E6 is one of Fiji's best known sites. Sites like these are why many choose Bligh Water liveaboards over simply a Fiji resort based diving holiday. The name E-6 comes from the amount of photographs that people tend to take on this site where you will likely dive at least once in the daytime and once as a night dive.
The tip of the huge pinnacle rises up to less than a metre below sea-level and has its base at some 900m+. This occurs in the narrowest section of Bligh Water at Lomaiviti, the stretch of sea between the 2 big islands of Viti Levu and Vanua Levu. As if designed by a diver, this therefore means that the seamount is positively flushed with nutrients so has become a base for a spectacular marine ecosystem.
By day you will likely encounter big pelagics - schooling barracuda, hammerheads, eagle rays and big schools of fish where the current runs. On the leeside there are soft corals and fans all over the pinnacle. You can swim into the Cathedral, a huge swim-through where sunlight filters down from above bringing colour to the gorgonians and sponges that festoon the walls. Underwater images from the Cathedral can be truly divine.
By night, as you prepare on-board for your dive, you will be delighted to be visiting this site a second time, and so you should. Of course it all looks amazing at night with all manner of Bligh Water crustaceans coming out to play, including several big lobsters and adorable arrowhead crabs. However the most outstanding aspect of a night dive here and undoubtedly the most memorable, is the awesome sight of the green lights of the numerous flashlight fish. Hold your light to your chest here and what you see as you hover in warm, black water will take your breath away.
Facts about E6by
Margriet TilstraSmall, smaller, smallest
Nikon D80, Ikelite housing + two Ikelite strobes (DS161 and DS125), Lense AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED, ISO 200, Aperture f/14, Shutterspeed 1/125