Reefwander
A small pink hawkfish perches on the branches of pale stony coral — Golden Dream, Bligh Water.

Bligh Water & Vatu-i-Ra · Fiji · Reef · Pinnacle

Golden Dream

Coral heads from 3 m to 36 m, with swim-throughs and undercuts

Photo: Sylke Rohrlach from Sydney · CC BY-SA 2.0

Golden Dream sits at the point of the main reef and is dived as part of a larger site that takes in Breathtaker next door. It is a run of coral heads and pinnacles from 3 m down to 36 m, with swim-throughs and undercuts cut into them, and it can be dived at any time rather than having to be timed to the water.

Also known as Golden Dreams.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of Golden Dream: typical dive 3–36 m (10–118 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit3 m36 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 50 m (164 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

17.2567° S, 178.1629° EPublished position for this site.

The dive

The site is a series of coral heads and pinnacles at the point of the main reef, normally dived as one half of a larger site that also takes in Breathtaker. The structure starts at 3 m and steps down to 36 m, so the shape of the dive is a descent along the heads and a slow working back up them rather than a single wall run in one direction.

What separates it from a plain bommie run is the way the rock is cut: the heads carry swim-throughs and undercuts, and that is where the dive time goes for anyone shooting wide. It can be dived at any time, which makes it a flexible slot in a day's diving rather than one that has to be timed to the tidal exchange like the pinnacle sites nearby.

Marine life and season

The sources we used don't single out particular species here.

Month-by-month season rating for Golden Dream
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
FairFairGoodPrimePrimePrimePrimePrimePrimePrimeGoodFair

Season follows Bligh Water & Vatu-i-Ra: Apr–Oct is the dry season with the best visibility; Nov–Mar is warmer but brings cyclone risk and rougher crossings.

Know before you go

  • The swim-throughs and undercuts are overhead ground however short they are: go through one diver at a time, carry a light, and keep off the coral if there is any surge.

Dive videos

Golden Dream · Neil Stollznow diving on YouTube

Diving at Nananu-I-Ra island in Fiji · boschinator on YouTube

Questions divers ask

How deep is Golden Dream?+

The coral heads and pinnacles run from 3 m at the top down to 36 m, so the dive can be planned as deep as you want it or kept shallow on the upper heads.

Sources

  1. Golden Dream — Scubago
  2. Bligh Water Dive Sites — Volivoli Beach Resort / Ra Divers

Photo credits

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