Beqa Divers/Reef Resort, August 1995, Dino Dimauro, Santa Clara, CA. "Lots of clouds, some rain and strong wind; vis 60 ft. Boat broke - could only do 1 tank dive. Nice coral and a 7 ft shark but they made us pay up front $125 for 2 tanks - only got one because time ran out. It was 4:30 PM by start time and they only refunded $27 dollars, charging $99 for 1 tank."

Dive Taveuni, July 1995, Roberta Flanders, Woodridge, IL. "Group of 12. Vis 75­100 feet, current 3 knots in places. No regard for coral life by dive staff. Anchor always placed on coral heads, damaging it and surrounding corals. We were told to pull ourselves along by grabbing coral. When we told them we preferred not to, the owners and divemasters just shrugged and said that if we wanted to do that dive, that was the only way. I am a strong swimmer, but there was no way I could have done it without touching the coral. Disheartened to dive in this manner, but if we were to let go, we would have crashed uncontrollably into large, beautiful coral formations, killing years of growth."

Garden Island Resort, April 1995, Helena Henkin, Palo Alto, CA. "Did not make advance reservations for diving. Big mistake. Both boats were full for the first two days. Impressed by the corals and the life; more plentiful than Great Barrier Reef. No current; supposedly the strong currents come during full moon. Water 85 degrees. Large dive group from Germany given priority with sites. I was almost not able to dive the Great White Wall, because the group filled the Wall boat twice."

Garden Island Resort, July 1995, Ann-Marie Mitroff & Norman Groner, Santa Cruz, CA. "Excellent, homey resort. Great for kids. Staff friendly. Diving excellent. Divemasters enthusiasm is infectious. Dives are lazy meanders giving you time to explore. One divemaster to 4­5 divers. Let you dive your computer. Nice beach interval so 2nd dive can be long. These folks even rinse the inside of your BC's. Lovely & relaxing."

Garden Island Resort, August 1995, Craig Stratton, Vernal, UT. "Lionfish almost every dive. Several white tip sharks, clownfish, octopus, big sharks, leaf fish, blue ribbon eels. They clean and dry gear every day, put BC's on tanks, etc. Professionally managed. Only two dives a day. Night dives available. No-Name Reef like a landfill. Stiff currents on all day dives. No E-6 available - major bummer for me. No camera tables or rinse tanks on boats. Guides knowledgeable about handling camera gear and helpful in finding suitable subjects. Because of brisk currents, video and macro would be "easiest". All sites on the Rainbow Reef in the Somosomo straits."

Garden Island Resort, August 1995, John Broyles, Palm Desert, CA. "Hotel simple and clean. Food good. Friday night buffet awesome. Spectacular ocean views. Diving in Somosomo Straits world class. Small reef fish by the thousands. No pelagics, small sharks (4­5'). Dive sites 15 minutes from hotel. Winter: 76 degrees, rain, did not miss any diving. Divemasters let you dive your computers. Deep or shallow dives lasted 50­60 minutes. . . . Taveuni Island is a rainforest; some no-see ums. Rainbow Reef divers destroy coral on daily basis with their anchor, anchor chain and weighted safety stop line."

Garden Island Resort, August 1995, Terri Keyser-Cooper, Reno, NV. "Sites 10 minutes from resort. Strong currents, spectacular soft corals, dived Great Wall 3 times - easy, deep and awesome dive. Lots of sharks, giant clams, barracuda, clownfish, gobies and chromis. Some dives too much current for out of shape or inexperienced divers. Dive staff friendly; store, rinse and puts away gear, and it magically appears on the boat. Hotel beautiful, not opulent, on beach with fresh flowers in rooms everyday. Island is a rain forest and tropical paradise. Fijians warm and friendly."

Garden Island Resort, December 1995, no name. "Lost passport. Hotel manager Maureen told me they would get things organized and they did. Food good; bartender Wani and Pete's Garden Island Band make it wonderful to sit on deck, drink Fiji Bitter, watch the sun set. Hotel older, clean, comfortable. Laundry service excellent; flowers on the bed and in the room. Rainbow Reef Divers professional, experienced, friendly and enthusiastic. You don't do anything but dive. Divemasters take their time and point out creatures most people wouldn't see. Attentive to photographers. Do not baby sit you!"

Garden Island Resort, March 1996, Michelle Ginsburg, Ft. Lauderdale, FL. "Hotel is comfortable and convenient to Somosomo straits. Room, meals, diving: $100/day/person. Rainbow Reef Divers (and Dave Dickerson) ran the best land-based dive operation. You never touch your gear after the 1st day and they returned it to you clean and dry for your trip home. Although current diving required a dive guide, they didn't force us to stay in a tight group like some drift dive operations. Sites were quite pristine too. vis: 50­80 ft.water: 80°­84°.". . . The people of Fiji are quietly magical and relaxing to be around."

Garden Island Hotel, May 1996, David Malafronte, Van Nuys, CA. "Outstanding dive vacation, worth 17 hours from LAX. Rooms not fancy, but clean and insect free, plenty of hot water. Each had a view of Somosomo Straits. Meals fair, lacked a variety, creativity. Stay away from the meat. . . . Hotel staff friendly and helpful. Hassle free diving; 10­20 minute boat rides from the hotel to dive sites. Zero to mild current. Beautiful soft corals, hundreds of vibrant colored reef fish, nice variety of sites. Saw white tip sharks, schooling barracuda, eels, lionfish, vis: 50­80ft., temp. 82°. Divemasters point out marine life. Computer diving allowed. Divemasters watchful, but not follow-me-or-else. Wonderful afternoon trips: culture, history, hikes, waterfalls, underground lava tubes, and traditional Fijian villages. Weight restriction on interisland airlines"

Garden Island Resort, June 1996, Robert J. Dougherty, Wilkes-Barre, PA. "Prolific soft corals, clouds of tropicals, some pelagics. vis: 70­100 ft. water: 78°­80°. Suggested 100 ft. max, but computer divers control their profile. Resort in great shape; no phones, T.V.'s, radios. Staff 1st class; dive shop clean. Food good and reasonably priced. 15 year old daughter with 100 ocean dives did just fine; current managed perfectly by dive-masters."

Hideaway Island Marine Sanctuary and Resort, April 1995, Helena Henkin, Palo Alto, CA. "Clean, comfortable Melanesian style bures and private baths and cheaper backpackers accommodations. A Canadian ex-pat Reginald Gibson operates a dive store at the resort and will go diving any time. Unlimited beach diving. Interesting cave dives with beautiful shells and tens oflLionfish. Night diving excellent. Water 85 degrees."

Kadavu, May 1995, Steve Nielson, Danville, CA. "All diving on bommies and no drift dives. Good night dive. Surface intervals on beaches where there are real collectible shells. Enjoyable resort and wonderful staff. Fijians happiness is contagious. Only 3 dives a day, bring a few novels or hike into the mountains and forests. Vis: 80­125 ft. water: 78°­80°."

Kadavu, January 1996, Cindy Hollingshead, Escondido, CA. "Advertises E-6 processing, so I called ahead and was told that they had trouble getting chemicals. I took them with me. When I got there I found they had sold their E-6 processing equipment and had turned the space into an office months before. All 13 rolls had things I could have corrected and gotten better shots if I had developed them during the week. . . . Rains at night, sunny and warm during the day. Diving easy, vis: 40­70 ft. water temp 78°­80°, diving was good. Food ok, one night they cooked in a pit and food was very good. . . . Accommodations/ocean view were nice and roomy, however you could hear whoever was in the connecting room. Beach fronts more private. Dive boat staff good. Resort staff - a few were friendly, others grumpy. Had to lug our dive gear every day up and down to our rooms. They need a storage area near the beach. Compared to Marlin Bay the diving was a little bit better."

Forbes Laucala, April 1995, Gary and Denise Alevy, New York, NY. "What diving is all about! Your own divemaster, boat skipper to take you wherever you want to go, when you want - skills and tides permitting. Staff extremely nice, our divemaster Tiko made sure we saw everything. Reef or wall drift dives are close. Unlimited shore night diving. Large schools of great barracuda, yellowtail tuna, schools of large unicornfish, countless clownfish, cuttlefish, stonefish, lionfish, nudibranchs, white tip sharks, turtles. Vis 100 feet. Service out of 'Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.' Sunny, water flat, Water 80­85 degrees."

Forbes Laucala, June 1995, Bill and Ruth Maki, E. Lansing, MI. "Everything ads claim: Flexible schedules, individualized services, attention to your every need. Facilities idyllic! Diving nice, not high voltage; some sharks, good coral, good macro. Best crew and divemasters. Great vacation, good value."

Forbes Laucala, November 1995, Nat Gildersleeve. "Diving is excellent: undamaged reefs and great walls. Drift diving. . . . Entire staff, with the exception of managers Ric and Carol West, is Fijian. Terrific people. . . . Seven bures. Service second to none. Dive on your schedule, not theirs. At dinner guests decide when they will dive the next day. You can go whenever you want. Twice I was the only guest with two crew and the guide. . . . Meals excellent though not five star. Breakfast is cooked in your bure: spectacular banana pancakes (actually a crepe). You can lunch in your bure, at the Plantation house or at picturesque sites. The best dinners were at the beachfront barbecue area with locals playing Fijian songs and sharing kava. $300/includes all diving, meals, liquor. When I add up what I spend at "a la carte" resorts, it is comparable."

Forbes Laucala, December 1995, Drs. Stephen and Maureen Gordon, Atlanta, GA. "Dived all over the world (250 dives each). Laucala is the best in all respects. Personal service at our own Bure for breakfast, complete freedom of scheduling meals and dives. Dive staff fantastic. . . . Nite diving off dock is the best. Private, luxurious, first class dive vacation for experienced as well as beginners. vis: 50­70 ft. water:78°­82°"

Loma Loma Resort, July 1995, Russ and Chris England, Fairfield, IA. "I hesitate to say much about this jewel, but I know that owner Dan and Ben will ensure that it doesn't get over run, since they want to keep it small, intimate and pristine. My wife and I spent two wonderful weeks diving the reefs, walls, and channels of the unexplored coral that encircles Vanua Mbulava and Yanayanu islands in the Northern Lau group. We were in the first wave of exploring divers to experience the astounding variety of diving here. Most diving on the outer reef dropoffs and with spellbinding drift dives through the channels. At times the action was so rapid that I found myself spinning in circles trying to take it all in. Lots of large sharks on every dive, 18 foot manta rays (3­4 at a time), schools of jacks, fusiliers, bat fish, barracuda, 7 foot groupers, 6' Bumphead wrasse, lion fish, 20 ft. sea fans, walls covered with soft corals (Dan thinks its better than the famed white and yellow walls of Fiji) and all the usual reef fish and invertebrates. We dove three tanks per day and chose where to dive or explore. The beauty of this island group is breathtaking (Many small islands like the Rock islands of Palau), great private beaches, good shore diving. We were the only two guests."

Loma Loma Resort, June 1996, Jeff Falk, NYC. "Ben Davison, I've found your information to be completely reliable until now - your glowing report underrated Loma Loma. My first dive was Outer Limits, the furthest site they go to and you usually go to the outer limits on your computer. Two large schools of dog tooth and yellow tail tuna, 6 white tips, 3 large gray sharks. Deeper a huge school of hammerheads. Next day: school of six eagle rays and the usual schools of tuna and white tipped sharks and a minke whale suspended next to the boat observing us. Did 25 dives and all with one exception - my choice in the mangroves - were superb. Vis sometimes 200 feet while it dropped off in lagoons (20 feet). During a low viz dives, Ben took me to a large reef exploding with fish. I was usually the only guest. The days when I changed film on the boat, they brought a rinse bucket of fresh water and extra towels. I brought my 2 Nikonos set up for each dive. Using Nicads was a problem because the electricity is not on all day: My solution: 40 packs of AA alkaline batteries, using 3 sets of 4 batteries for 3 rolls of film and gave them to Dan as they had plenty of juice. Dan's a former US Marine and commercial Diver; his knowledge of dive equipment, tides, currents, and marine equipment was extensive. . . . Lanette really did try to satisfy my food requirements - low fat, little meat. Service was one on one. Dan's young son had his first birthday. Hundreds of people came to join the celebration. Women singers (wonderful voices), men playing guitars and ukeleles, and men performing traditional Fijian and Tongan dances"

Malawai Resort, May 1995, Ken Knezick, Houston, TX. "Small, personal, family run resort. Mom and daughter run kitchen, son a good divemaster, dad joins you for cocktails. Spacious English-style cottages with large tiled bath, and stocked fridge in the sitting area. Dining by candlelight in the main house, on a screened porch overlooking the ocean. The cuisine is excellent. Diving very interesting. After 1,700 dives, I saw my first sea snake. Charming little resort with a high level of service."

Matana Resort, March 1995, T. Woodruff, Winterville, GA. "Electricity off 10 PM to 7 AM. Thick mosquito nets - no screens on one bure. Paid for buffet meals - none served - skimpy portions. No pier and no help from crew removing dive gear. dive sites seemed to be picked for their proximity to the resort."

Matana Resort, October 1995, Allan Apter, Duluth, MN. "Well pleased with this small resort on Fiji's fourth largest island. Well run facility, good variety of sites within 15 minutes. Nice beach with lots of water sports - kayaks, windsurfers. OK for families. Hiking on the island. Friendly folks and villages nearby. Excellent food. Decent bures. Resort capacity about 20. Mix of Australians and Europeans with few Americans."

Matana Resort, December 1995, O. Zacharias, Mauston, WI. "Layout lovely. Large verandas with lounge chairs and area to hang wet things. Food excellent especially fresh fish baked in banana leaf. Could have more variety for breakfast. Staff helpful and friendly. Dive operation could use improvement. Day of arrival first dive was night dive, the divemaster did not to join us. The other 4 divers had not been at this site before. Very disappointing dive. Did not do another night dive. Had a 50 minute limit for dives no matter what the profile. Raced through the dive sites, cut short some surface intervals, so we'd be back in time for lunch. vis: 40­70ft. water: 80°­82°".

Marlin Bay Resort, August 1995, Jerry Butler, San Pedro, CA. "Everything great except monsoon conditions, dark clouds, heavy rain and high winds, Resort and dive staff couldn't have been better. Never touched gear, they cleaned it daily and put it on the boat. Beautiful locations; pristine hard and soft corals, loads of tropicals. Blue ribbon eels, nudibranchs, lionfish and giant clams. Water 76 degrees. Twelve bures provided excellent accommodations. Austrian chef prepared excellent meals. Fire walking show entertaining. This is the wet side, so we left for the Sheraton near Nadi, where the sun had been shining all week!"

Marlin Bay Resort, September 1995, Andrew Penza, Watertown, WI. "First dive trip since check out in a quarry. Sunny six of seven days. Water ranged from extremely choppy to calm. Most dives had little or no current, though we had a roaring current on Soft Coral Plateau. My wife and I aborted because she could not keep her mask clear. . . . Water: 76­78 F. Brought skins but ended up using resorts Body Glove wet suits. Vis: 15 to 70 ft. . . . Experienced divers allowed to dive by themselves but my wife and I stuck to the divemasters like glue. . . . Only restriction was to notify divemaster when we had 1500 psi left so he could get us back to the anchor line; had to have 500 psi back on boat. . . . Saw 10 whitetip reef sharks, dolphin swam close to the boat, no other large fish. . . . Excellent accommodations, excellent staff, excellent food, great diving, secluded and romantic. Divemasters Manasa, Mike and Bill excellent. Ken made sure that our experience topside was as good as underwater. The villagers were always friendly."

Marlin Bay Resort, October 1995, Peter Hartlove, Longmont, CO. "Beautiful setting. Two hour taxi ride from airport, then 30 minute boat ride. Island is truly native. Accommodations spacious, pleasant and comfortable. The chef, Christian, is fantastic. He's a chocolate freak, so each dessert was better than the last. Staff friendly and helpful. Diving can be great. Manassa spots the most well hidden creature with ease. The other two divemasters seemed inexperienced and didn't know the reefs well. Blue and black ribbon eels, soft corals, clowns with anemones, triggers, nudibranchs. Shore diving vis poor. Boats not equipped to handle cameras. vis: 50­75 ft. water: 77°­79°. Depth limit 130 ft."

Marlin Bay Resort, October 1995, Dr. Lee Vincent, Bellevue, WA. "Soft corals, plentiful reef fish, unbroken hard corals, and pelagics. Austrian chef Christian at first appears dour, but soon shows his humorous and creative sides - a genius in the kitchen! Much storage. Diving good - 2 tanks each AM about 20" run usually. Little or no current. 40­80' vis, 78 degree water, super divemasters, great boat handlers, nice uncrowded boats 3000+ psi fills. Great for nondiving spouse. "

Marlin Bay, May 1996, H. C. Wood, Houston, TX. "Regardless of the weather, a great dive location with outstanding staff and accommodations. vis: 40­80 ft. water: 80°."

Marlin Bay, June 1996, Ronald Bailey, VA. "Chris, the Austrian chef, is now the manager. Quality of food still the highest. Hotel staff the best. Third trip in three years. Marlin Bay sets a high standard. Expanded dive storage area. More kayaks. New boat zips you to dive sites. Russ, from Christmas Island, Kiribati, new dive shop manager. New swimming pool almost complete. Should be finished in August 1996. Manasa still the best dive guide. Only new sites were ET Rock and Scissors Rock. Caverns and swim thrus. Unless there is bad weather, Marlin Bay is a must place to go. Let yourself be pampered. New boat zips to dive sites. vis: 60­100ft. water: 78­79°"

Moody's Namena, April 1995, John & Juanita Bambridge, West Hills. "For diving, accommodations, food and staff we consider Moody's the best; we've been to 15 of the 'top' destinations in the world. Joan Moody has amiable conversation, detailed concern for every guest, which reflects all the way to the dive crew who literally do everything for the diver - gives Namena a warmth and ambiance that truly sets it apart."

Moody's Namena, June 1995, Patricia Buehler, Port Edwards, WI. "Island is encircled by a barrier-reef; excellent wall diving. Ask for Bure #5 to see sunrise and sunset from wraparound porch. Bures have 2 bathrooms, comfortable beds. Excellent snorkeling: spotted eagle rays, turtles, baby white tip sharks, schools of colorful fish. Meals family style and high quality. Been diving Fiji for 8 years; best diving, best snorkeling, best beaches, best bures, best food, best hospitality."

Namale Resort, July 1995, Bran Schweitzer, Costa Mesa, CA. "Two tanks after breakfast and no others. Two employees in the water was comforting and not overbearing; diving in accordance with computer limits no problem. Reefs are beautiful, dives easy and shallow (80' or less) without much current, limiting the abundance of soft corals and sponges. Array of fish is impressive; turtles and white tip reef sharks on every other dive. Water 78 degrees, vis 60­100 feet. The resort can deal with about eight divers and holds 18 guests. Employees pleasant & accommodating."

Susie's Plantation, 1995, Helena Henkin, Palo Alto, CA. "Nobody seemed to be in charge of the diving operation nor knew what was going on. Isolated on the far end of Taveuni. One day I made reservations to dive with them and took a $30 cab there. Upon arrival I was told that they weren't diving that day."

Copyright 1997 by DSDL, Inc., publishers of Undercurrent. All rights reserved. No portions of this report may be reproduced in any way, including photocopying and electronic data storage, without prior written permission from the publisher. For more information, contact DSDL, Inc., P.O. Box 1658, Sausalito, CA 94966.