Wilkes Passage - Kadavu & Great Astrolabe Reef
Wilkes Passage is a mellow drift, a good entry point to the Astrolabe Reef’s gentle side. We've found it’s a straightforward ride, often with a slight push, making it perfect for newer divers looking to get comfortable with current. The corals here aren’t huge structures, more like extensive fields of the stuff, interspersed with sponges and anemones. Look out for the usual reef fish – damselfish, wrasse, and sometimes a passing white-tip cruising the bottom. It's a nice easy dive, a good warm-up for the day.
- Location
- Kadavu & Great Astrolabe Reef, Fiji, Central & South Pacific
- Coordinates
- -17.841900, 177.179200
- Type
- drift
- Maximum Depth
- 19m
- Difficulty
- Beginner
Marine Protected Area: Tavarua Island
Nearby Dive Sites in Kadavu & Great Astrolabe Reef
- 3 Sisters - 23m
- Always Cool - 19m
- Amazing Maze - 19m
- Annie’s Bommie - 20m (reef)
- Anytime - 22m
- ANZAC - 22m
- Aquarium - 17m
- Arch - 20m (cave)
- Backyard Beach - 13m
- Barracuda Drift - 18m (drift)
- Barracuda Hole
- Base Jump - 20m
- Bats Reef - 18m (reef)
- BAWAQA - 0m (wreck)
- Beqa Lagoon (reef)
Nearest Dive Centres to Wilkes Passage
Marine Life in Kadavu & Great Astrolabe Reef
Home to 385 recorded species including 289 reef fish, 66 hard corals, 12 sea snails & nudibranchs, 3 clams & mussels, 3 sharks & rays, 2 other.
Notable Species
- Bullethead Parrotfish (Chlorurus sordidus) - Reef Fish
- Parrotfish (Thalassoma hardwicke) - Reef Fish
- Parrotfish (Thalassoma lutescens) - Reef Fish
- Roundhead Parrotfish (Scarus globiceps) - Reef Fish
- Dusky Parrotfish (Scarus niger) - Reef Fish
- Dot and dash Butterflyfish (Chaetodon pelewensis) - Reef Fish
- Bird wrasse (Gomphosus varius) - Reef Fish
- Schlegel's Parrotfish (Scarus schlegeli) - Reef Fish
- Lineated Butterflyfish (Chaetodon trifasciatus) - Reef Fish
- Banded Goatfish (Parupeneus multifasciatus) - Reef Fish
- Banded-tail Coral-cod (Cephalopholis urodeta) - Reef Fish
- Batavian Parrotfish (Scarus psittacus) - Reef Fish
- Black-backed Wrasse (Anampses neoguinaicus) - Reef Fish
- Two-tone wrasse (Thalassoma amblycephalum) - Reef Fish
- Triangular Butterflyfish (Chaetodon baronessa) - Reef Fish
- Bandcheek wrasse (Oxycheilinus digramma) - Reef Fish
- Citron Butterfly (Chaetodon citrinellus) - Reef Fish
- Blunt-head Parrotfish (Chlorurus microrhinos) - Reef Fish
- Wrasse (Cheilinus trilobatus) - Reef Fish
- Filament-finned Parrotfish (Scarus altipinnis) - Reef Fish