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Throughout the week aboard the Island Dancer II guests will depart Suva to explore the reefs, bommies and walls of Nigali Pass, Wakaya, Koro and Namenalala Islands. Known as the soft coral capital, the brilliant colors on display will dazzle even the most experienced divers and photographers. Drift dives with eagle rays, mantas, turtles, sharks and giant groupers are also on the itinerary.

Clownfish, pygmy seahorses, ornate ghost pipefish, and a multitude of nudibranchs bring smiles to every dive! With direct flights from several major cities worldwide, it is an easy destination to add to your dive log.

To top off the exiting diving and experience some of Fiji’s local culture, a visit to a Fijian village on one of the remote islands is arranged including a Kava ceremony and warrior dance. All guests are required to wear a traditional sulu (sarong or wrap) so either bring your own or we will gladly provide one for you!

The Island Dancer II appeals to those discriminating divers who prefer a smaller group and is perfectly suited for Fiji and the diving itinerary. All indoor areas are air-conditioned and each of the guest cabins feature ensuite facilities. The beautifully appointed salon has ample room for divers to view their photos and videos or to enjoy a movie on the entertainment system. The sundeck features covered and uncovered lounging and is a perfect place to relax with a book during surface intervals.

Getting There:
Republic of the Fiji Islands is an island nation in the South Pacific Ocean east of Vanuatu, west of Tonga and south of Tuvalu. The country occupies an archipelago of about 322 islands, of which 106 are permanently inhabited, and 522 islets. The two major islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu account for 87% of the population.

Many major airlines fly into Nadi: Air Pacific, Air New Zealand, American Airlines. Connecting flights on Sun Pacific to Suva are available. Recommended Hotels: Novotel (Suva), Raffles Gateway (Nadi), Beqa Lagoon (Pacific Harbor – close to Suva), The Pearl South Pacific (Pacific Harbor.

Arrival/Boarding/Departure:
The Island Dancer II operates out of Suva, Fiji. A group transfer from the airport to the Island Dancer II is provided to guests flying into Suva Nausori Airport (SUV) on the scheduled day of embarkation. This transfer to the yacht, which is about a 45 minute drive, is scheduled between 6 – 8am.

If you are arriving in Suva on a later flight and unable to join the group transfer, then you will need to take a taxi to the Island Dancer II which docks next to the Novotel Hotel (formerly the Trade Winds hotel). If you are already in Suva, please make your way to the Island Dancer II anytime after 12 pm The Island Dancer II typically sails immediately. Check out is Saturday morning at 7:30 am.

Diving Environment:

• Known for brilliant soft corals, sharks, turtles, mantas, anemones, clownfish, and multiple macro critters
• Dives from mothership and or tender
• Water temperature: Nov – April (Fijian summer) 80-84F (27-29C)
  May – Oct (Fijian winter) 76-79F (25-27C)
• 3-5 mm wetsuit recommended

Taxes & Fees:
Park Fee $14.69 and $200 VAT taxes (paid onboard).
Note: All purchases onboard are subject to 20% VAT tax.

Transfers:
Group transfers included to/from Suva (SUV) airport at designated times.

Fiji Islands – Top Dive Sites

Gau Island
Koro Gardens is marked by a single large bommie that comes to within 15 feet of the surface. The area around the bommie is about 45 feet to the bottom and drops off to 95 feet in some areas. Hard corals cover everything while an abundance of reef fish crowd the waters and make the diving spectacular.

Shark Fin Point is on the north east point of Koro Island can be action central. On most dives you will see a large school of about 500 barracudas, eagle rays, many white tip, lots of grey reefs, lobster, eels, and we have even seen whale shark here, yes we really have. Not only are the fish and shark abundant but it’s covered in both hard and soft corals. When the tide is running this can be a most enjoyable drift dive because little effort is needed to move and its seems as if the show just swims by you.

Makongi Island
At the turn of the century Makongi Island was the home of the last leper colony in Fiji but today its the home of the Fijian turtle and clam farm. The north end of the island is protected by a barrier reef which has a lot of great dive sights. The foremost popular are White rock, Rustic arch, coral garden and Makongi channel. Each of these sights has wide variety of bright indigenous little fish

Coral Gardens is a series of bommies that have a beautiful supply of hard and soft corals. This sight also has turtles, white tips sharks, moray eels, lion fish and once in a while a nurse shark. Visibility can sometimes be below 40 feet because of heavy plankton.

E-6 and Hi-8 – These two sites are aptly named: “E-6″ for the amount of film shot at this site and likewise,”Hi-8” for the amount of video footage taken. Both E-6 and Hi-8 are pinnacles that start at a depth of 3,000 feet and rise to the surface. E-6 has a horseshoe shaped grotto which is filled with anemones, large clams, lionfish and spectacular red sea fans and soft corals. Each has a virtual smorgasbord of soft corals, hard corals, sea fans, sea anemones, octicoral, swim-throughs and are teeming with smaller fishes of the South Pacific. Included at both sights are sweet lips, hammer heads, white tips, occasional silver tips and if we’re lucky a whale.

Makongi Island
Makongi Channel is most often a drift dive due to the fact its at an entrance to the inner reef. On an incoming tide the visibility is quite good and sometimes exceeds 100 feet. The usual party of Makongi sea life abounds here in the channel as well.

Rustic Arch was discovered by photo pro Rusty Madsen during an exploration trip in Feb. 98. This sight has excellent hard and soft corals, sea fans, sea anemones, lion fish, moray eels, white tips and a recently discovered home to a large Napoleon wrasse.

White Rock is at the entrance of Makongi channel and aptly called because the waves always break on it causing the reef to have a white cap. This sight has white tips, occasionally eagle rays and mantas, eels, large file fish, an abundance of hard and soft corals but most of all it has the friendliest school of fuseliers.

Namena (Namenalala Island)
The Namena barrier reef stretches a distance of over 10 miles. There is an abundance of dive sights here but many are unprotected in open waters and can’t be dove in bad weather. Most of these sites have the possibility of high currents and as a result the sea life here is abundant and very active. It is not uncommon to see gray reefs, white tips, silver tips, barracuda and dog tooth tuna on a 30 minute dive. The following are the most popular dive sights.

Chimneys is three slender bommies which start at about 74 feet and come to within 10 feet of the surface. On the sandy bottom you’ll find a field of garden eels with gobies and shrimp scattered throughout. Everywhere in the bommies of this site you can find pipe fish, cleaner fish, nudibranches, soft corals, hard corals, sea anemones with clown fish, and free swimming in the current above the bommies are unicorn fish and anthiest. Between the bommies in midwater are resident barracudas and it’s not uncommon to see white tips or grey reefs.

Magic Mound is a single bommie 80 to 100 feet long and 30 to 40 feet wide. It starts at 80 feet on one side and comes up to within 15 feet of the surface. Its covered in hard corals, soft corals, sea anemones, sea fans and lots of lionfish lurking in between or hanging around under ledges. This sight is also known for its white tips and grey reef action.

North Save-a-Tack is on an incoming tide where the action is fast and furious. A diver must descend to a depth of 70 feet in water that often has a visibility of over 150 feet. On the bottom a diver may see grey reefs, white tips, barracudas and dog tooth tuna with an occasional silver tip without even moving. The current is strong and during an incoming tide and the visibility is excellent. Divers normally start on the east side of North Save-a-tack and end their dive on the west side among the hard and soft coral covered bommies. This side is excellent for macro and wide angle shots.

Wakaya Island
Gem Stone is on the outside edge of Wakaya passage. This is a wall dive with swim throughs, hard and soft corals and as one guests who has dove around the world said, this sight is as good as they have in the Red Sea. Mantas also frequently visit this location along with hammer head and white tips sharks. When diving this location on a night dive the light fish here are very abundant and make for a great light show.

Golden Rock is a bommie that starts at 35 ft. on the high inside edge it then comes up to 10 ft. and is 20 ft. across. This site has soft coral, hard coral, cleaner shrimp, blue ribbon eels, lionfish, and most important it is a cleaning station for mantas and we see mantas here 90% of the time.

Sand Point is a wall dive between the island of Wakaya and Mokongi. On this dive we frequently see mantas, eagles rays, turtles, white tips and the various colorful fish of the South Pacific in abundance along with hard and soft corals.

Wakaya Pass starts at about 35 ft. sandy bottom then you swim out over a wall and turn to the left. As you come over the drop off of the wall you can look straight down to about 140 ft. While swimming along the wall you may see blue ribbon eels, White tip, Nurse, and Hammerhead sharks along with Mantas, Marble Rays, Turtles, Eagle rays and Barracuda

The Yacht Specs and Photos

The Yacht Port: Suva, FijiBuilt to Lloyd’s Registry and American Bureau of Shipping Standards. Length: 101 ft. Beam: 22 Passengers: 10 Crew: 5 Saturday to Saturday trips Boarding: Saturday 12 pm Check out: Saturday 8 am Fiji has been a Dancer Fleet destination since 2010. Staterooms Room #1 Master Stateroom Rm Size: 10 x 10 feet Queen Bed: 57 x 84 inches Room #2 Deluxe Stateroom Rm Size: 8’7″ x 8’5″ feet Top Bunk: Double: 34 x 79 inches 53 x 79 inches Room #3 Deluxe Stateroom Rm Size: 8’7″ x 8’5″ feet Top Bunk: Double: 34 x 79 inches 53 x 79 inches Room #4 Deluxe Stateroom Rm Size: 8’7″ x 8’5″ feet Top Bunk: Double: 34 x 79 inches 53 x 79 inches Room #5 Deluxe Stateroom Rm Size: 8’7″ x 8’5″ feet Top Bunk: Double: 34 x 79 inches 53 x 79 inches Deluxe En-suite Bathrooms Rm Size: 4’2″ x 8′ feet

 

Master Stateroom (#1) Queen Bed, Private Facilities, Picture Window View, Mirrored Cabinet, Wardrobe, Bathrobes, Hairdryer, Toiletries, Fresh Towels Daily.	Deluxe Stateroom (#2, 3, 4, 5) Double Bed (lower) and Twin Bed (upper) bunk-style, Private Facilities, Mirrored Cabinet, Wardrobe, Bathrobes, Hairdryer, Toiletries, Fresh Towels Daily.

Meet The Crew

Captain Joji Tavura
Joji has gained a vast knowledge of the Fijian waters since he obtained a Captain’s license in 1991. While serving as Captain of the Nai’a for the past 8 years, he also worked part-time as 1st mate and relief Captain on the Fiji Aggressor II and III. When not at sea, Joji lives in Suva with his wife Litia and 3 daughters Buna, age 24, Selina, age 21 and Meme, age 14. His life at sea previously kept him away from home for weeks on end so today he enjoys nothing more than working for the Island Dancer II where he can now see his wife and children weekly – even if only between charters. Joji’s daughters still live at home. The two oldest girls go to the University of Suva studying tourism and law.

Joji’s dad was a sailor. He remembers when he was 18 years old and his dad invited him to spend some time with him on the ship he was working on. Joji’s dad told him as he stepped aboard, “Hold my hand son (with a long brush held in both hands), help me clean this vessel and learn the ways of a sailor because it’s the best way for a Fijian to make an honest living”. Soon after and for several years Joji worked on a square rig sailing yacht. They carried passengers (one to three nights) as they hopped from island to island, stopping for island visits and snorkeling. He also worked on a cargo ship for 6 years as the chief officer and Captain, supplying the islands with food and other needs. Joji learned about diving by frequently talking on the radio with other Captains who took divers to the offshore reefs. In 1987 Joji decided that he wanted to learn to dive and became certified as Advanced Open Water, Nitrox and Rescue Diver. He now has over 10,000 dives, knows the name of every living creature underwater and very much enjoys showing guests around on their dives.

Divemaster Moses Visaka
Moses has been working with the company since its inception 17 years ago. He is a loyal crew member and Dive master with vast experience in the liveaboard dive industry. Moses takes pride in his work and in making sure that guests are aware of the underwater surrounding they will be encountering before every dive during his extensive dive briefings. Moses is multi-skilled and assists the captain whenever possible.

Chef Peni Sovakalia
Chef Peni has been in the liveaboard dive industry for the past 17 years. He started work as crew on the dive yacht S.V. Nai’a as a deck hand in 1994 and worked his way up the ranks to become a Head Chef. In 2004 he joined the yacht M.Y. Undersea Hunter as Chef for a year of sailing around the Pacific Islands with the IMAX production team. In 2005 he rejoined Nai’a cruises as Head Chef and relieving Bosun. At the beginning of 2011 the Dancer Fleet acquired his services to work onboard the M.Y. Island Dancer II. Pena is very creative when preparing meals and has a wide range of menus to cater both to planned meals and to guests with special dietary requests. comes to us from the Nai’a where he served as head Chef for 17 years.

Charter Rates – Island Dancer (Fiji)

Schedule – Island Dancer (Fiji)