The Great White Wall

The Great White Wall, on the Rainbow Reef in Fiji's Somosomo Strait, is one of the most visually spectacular wall dives in the world — a vertical cliff between 10 and 70 meters that is completely covered in Dendronephthya soft corals whose polyps produce a luminous pale lavender-white color that transforms the entire wall into what divers describe as an underwater snowstorm. The effect is strongest when the current is running and all polyps are extended to feed. The dive is typically performed as a drift, with divers entering upstream and descending the wall to 25-30 meters where the density of white soft corals reaches its maximum. The current carries divers along the face, and the entire wall appears to pulse with light as millions of polyps filter plankton from the water. Purple and pink Dendronephthya colonies punctuate the white dominant coloration, creating a subtle color gradient that depends on light conditions and current strength. Marine life is characteristic of Fijian reef systems. Napoleon wrasse and giant moray eels inhabit the wall's crevices, schools of bigeye trevally and fusiliers patrol the blue, and the occasional grey reef shark or whitetip reef shark cruises the deeper sections. Hawksbill turtles graze on the sponges, and manta rays have been recorded in the Somosomo Strait during plankton-rich periods. Macro enthusiasts find pygmy seahorses on gorgonian fans and leaf scorpionfish among the soft corals. The Great White Wall is Advanced Open Water diving due to the drift profile and potential for down-currents. Reached from Taveuni Island dive operators (Somosomo Strait is between Taveuni and Vanua Levu). Currents are tide-dependent and can be strong — dives are scheduled around slack water or timed with the drift. Visibility 20-30 meters, water temperatures 26-29°C year-round. Best conditions May through October (austral winter), when seas are calmest and the soft corals are most consistently fluorescent.