Beauty and the beasts
Deborah Dickson-Smith takes the plunge at Fiji’s Beqa Lagoon, where diving with big sharks is part of the attraction.
Fiji’s Beqa Lagoon is one of the world’s top shark-diving destinations. Located on the southern coast of the main island of Vitu Levu, the lagoon is home to three incredible shark dives that lure divers from across the world.
But there was a time when this picturesque location was more famous for its coral reefs, one of five soft-coral hot spots in Fiji that inspired the legendary Jacques Cousteau to name it ‘the soft coral capital of the world’.
Like most divers, I am lured to this destination by the chance to dive with big bull sharks, maybe even tiger sharks, in a swirling feeding frenzy. So, when we arrive and discover that our first day’s diving doesn’t include sharks at all, I am a little disappointed.
My disappointment doesn’t last long, however, as I quickly discover what inspired Cousteau.
We’re staying at Waidroka Bay Resort, a secluded resort located two hours’ drive south of Nadi, just outside Beqa Lagoon, but seemingly a world away from the bustling resort town of Pacific Harbour.
Arriving at the resort in the afternoon, we check into our rooms and find we have time for a quick afternoon dive. Only 10 minutes from the resort is a fringing reef that has some great surf breaks, as well as some lovely dive sites.
We dive a site called Pipes (no doubt named for the action above water), and explore a coral wall, caves and vast hard-coral gardens. Only 18 metres deep, and close to shore, we are surprised how rich this site is, seeing turtles, a school of tuna and a great variety of reef fish.
The next day we head out to Beqa Lagoon, a 40-minute boat ride from the resort. The conditions can’t be better – sunny skies, flat seas and very blue water. Arriving at our first destination on our boat,
Fantasy 1, the water is so clear we can see the sea floor, and our dive site, soon to become one of my alltime favourites.
This site is made up of three large bommies (reef outcrops) rising from 20 metres to five metres, but we spend most of our time on the middle bommie, which is riddled with caves and ledges and covered in exquisite corals.
This site is jaw-droppingly beautiful, the gorgonian fans and soft corals simply spectacular. Over the hour-long dive, we encounter reef sharks, angel fish, swarms of basslets and anthias forming clouds around the soft and hard corals, and, in the nooks and crannies, nudibranchs and other macro critters.
After our surface interval (spent scoffing homemade biscuits and muffins on an uninhabited island) we dive a site called Seven Sisters. It also has numerous bommies, incredible corals and a good population of fish, plus a shipwreck.
Resting near the main bommie is the Tasu II, a 33-metre long fishing vessel scuttled many years ago. The wreck rests in 25 metres and makes for a fun dive, encrusted with soft corals, gorgonians, black coral trees and sea whips. Our guide tells us we should find a resident giant black frogfish on the wreck, and sure enough, he’s one of the first critters we
There must be over 60 sharks and the action is intense but well controlled by the Fijian shark whisperers.
encounter, standing on the bow doing a passable Kate Winslet impersonation.
On the wreck, we also find pipefish, longnose hawkfish dragonets and, in the rubble bottom around the wreck, muck critters: scorpionfish, octopus, shrimp gobies and garden eels.
After a bit of fun on the wreck we explore the main bommie, again finding its walls and caves covered in soft corals and gorgonians, and end the dive exploring the coral gardens on top of this bommie, which are home to masses of small fish such as damsels, basslets and fusiliers.
Our first two days diving here reinforce Fiji’s soft-coral legendary status. Beqa Lagoon still has some of the most colourful reefs in Fiji, and you would be mad to miss them. Our next day diving, however, is somewhat different.
On our third day, we get to meet the beasts of Beqa Lagoon.
Fiji is actually home to five shark dives, where sharks are lured in close with baits and hand fed for the amazement and wonder of divers. Fiji’s three most famous and popular shark dives are in Beqa Lagoon.
We’re diving with two of the three Beqa Lagoon shark dive operators on this trip: Beqa Adventure Divers (BAD) and Aquatrek.
The following morning, we board one of BAD’s dive boats for a trip out to ‘ The Arena’ in Shark Reef Marine Reserve. Dive guide Ben gives us a briefing on the site and the dos and don’ts around the sharks. For the first dive we head down to 30 metres, position ourselves behind a rock wall and the guides then start to feed the assembled fish and sharks. The two main shark species on this dive are small grey reef sharks, with several larger bull sharks swimming in fast through the swirling fish to grab the larger chunks of bait. The action is intense and after 15 minutes our guides lead us up to 10 metres where the reef sharks get fed, with dozens of grey reef and whitetip reef sharks zooming in for food. The final part of the dive is spent at five metres, where the smaller blacktip and whitetip reef sharks get fed as we do our safety stop. The sharks are so close at times you could reach out and touch them (don’t) and all three stages are an incredible adrenalin rush.
Our next day is filled with more shark diving, this time with Aqua Trek. Aqua Trek’s Brandon Paige pioneered shark diving in Fiji in the 1980s and has been taking divers to shark dives in the Beqa area since 1997.
We’re still buzzing from yesterday’s shark action and keen for more, so we soon find ourselves at the aptly named ‘ The Bistro’.
Again, perched behind a rock wall at 22 metres, we’re buzzed by silvertip sharks, sicklefin lemon sharks, grey reef sharks, whitetip reef sharks, bull sharks and
tawny nurse sharks. There must be over 60 sharks and the action is intense but well controlled by the Fijian shark whisperers.
At one stage a small tiger shark makes a brief appearance, but it’s too wary to come in close. After 40 fun-filled minutes we wave goodbye to the sharks and explore one of the two ships scuttled nearby.
Our second dive at ‘ The Bistro’ is just as good, but as the hyperactive silvertip sharks have mysteriously departed, the rest of the sharks are more settled. Paige tells us this is a regular pattern for this dive: “they come for their morning feed and that’s enough for them”.
After two adrenalin-fuelled days filled with Beqa’s magnificent beasts, we’re ready to explore more beauty and spend the rest of our week exploring the lagoon’s magnificent coral reefs.
This week opened our eyes to the brilliant diving in this area – the sharks are thrilling and unforgettable, but so are the reefs and shipwrecks. The highlight, though, is the coral – beautiful gorgonians and spectacular soft corals.