Page 178 - Melanesia

ALAMANDA - The Salamanda is a decommissioned, 40 meter exploring the wreck a gentle fin back to the reef finds divers in a
maze of seven towering pinnacles. Zebra sharks can frequently be
S cruise ship that was sunk in 30 meters of water. Diving on a
shipwreck is always an exciting dive. The vessel is now covered in found resting on the sand just out from the pinnacles. This is a fun

soft corals and sea anemones. Shrimps and crabs in some of these dive and easy too, but expect a little bit of current on the reef and

anemones have produced a number of prize winning photographs. wreck. The wreck is upright and intact. There is not a lot of coral

Descend to the sea floor and swim the length of the hull from the growth or life on this wreck but it does home the exotic clown trig-

bow to the stern. Ascend to the main deck and return forward gerfish and pufferfish.

along partially enclosed gangways pausing to enter the open cab- R USI’S PINNACLE - Rusi’s Pinnacle is the favorite wreck dive site
ins. Once on the foredeck ascend to the bridge for a captain eye’s in Fiji. Lying upright on the seabed in a depth of 32 meters/110
view. Check out the soft corals and sea anemones on the main

mask, before swimming back to the fixed mooring and final ascent. feet lies the largest of the wrecks in Beqa Lagoon. Measuring

T ASU II - The Tasu II is a decommissioned long line fishing about 40m/140’ in length and made of two decks, this old fishing
vessel purposefully sunk on the sandy bottom at the ‘Seven vessel is home to a diversity of life that is quite exceptional. Scut-
tled in 2000, there is already an incredible coverage of soft corals

Sisters’ dive site in the late 1990’s. She is about 30 meters/100 feet smothered in brittle sea stars. The top deck railing is home to a

from bow to stern lying upright on her keel in about 28 meters/90 giant frogfish; with it’s intricate camouflage it can be quite a chal-

feet of water next to the coral pinnacles that make up the Seven lenge to spot in amongst all the encrusting sponges. 100 feet away

Sisters. Having been down for so many years, a good growth of stands a solitary pinnacle that soars upwards to within 5 meters/15

soft corals covers the wreck. Very rarely swept by strong currents, feet of the surface. This pinnacle is home to stonefish, lionfish, leaf

the Tasu II is an ideal site for getting in some good bottom time on scorpionfish and moray eels. The top of the pinnacle is carpeted

a wreck. It is not uncommon to find a school of barracuda circling with five different species of anemone fish with their different host

above the wreck and groupers hiding out inside the superstruc- sea anemones.

ture. With a keen eye, lucky divers can spot pipefish wriggling

their way across the deck and up the sides of the ship. After