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Papua Passage

Papua Passage, or Avaiti as it’s traditionally known, is our favourite kind of lazy dive in Rarotonga. You start out on the fringing reef, then drift right through the passage and into the calm of the lagoon. It's the shallowest of the south coast passages, and the light show is what we remember most. Sunlight just floods the shallows, bouncing off the walls and creating these incredible patterns in the short caverns and swim-throughs. It’s an easy, relaxed drift, topping out around 17 metres. We’ve seen whitetip reef sharks just cruising by, and turtles are often spotted napping in the nooks. Keep an eye out for the resident giant star pufferfish; they seem to have claimed this spot. You’ll see plenty of parrotfish munching away, along with the bright flashes of bicolor chromis and the occasional emperor. We’ve found that even a moderate current here brings in more fish, so it’s worth checking the conditions before you go. This is a brilliant dive for those who want stunning visuals without deep depths or challenging conditions.