The Great Astrolabe reef was named when the French ship the Astrolabe ran aground in the 1800's. Running on the southern side of the island of Kadavu the Astrolabe reef is one of the world's largest barrier reefs. Being over 70km's long it offers a wide variety of diving for all levels of divers. In fact in a confined area it offers as much variety in coral and marine life as does the Great Barrier Reef which stretches for over 2000km. Tourists can expect some of the world's best diving all within a small area.