FIJI TRIP REPORT (Nai'a liveaboard week two)
at Our SportsCo group spent two weeks exploring the magic of Fiji, and nowhere is there a better experience than diving from the Nai'a, Fiji's premier live aboard vessel. Fiji offers world class diving, and the Nai'a got our divers to locations that shore based operations simply cannot access.
The diving was incredibly varied from pinnacles covered with fans. soft corals, and a profusion of fish to walls with schools of barracuda, trevally, snappers, and surprise encounters with mantas and schools of hammerhead sharks!
It was the density of the coral and the spectacular color that took my breath away. Soft corals reminded me of opening a box of crayons to find every color of the rainbow. And the marine life was just as diverse. Diving a pinnacle was a real treat. We would circle the formation, moving from the bottom to the top. The real reward was at the top of each pinnacle, only 15 - 20 feet deep. The tops were absolutely covered in multitudes of coral with marine residents finning about.
The variety of terrain was amazing. One location, named "the Whole Shebang" was just that. Swimming through a cut between two large formations, we exited into a magical stretch of coral gardens. Honestly, it was as if I had been suddenly transported to Gulliver's Travels, and I was toddling about Lilliput! Unusual, yet fascinating structures popped up everywhere. In one area I found the "pumpkin patch" of 9 large anemone balls in various stages of opening. Each one of them had their resident anemone fish darting in and out. They definitely won the award for the cutest fish in the ocean!
One of the highlights of the trip didn't involve diving. We made a visit to Makogai, the Nai'a's adopted village. I was last in this village two days after a 2016 cyclone had demolished almost every structure. It was quite moving to see the village in its recovered state complete with singing, dancing, and happy children. What a difference 8 years made.
Fiji was an experience I will remember for a long time. It's people, the culture. the unbelievable diving all made for an extraordinary adventure I won't forget.
The diving was incredibly varied from pinnacles covered with fans. soft corals, and a profusion of fish to walls with schools of barracuda, trevally, snappers, and surprise encounters with mantas and schools of hammerhead sharks!
It was the density of the coral and the spectacular color that took my breath away. Soft corals reminded me of opening a box of crayons to find every color of the rainbow. And the marine life was just as diverse. Diving a pinnacle was a real treat. We would circle the formation, moving from the bottom to the top. The real reward was at the top of each pinnacle, only 15 - 20 feet deep. The tops were absolutely covered in multitudes of coral with marine residents finning about.
The variety of terrain was amazing. One location, named "the Whole Shebang" was just that. Swimming through a cut between two large formations, we exited into a magical stretch of coral gardens. Honestly, it was as if I had been suddenly transported to Gulliver's Travels, and I was toddling about Lilliput! Unusual, yet fascinating structures popped up everywhere. In one area I found the "pumpkin patch" of 9 large anemone balls in various stages of opening. Each one of them had their resident anemone fish darting in and out. They definitely won the award for the cutest fish in the ocean!
One of the highlights of the trip didn't involve diving. We made a visit to Makogai, the Nai'a's adopted village. I was last in this village two days after a 2016 cyclone had demolished almost every structure. It was quite moving to see the village in its recovered state complete with singing, dancing, and happy children. What a difference 8 years made.
Fiji was an experience I will remember for a long time. It's people, the culture. the unbelievable diving all made for an extraordinary adventure I won't forget.
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NEXT REPORT: DIVING ON THE INCREDIBLE NAI'A LIVEABOARD
