling, being able to wash your own clothing is a real luxury. Each vale has a private balcony and is surrounded by gardens with tropical flowers. They have been deliberately designed so that you get either a sunrise or a sunset – some get both. Volivoli gets plenty of ripper sunsets and sunrises.

The staff are very friendly, typical of Fijians. Be warned, even after years they will remember your name and address you with a big smile. You need to be prepared. I usually cheat by asking up at the reception for a refresher on the staff names.

Volivoli resort officially reopened on the November 1, 2016.
For more information, look up www.volivoli.com and sirenfleet.com
For more images, see www.mikescotlandscuba.com

How to get there.

Location: Viti Levu, FijiTemperature: 22–32°C February/August
Water temperature: 24–30°C February/August
Language: Fijian, English and Fiji Hindi
Currency: Fijian Dollar

Fiji Airways, Fiji’s national carrier, has regular flights from many international destinations. There are no shortage of other airlines that also fly regularly to Fiji. Nadi International Airport is the main gateway for most, though there are several domestic airports on the islands.