Muck Diving in Fiji

Were the International Date Line to run true to the 180° meridian, it would pass straight through the Fijian island of Taveuni. While Fiji may be literally half the world away, its diving is on another planet entirely. Famed for its impressive big-shark action and kaleidoscopic soft corals, the muck diving in Fiji is also well worth the epic journey. Eschewing the wide-angle setup for your macro lens on the shallower dives allows for stunning portrait photography: frogfish in differing sizes and hues; various ghost pipefish species; numerous nudibranchs; spearing and peacock mantis shrimp; decorator crabs adorned with reef detritus; shy and cute bobtail squid; and both full-sized and pygmy seahorses are all waiting to pose patiently.

Our team of dive travel experts are constantly blown away by the sheer diversity of Fiji's reefs. The Tonga Trench, the deepest trench in the southern hemisphere and the second deepest on Earth, passes to the east of Fiji, and its nutrients are carried to the Fijian waters by the currents. The nutrients attract the smaller denizens of the reef, which in turn encourages the bigger fish to pop by for a snack, ensuring epic shark diving alongside the marvellous muck diving in Fiji.

Beqa Lagoon

For those looking to encounter all creatures great and small below the waves, Beqa Lagoon will not disappoint. Vaunted as one of the best shark dives in the world, this iconic lagoon also boasts an impressive array of smaller critters. Sitting just to the south of the main island of Viti Levu, Beqa Island is surrounded by a barrier reef, which creates an idyllic 140-square-mile lagoon. Averting your eyes from the tiger and bull sharks patrolling the lagoon to glance down will reveal leaf scorpionfish, brilliant-blue ribbon eels and nudibranchs inching across the reef.

Vanua Levu

Fiji's second-largest island, Vanua Levu, is a tropical paradise whose southern shore is on the doorstep of some of the best muck diving in Fiji. The Namena Marine Reserve is known as one of the best diving spots in all of Fiji and is certainly up there when it comes to muck diving. The reefs are festooned with colourful soft corals and are home to a remarkable variety of endemic and rare species. Seahorses, nudibranchs and a variety of cool critters will keep keen photographers happy, while a morning trip to dive the Great White Wall in the Somosomo Strait will blast the cobwebs away and ensure you are awake and alert to spot the smaller critters on your afternoon muck dives.