I began my stay at Matava only planning to stay a week or so before venturing onward to explore the rest of Fiji. However, in the end I stayed just over 3 weeks and now I wouldn't have planned my holiday any differently. I chose Matava because I wanted to dive the Astrolabe reef, and I was looking for a remote and fairly rustic resort (to weed out the people that expect chocolates on their pillows) with some interesting people to drink some beers and chat with during dinner. Also, as a solo traveler, costs at most resorts were out of my budget, so accommodation was also an issue.
Given that it was the wet season, the diving did not disappoint. Colorful hard corals, some soft corals, nudi branches, and great shark and manta dives. The dive staff are wonderful and do a great job of keeping things organized and efficient while maintaining a fun atmosphere - and catering to the particular needs and desires of the divers that come through and whatever nature had delivered for the day. Due to the sheer size of the reef there is a lot of diversity in the dives that are offered – and the “exploratory” dives were some of my favorites.
I was fairly impressed with the grounds of the resort given the remoteness of the island and the inherent challenges that comes with the humidity. They have just added (sometime in 2008) a lovely main bure with a nice bar and a deck where most meals are eaten. There is no beach actually attached to the resort - so you do have to motivate to paddle to the nearby island (15 minutes or so). Meals are served on a (mostly) fixed schedule - although they will keep your food for you if you for some reason miss it. As a fish-eating vegetarian - they did an excellent job feeding me. Most of the food was handmade and the most memorable dishes featured fresh fruit, produce from the organic garden, and whatever fish was caught that day (bit of luck required here) with some chilies thrown in for good measure. And I discovered that even fresh tuna gets tiring after three weeks! Although the toasted coconut chips served during happy hour never got old.
My stay was really made so enjoyable by the staff. When I came down with a bad cold on my second day (perfect for a diving vacation!) I was immediately force fed fresh pineapple and given a selection of sudafed from their personal stash to ease my suffering. Most of the guests that came through were friendly and fairly adventurous – and made for some enjoyable evenings. Due to the lack of electricity at night (bring a headlamp!), and the long days in the sea and sun, most people went to bed fairly early. The nights were normally hot and humid. There were usually lizards rustling the thatching, mosquitoes lurking around the netting with spiders waiting in anticipation, and occasionally a crab or some other creature would make its way into my bure. But that’s the fun of sleeping in the tropics! Luckily I could also hear the water and there was usually a breeze to help with the heat.
Overall, I had a fantastic stay at Matava. I loved the remoteness, the basic and natural feel of the place, the amazing staff, and the friends I made during my stay. So I recommend it for the adventurous people of the world that want a relaxing holiday with some good diving and fishing without the crowds or the frills and the expectations of fancy resorts.

If only we had known about Tripadvisor before we booked our honeymoon, we would not have chosen this resort. We left feeling that our stay was not about us having a memorable experience but rather we were there to support the life style choice of the owners.
The boat trip from Kandavu to the resort took over an hour, we were not told this and therefore had no water with us or sun block. As the boat has no shade we both burnt, not a great start to your honeymoon!
On arrival we found were greated by the wonderful Maggie, the rsorts saving grace, may he never change.
Whilst there we shared the resort with a couple who were clearly friends of the owners, consequently we felt excluded from conversation at meal times. It was almost like we had gate crashed a private house party.
We experienced some bad weather through our stay, not a problem, however the resort offers no comfortable place to sit and relax with a book or your i pod. No loungers, not even a cushion for the wooden chairs. We appreciate this is being run as an eco resort, but eco does not have to be uncomfortable.
As we were there to dive not fish, one of the owners Adrian, did not even give us the time of day. We did not have a single conversation wiht him in the whole 9 days we stayed.
This resort has the potential to offer its guests an amazing experience, however it has a very long way to go before it achieves this.

We spent the most amazing 5 days in early December at Matava's Eco Resort, Kadavu island, located next to the Great Barrier Astrolabe Reef. We chose the resort particularly for the game fishing as well as it being a small eco resort off the beaten track that only accommodates up to about 24 people. It was the first time my husband and I had stayed in an eco resort and we were not sure what to expect. If we had any doubts before arriving they were quickly dispelled as we were greeted so beautifully by one of the local staff at the resort who insisted on providing us with lunch at 3pm as she knew we would not have eaten due to our journey from the mainland. Other guests staying there also welcomed us with abundant information about Matava and we immediately felt part of a very special environment. The resort is cleverly designed with various thatched bures dotted throughout the beautiful garden. A central bar and dining area looks out over the water where we had drinks from a well stocked bar and shared our meals with the other guests, which was really fun. The food was outstanding with just about everything being locally produced from either the ocean or the vegetable garden located within the grounds. A favourite dish for us was Kokoda, (raw white fish cured in lime juice with garlic, chilli and coconut milk and no doubt some other secret ingredients). Being an eco resort electricity is generated by solar panels with a back up generator enabling guests to charge cameras etc. A lantern is provided for each guest to light the way back to your bure after dinner, with lights operating within the bure during the night.
The fishing was outstanding despite a false start on our first day with a total no show. The resort’s boat Bite Me is well equipped and special mention must go to Joe, an amusing fun loving Fijian whose local and general knowledge of fishing is exceptional. We were expertly guided on fishing adventures resulting in us landing large Spanish Mackerels, Barracudas and Yellowfin Tuna to name a few. These were taken back to the resort and prepared for the guests and they also provided meals for the locals living nearby. Additionally there is a catch and release policy in regards to certain species and of course there are size limits also.
Having not dived for years, I was a little nervous about taking the plunge after so long. However, due to the high standards in safety and in instruction at the resort I experienced a wonderful dive in what is known as Coral Wonderland, with crystal clear water, unbleached coral, beautiful sea creatures and the water temperature was like a warm bath.
Every member of staff that we met over the course of our stay was exceptional and leaving was very hard to do. Adrian, one of the resorts owners also made our time at Matava utterly enjoyable and relaxing and we will remember our short time there with superb and happy memories and we hope to return very soon.

We spent 3 weeks diving in Fiji. The first week, we went to Taveuni (touristy). The second week, we were on Vanua Levu (Dolphin Bay Divers Retreat), and the final week was at Matava on Kadavu.
Matava was the best of the 3 places by far. It's really beautiful, and the bures (cabins) have thached roofs and are very clean.
The food is cooked fresh each day. You can smell the freshly baked bread at 6am! Fresh everything! Lots of fresh, organic veggies from their own garden, and other foods brought in from the village just above the 'resort.' We went there to dive, and we had a fabulous time. The dive spots will not disappoint you; there are plenty of corals (soft & hard) and plentiful varieties of fishes. There's even a daytime manta dive which was wonderful. The dive masters, boat captains, and EVERYBODY at Matava go out of their way to help with anything you need. These folks know their waters like the back of their hands. Although electricity is through solar, the owner always had my batteries charged for me in plenty of time to put my camera and strobe together for each dive. It's a beautiful, though very isolated property, that I would recommend to any divers who are considering Fiji.