Bligh Water diving
Bligh Water is the stretch of water that separates the Fiji's two biggest islands, Vanua Levu and Viti Levu. On one side there's the Pacific Ocean and on the other the Koro Sea. This area is mainly dived on liveaboard boats. Bligh Water is named after Captain Bligh of the HMS Bounty. The waters here are very rich in nutrients which in turn thrives in marine life.
Always dive according to your level of training.
Never enter the water without checking with the local dive center for safety, additional information, level required for each dive site and without being accompanied by a professional.
All the information provided is purely informative for our readers and shouldn't be used as is to plan your immersion.
Bligh Water has a lot of sometimes strong currents and for this reason the sites here may not be suitable for novices. However advanced divers have a wide array of diving opportunities.
There is a lot of water moving through this channel making the waters very nutritious, especially in the areas where the channel is narrow. There is a spectacular variety of invertebrates and fishes, big and small.
The diving possibilities are varied with wall dives, pinnacles, atolls, swim throughs and drift dives. The dives sites go from depths of 5 metres (16 feet) to depths of well over 40 metres (131 feet). There are some atolls that start at a depth of 5 metres (16 feet)and drop to thousands of metres on the steep side. The surface conditions in the Bligh Water dive sites can go from calm to rough. Therefore, some diving spots may be unavailable at certain times.
There are lots of colourful hard and soft corals, orange, yellow black and green crinoids and plenty of anemones with interesting reef inhabitants like brown banded pipefish, black saddle coral groupers, scribbled filefish and lots of anthias.
Bligh Water boasts a variety of large pelagics. Hammerheads, barracuda eagle rays and big fish can be seen in the running current. You may also encounter white tips, silver-tips and grey reef sharks. Apart from the above mentioned marine life you could also see eels, nudibranches, a huge variety of invertebrates and reef fish.
A night dive in Bligh Water is well worth it! You will encounter lots of green flashlight fish. Lots of crustaceans, arrowhead crabs and large lobsters are to be seen at night too. Underwater photographers will be able to take great pictures both night and day.
When diving on a liveaboard in the Bligh Water the Namena Marine reserve is a not to miss site. The marine reserve is unspoiled and on the drop offs you will encounter groupers, coral snakes lots of barracuda and sharks.
The colourful coral formation is spectacular as well.
At Namena spinner and bottle nose dolphins can be observed. Humpback ,sperm, and pilot whales can be seen as well. On the beaches there are hawksbill turtles (an endangered and protected species) nesting.
These are just some of the Bligh Water dives. You may request your operator depending on your level of expertise and your particular interests to make an itinerary that suits best your needs.
