Matanivusi Surfing
On the south coast of Fiji’s main island, Vitu Levu, Matanivusi surfing resort is accessible to year round surf with two seasons; from April to October when the south pacific basin winter low pressure systems produce consistent ground swells and the summer season from December to April which is associated with shorter duration swells of 1-3 days.
During summer season the conditions are generally glassy or light winds all day and hot with afternoon showers. This is the time when surfing Matanivusi local breaks really begin to fire up.
During the winter season, the SE trade winds are predominant which blow offshore at Pipe and Frigates for up to a week at a time. There are usually a few days of calm winds between the weather patterns that allow for surfing the other local breaks if the swell is small enough.
All the surf breaks are over coral reef and when over head high can be challenging for the inexperienced surfers.
Only a short boat ride from Matanivusi Surfing Resort are three right hand reef breaks and one left. Depending on the tide, wind and swell, these waves can offer awesome waves and twenty kilometres offshore is the world famous Frigate Passage, which is a long peeling left hander.
J’s: Hollow, fast wave that’s best around the high tide with winds from NE to W.
SHIFTIES: Has a casual deep water take off but can turn powerful and thick; being the outside point of the reef picks up all the swell so if everywhere else is flat Shifties should have a wave and can be surfed at all tides.
VUNANIU: Short wedging right which has a bowl section at the end, usually smaller than other breaks.
FIJI PIPE: Hollow and sometimes heavy left hand reef break and offshore in the SE trade wind during winter for some epic barrel rides.
FRIGATES: A world class left that can rival Cloudbreak for power, size and consistency. It handles all swell sizes and SE trade wind is offshore so the most consistent winter break. About 20 kilometers from Matanivusi, it picks up all swell. A longer board is recommended to tackle the big drops and strong off shore winds.