Travel Log - Fiji - Day 7

Overnight, the Nai’a sailed south, and we dropped anchor early this morning just off of Gau Island. We dove a couple of beautiful sites in the morning, but we had to wait until the afternoon to dive what we really came here for: the Nigali Passage. We tried to time our two dives in the passage just right by waiting for a slack tide when the current was at its weakest as well as when it was flowing inward rather than back out to sea. This narrow passage is home to several schools of barracuda as well some White Tip Sharks, but most importantly it is also a natural breeding ground for Grey Reef Sharks.

Tomorrow we head back north to visit a local village…

Travel Log - Fiji - Day 6

Since we are staying in the Namena Marine Reserve for a second day, we didn’t travel last night, so the crew threw us a kava part on deck with plenty of songs, laughter and flowing kava. Kava is the national drink of Fiji and is used for recreation as well as in formal ceremonies. A kava ceremony is how Fijians invite any visitors (including other Fijians) into their local villages. Kava is non-alcoholic, however it is mildly sedative. After your first bowl, your lips and tongue will start to tingle. If you continue to drink enough bowls of it, after a while you may begin to feel lethargic. The effects do not last and there isn’t really a “hangover” to speak of.

We had another great day of diving. This grumpy looking fellow is a Leaf Scorpionfish. Like any scorpion fish, it has spines which will inject a painful toxin if you touch them, so don’t touch. This is a good idea for any dive because most SCUBA related injuries occur when divers touch something they shouldn’t. Most things that will hurt you (like this scorpion fish) are easily camouflaged or not obvious that it is dangerous. So as a general diving rule, don’t touch!

Tomorrow we sail south for more adventure…

Travel Log - Fiji - Day 5

The sound of the anchor winch motor and the dropping of the anchor itself shook me out of bed early this morning as we arrived at the Namena Marine Reserve where we will spend the next two days. Fortunately, the crew time the overnight travel so that we always arrive in the early morning just in time to start the day. This cacophony of sound and vibrations has become our wake up call.

Before each dive, I find myself second guessing whether to use my wide angle or macro lens on my camera. It is very time consuming to swap between them, and I can’t use both during a single dive, so I have to choose. I usually like to shoot wide angle during the late morning and early afternoon dives because that is when the sun is highest in the sky and then shoot macro for the rest, but sometimes I mix it up. And, sometimes mother nature decides for you and gives you cloudy skies and rain all day, so you stick with macro.

Even though this photograph is technically not “macro”, I used that lens to get a tighter framing on this clown fish hiding inside the anemone.

Travel Log - Fiji - Day 4

Sometime early this morning we arrived at Vatu-i-ra: a reef system in the north-west area of the Bligh Water. Fiji is known for its abundance of soft corals, and it does not disappoint. Every time I come back here, I am amazed at the sheer volume of reds, oranges, yellows and purples as well as the vast schools of fish swarming over the reef that can at times make it hard to see. Other places I have visited have beautiful reefs, but Fiji outshines them all.

After a full day of diving, tonight we hoist anchor and sail east to the Namena Marine Reserve.

Travel Log - Fiji - Day 3

Today is a travel day. We left the resort and took another 3 hour bus ride back up the west coast of the island to Nadi where we picked up a few friends who just flew in. We then continued on up to Lautoka where we boarded the Nai’a. The Nai’a is essentially a live-aboard dive resort. We will spend the next 7 days on the Nai’a eating, sleeping, SCUBA diving and doing very little else. This afternoon we took a short one and half hour ride out to a nearby reef to do a “check-out” dive. Basically it is to make sure everyone’s gear is in order and to get acquainted with the logistics of how this vessel operates. The Nai’a then returned to port to finish resupplying for the week as well as to pick up some replacement crew members.

Sometime later this evening after everyone has gone to bed, the vessel will leave port and head north east hugging the coast toward the Bligh Water. The Bligh Water is the straight between the two largest islands of Fiji: Viti Levu & Vanua Levu. It is named after William Bligh (Mutiny on the Bounty). The story goes that after the mutiny and being set adrift with his men, they passed through this straight, but Bligh refused to let any of his men go ashore on any of the nearby islands due to the notoriety of the locals as being cannibals. He did however insist that they do their duty as good English sailors and continued to chart and record any newly discovered shallow reefs they encountered.

Tomorrow will be our first full day of diving.

Travel Log - Fiji - Day 2

Sharks! And lots of them!

Today we went diving for sharks with Aqua-Trek Beqa Dive Center. They took us out to Beqa Island where they have a setup for diving with sharks. We saw dozens of different sharks as well as different species of sharks. I saw more different species of shark than I have ever seen at any one time before. The vast majority of the sharks we saw were Bull Sharks along with Lemon Sharks, Nurse Sharks, Silver Tip Sharks, White Tip Sharks, Grey Reef Sharks, and a few others. The star of the show was a single Tiger Shark that the dive guides have named “Survivor”. She was the only shark that seemed to show any interest in the divers and would regularly do passes directly over our heads. (I had to duck several times.) But, the dive guides were right there to make sure she didn’t get too rambunctious.

Tomorrow we head back to Nadi and onto the next part of our adventure.

Travel Log - Fiji - Day 1

We have arrived in Nadi, Fiji. It is very early morning around 5am, but our trip today is not finished yet. We immediately boarded a bus for an additional 3 hours south along the Queens Road to Pacific Harbor and the Uprising Beach Resort. We spent the rest of the day relaxing and adjusting to the time change.

I knew before leaving that we would be arriving here during a new moon, and luck gave us a clear sky. The stars were out in all their brilliance. I took this photograph from the pathway outside my villa. It was shot using a Canon M5 and the EF-M11-22mm lens mounted on a Gorillapod flexible tripod. I packed light and didn't have my big camera with me. Sometimes you have to make due with what you have available.

Tomorrow we dive for sharks!

Travel Log - Prelude - Day 0

I am on another adventure with my friends from Lone Star Scuba. We arrive early Thursday morning, at which time I will start posting daily updates of our trip. Yes, I am skipping Wednesday because technically we lose an entire day due to the time change, but we get it back when we return. You will need to return on Thursday to find out exactly where we are going, but I will give you a hint: I took this photograph out the airplane window at 40,000 feet and titled it, "Dawn Above the South Pacific".

Stay tuned...

Photograph of the Week

Fresh coconuts in Fiji.

Photograph of the Week

Not much going on here. Just an atmospheric shot of some light rays streaming into an underwater cavern in the Cayman Islands.