Chimneys – Namena Marine Reserve and Lomaiviti Group

Site Overview

Chimneys is a spectacular dive site within the Namena Marine Reserve featuring three coral-encrusted pinnacles that rise from the sandy floor like underwater towers, each one crowned with dense soft coral growth and surrounded by enormous schools of snapper, jacks, and swirling fusiliers. The three pinnacles are spaced closely enough to visit all during a single dive, creating a varied and engaging underwater experience. The pinnacles serve as cleaning stations where larger fish including groupers and reef sharks pause to be serviced by cleaner wrasse and cleaner shrimp that operate from specific locations on the coral-covered structures. Schools of snapper form dense aggregations around each pinnacle, their yellow and silver bodies creating a shimmering cloud that parts as divers swim through. Jacks patrol the perimeter of the fish schools, making calculated strikes at individual fish that stray from the formation. Fusiliers swirl in tight tornadoes above the pinnacle summits, their blue and yellow colouration adding vivid splashes to the scene. The coral coverage on the pinnacles is exceptional, with soft corals in shades of orange, pink, and purple covering every available surface and extending their polyps into the current to capture plankton. The sandy areas between the pinnacles host garden eel colonies and occasional resting reef sharks. The moderate current brings nutrients that sustain the prolific coral growth and support the large fish populations. The cleaning station dynamic adds an ecological dimension to the dive, allowing divers to observe the fascinating symbiotic relationship between cleaners and their client fish at close range.