30UNDERWATERCATHEDRAL
Describedasan‘underwatercathedral’,the
Sawa-I-LauCavesinthenorthernYasawa
Islandsarea must-dowhenvisitingFiji.
Sculptedbycenturiesofwaveerosioneating
awayatlimestone,you’llbeabsolutelyblown
awaybythespectacularnaturalarchitecture
rightinfrontofyou.Sunlightstreamsdown
intothePantheon-esquecave– theroofof
thecavesoarsover 15 metresabovethewater.
Guidesfromthelocalvillageareavailable
totakeyouthroughanunderwaterpassage
toreacha secretadjoiningchamber– all
you’llneedistherightgear, and a reasonable
helping of courage.MANTARAYDANCE
Bringoutyourlatestswimsuitandgetup
closeandpersonalwiththeMantaRay.You
canimmerseyourselfinanotherworldof
stunningcoralgardens,amazingreefsand
overa thousandspeciesofmarinelifewhile
you’reinFiji– includingtheMantaRay.With
wingspansaslongasa HoldenCommodore(!!)
andweighingsometimesmorethanone-and-
a-halftonnes,thesegiantsoftheoceanglide
majesticallythroughthewatersoftheYasawa
IslandsandKadavuIsland.Naturallyan
inquisitivespecies,theMantaRaywill“dance”
foranaudience,performingsomersaults and
flips for a lucky snorkeler.