Owner: Fiji Diving in Paradise URL:http://fijidiving.blogspot.com/ Join Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2007 01:10:15 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: A BLOG about scuba diving in the Fiji Islands by Allan & Terri Gortan, owners and operators of PARADISE Taveuni, the newest boutique island resort in the Fiji Islands.This will include everything we can find that we find interesting online about Fiji Divi Site statistics:Click here
Welcome Back Zoe! 2007-08-31 19:55:00 We welcome back our PADI Instructor Zoe Trickett to the Paradise Managment Team!
Zoe was with us last year from June - December and is back for another stint in Paradise. We now have 3 Dive Instructors and 1 Dive Master at Pro Dive Taveuni.
Zoe is glad to be back in the Fiji sunshine after spending the last 8 months in NZ.
Zoe is pictured here with Liti & Kata. Welcome
home Zoe! Read more:Welcome Back
New Advanced Divers in Paradise! 2007-10-01 21:31:00 Congratulations to our newest Advanced Open Water divers - Frank Tai and Tannaz Mayalek!
Frank and Tannaz came to Paradise
having got their Open Water certifications in Australia and keen to dive the world-famous Great White Wall.
At a depth of 30m, this dive requires an Advanced certification so Frank and Tannaz opted to easily incorporate their Advanced course requirements into their daily
Paradise Divers Reach 500! 2007-09-29 18:03:00 Congratulations to Sandra Quick from the USA for completing her 500th dive right here in Paradise
.
Sandra and her husband John have dived all over the world and particularly enjoyed Paradise Reef - our house reef.
Sandra and John stayed in Paradise for 10 nights and enjoyed over 40 dives together. Check out their comments on diving with Pro Dive Taveuni in Paradise at http://www.undercurrent.org Read more:Reach
Clownfish rules Paradise Reef! 2007-10-07 17:05:00 Our favourite house reef - Paradise
Reef - has its own armed guard at the moment.... a very territorial clownfish!
Its anemone is home to a couple of babies right now, so Mum is keeping a close eye on any visitors - including our divers.
Despite the David & Goliath proportions, our clownfish will fend off anyone she choses. Manasa, one of our Prodive Instructors, is losing the encounter so far
YouTube video from Taveuni 2007-10-28 16:38:00 Okay it's about time to get some moving pictures up here. YouTube
has been with us now for long enough...
Hope you enjoy this wee clip!
Stuart Read more:video
, YouTube video
Congratulations Wilson! 2007-11-09 21:45:00 Congratulations to Wilson
Tikotikoca who has just become Paradise's newest Rescue diver!
Wilson is an enthusiastic member of our Marine Activities team and has now successfully completed his PADI Rescue diver course. After 3 days of learning skills and practising scenarios, Wilson passed his final assessments with flying colours - even with Zoe and Manasa being very troublesome patients!
A Read more:Congratulations
Fiji’s reefs in spectacular condition! 2007-11-11 19:24:00 Fiji’s reefs show high coral health after recovering from a coral bleaching event. Coral reefs have frequently been in the news over the past few years, usually for all the wrong reasons, in articles about dying corals across the globe. However, Fiji has had reason to celebrate, with recent scientific reports suggesting that the reefs here are remarkably resilient, and currently in the best
PADI in Paradise 2007-11-18 02:30:00 Paradise and Pro Dive Taveuni have just had the pleasure of hosting Ian Cumming, PADI's Regional Manager for Fiji and the other Pacific Islands.
Ian was delighted to congratulate Te and Manasa on their recent achievement of becoming PADI Instructors and gave the boys some great ideas for the future. He spent time with the whole Dive Team and was extremely positive about the PADI courses and Read more:Paradise
PADI in Paradise 2007-11-18 02:15:00 Paradise and Pro Dive Taveuni have just had the pleasure of hosting Ian Cumming, PADI's Regional Manager for Fiji and the other Pacific Islands.
Ian was delighted to congratulate Te and Manasa on their recent achievement of becoming PADI Instructors and gave the boys some great ideas for the future. He spent time with the whole dive team and was very positive about the PADI courses and standards Read more:Paradise
FREE SHORE DIVES IN PARADISE 2007-11-28 15:19:00 Paradise Taveuni has 3 of the best shore dives around with recent divers experiencing some great shore diving on Paradise Reef.
'This reef is remarkably in tact and offers so much for divers of any level. I saw hard & soft coral, lion fish, blue spotted rays, rock fish, banded sea snakes, moray eels, clown fish and reef sharks. This is a dream for all underwater photographers!" November, George
Safe 'n' Sound in Paradise 2007-12-07 17:20:00 Cyclone Daman has tried to get to Paradise
- but NO GO!
The tropical cyclone is now north north east of the Fiji islands and is travelling out to sea. Taveuni has experience little wind and some rain over the last 2 days and therefore no damage to our garden island has occured.
This morning our dive boat took divers out to Vuna Reef to the Fish Factory. All resort activities and adventures are Read more:Sound
Manta Ray Visitor 2007-12-12 21:03:00 New PADI Divemasters Wilson and Ilisoni had an unexpected visitor during their DM training dives – a Manta Ray
!
The rest of the Pro Dive Taveuni team – Allan, Zoe and Manasa – were putting the boys through their paces on the House Reef when the graceful ray cruised past.
Manta rays are sometimes seen on our dive sites but to see one just 20m from our marina and in a depth of only 5m was an Read more:Visitor
Fish Factory 2008-03-08 19:17:00 As one of our Divemasters says – this is the place where fish are made!
Situated on the inner side of Vuna Reef, Fish Factory
can be dived on rising and falling tides, and is also great for snorkellers.
When we dived it yesterday, we saw two turtles and six whitetip reef sharks – plus a wealth of beautiful soft corals and hundreds of smaller reef fish. With something for everybody, this is a
Snorkel Surprise 2008-02-17 21:51:00 You never know what you might see on a Paradise snorkel safari…
Imagine looking down through the clear blue waters to see a magnificent manta ray swimming past you. That’s exactly what happened to our guest, Giovanni, during his snorkel trip to ‘Steve’s Corner’. The ray circled him several times before gliding away into the distance. Lucky Giovanni!
Pictured is one of Giovanni’s fantastic shots Read more:Surprise
Nocturnal Delights 2008-02-17 21:21:00 A new addition to our Marine Activities is Night Snorkelling – and our guests have been having some great trips.
The snorkel adventure leaves from our marina and our experienced guide leads guests around the House Reef – complete with torches of course!
Featherstars, crabs and lionfish have all been common night-time sights, and some lucky snorkellers have even seen parrotfish hidden in the Read more:Nocturnal
New Dive Photos of Paradise 2008-02-16 16:04:00 Paradise divers have been heading underwater with Pro Dive Taveuni and their cameras, taking advantage of the incredible visability.
Recently, Italian snorkeller Giovanni Fossati stayed in Paradise Taveuni in Fiji, with his partner Cecilia Clementi.
Giovanni took numerous photos of the underwater wonders around Paradise.
To see his photos, visit the gallery page on the Paradise Read more:Paradise
The Next Generation.... 2008-01-18 21:49:00 The next generation of Paradise divers have begun their diving careers - Litea, Laite and Aporosa (our fabulous meke dancers) all successfully completed their PADI Junior Open Water courses last week. Congratulations!
The kids coped admirably with the heavy gear and technical terms and proved themselves totally at ease in the water. Even the dreaded mask clearing was no problem!
The highlight Read more:Generation
Hunt the Nudibranch 2008-04-02 17:45:00 If you fancy yourself to have a sharp pair of eyes, spend some time at the Paradise dive sites and find out how many different nudibranchs you can spot.
These slugs of the ocean come in a whole rainbow of colours and can range in size from very tiny to as big as your thumb.
Our favourite sites for nudi-spotting are Dolphin Bay and Coral Gardens. The record stands at 14 different types of
Dive Packages Available 2008-04-16 22:51:00 Maximise your Paradise diving experience by booking one of our 10 dive packages – it includes a totally free dive!
Packages
are available both with and without gear and allow guests to concentrate on enjoying the fabulous Fijian marine life.
Not sure how many dives you’ll do? No problem. Our dive team will keep a tally of the number of dives you’ve completed and willupgrade you to the package as
Zoe's Delight 2008-04-29 23:15:00 Named after our resident Marine Manager, this dive site hides many small treasures. Dwarf lionfish, leopard cowries and nudibranches all make their homes here, while the hard corals are covered in a profusion of featherstars.
Zoe’s Delight is situated just a couple of minutes from the Paradise marina and, with its gentle current, is a big favouite with underwater photographers. Add in the
Night Diving Adventure 2008-05-20 22:50:00 Why not see a totally different side to Paradise Reef during your stay and take the plunge on a night dive?
Watch the nocturnal residents come out to play and be amazed by the differences on the Reef. Hundreds of featherstars appear from every crevice hungry for food, while torchlight reveals the gleam of many pairs of eyes – banded shrimps and hermit crabs ready to make their nighttime patrols Read more:Night
, Diving
, Adventure
Lionfish Delights 2008-05-27 16:15:00 One of our favourite underwater encounters is with the many different lionfish that inhabit our waters.
Coming in all sizes, these beautiful fish are a highlight on any dive or snorkel – and we’ve been lucky enough to spot several recently.
As they waltz gracefully around the coral bommies, it almost looks as though they’re posing for photos!
Read more:Lionfish
The Stairs 2008-06-05 22:39:00 With its swimthroughs and archways, ‘The Stairs
’ is undoubtedly the favourite site of the Dive Team – and we’ve been having some great conditions for diving it in!
Soft white corals are abundant here and are becoming ever more prolific. We’ve also been lucky enough to see two whitetip reef sharks patrolling the entrances to the swimthroughs as we spiral up and down the ‘staircase’.
Snorkelling Safari 2008-06-29 23:43:00 With such fabulous snorkelling around the Resort, why not make the most of it and go on a “snorkel safari”?
Paradise’s local guides – Wilson and Toutou – are expert snorkellers and have sharp eyes for spotting all those little critters. Hop on the transport to neighbouring Dolphin Bay or Vatuwiri, then jump in the water and let the gentle current drift you back to Paradise.
Having grown Read more:Safari
Discover Scuba in Paradise 2008-06-23 23:24:00 What does it feel like the first time? How do you know what to do?
If you’ve always wanted to breathe underwater, Paradise
is the perfect place to DiscoverScuba
. Spend some time with one of our expert instructors before taking the plunge and going diving with them on our House Reef.
Experience weightlessness as you glide effortlessly over hard and soft corals and meet some of our favourite
Orgasm Reef 2008-07-12 18:00:00 What better way to enjoy your diving than on an early morning trip to Orgasm Reef?
Our most “pleasurable” dive site is located on the outer wall of Vuna Reef and is named after the breeding habits of the reef sharks that we see there.
This is usually a big fish encounter dive – large schools of barracuda are common, along with whitetip reef sharks and turtles. Toutou has even seen a silvert
Welcome Carl and Muriel! 2008-07-23 17:23:00 Paradise and Pro Dive Taveuni have been joined by 2 new faces - Carl and Muriel Fox.
Carl and Muriel have been living on Taveuni and running a dive operation on the island for several years. They have recently joined forces with Paradise - bringing with them a wealth of experience and passion for Taveuni's reefs.
Carl's specialty is the Rainbow Reef dive sites while Muriel directs operations
Read more:Welcome
Winter diving delights 2008-08-02 18:12:00 As winter approaches, so do the best times for diving and sites like Fish Factory are proving to be spectacular.
Although the water temperature drops slightly, it will remain around a balmy 26 degrees celsius - perfect for donning a wetsuit and taking the plunge. And with the algal blooms of summer gone, the visibility is superb and the water crystal clear.
Recent guests Suzi and Paula were
The Paradise Fleet 2008-08-15 23:11:00 "Adi Vuki" has made a graceful retirement from service but Carl has brought with him 3 boats to make up the new Paradise
fleet.
All 3 are custom-made dive boats - "Divers Reef" is a 28ft fibreglass boat, "Unplugged" is a 25ft aluminium boat and "Underwater Connection" is a 25ft fibreglass boat.
The boats all have large canopies and accommodate 6-8 divers - keeping our dive trips small and
Read more:Fleet
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