FIJI TRIP REPORT (Waidroka bay dive resort)
Diving Fiji is to take the ultimate magical mystery tour.
A nation of over 300 islands with only about 1/3 occupied, Fiji offers a superb array of both hard and soft corals. You open the crayon box here to find every color vibrantly displayed in hundreds of fish, and soft corals bursting with every hue of the rainbow. Its hard coral selection is immense and spectacular. In some locations, it was difficult to find a space where something wasn't growing!
Our group of 18 started at Waidroka Bay Surf and Dive Resort. These were supposed to be our warm-up dives before heading to the Nai'a, Fiji's premier liveabord dive yacht. We adventured out to an area that has only been dived 4 times in the last 7 months. Conditions have to be perfect to make the hour and a half trek. As I plunged into the water, the view almost took my breath away. This was the most pristine, untouched site that I have experienced in years. Virtually every square inch of underwater real estate was covered by a huge variety of hard corals from small sprouts to table top corals spanning several feet! It was like being in Alice in Underland! What a warm-up dive!
Not to be outdone, our second day was the famous Beqa Shark dive. While tranquility ruled the previous day, we were in for high energy diving. Kneeling behind an artificial rock wall, we had an excellent view of the stage before us. I felt like I was seated at an amphitheater with the play about to begin. A few really big nurse sharks cruised before us. Then the really big boys joined in. Bull sharks! The guides descended onto the stage to begin the performance which consisted of moving a garbage can of food around. Large metal bins of bait were scattered along the bottom to keep them engaged. A mass of swimming, spiraling, circling sharks followed the food source. For all of its frenzied appearance, it was quite well organized.
The sharks knew food was coming when the bait can opened, so they put on a show to earn their just rewards. What an exciting spectacle!
On our last day of diving at Waidroka, we visited the Beqa Lagoon area, which has both hard and soft corals. What a beautiful mix of vibrant color, myriads of fish, and coral encrusted reefs and pinnacles. The fish in Fiji are amazingly colorful-if you are going to blend in with the kaleidoscope, then you have to dress in your flashiest outfit! What a sensory experience!
We ended our trip with a true Fijian cultural night. We were given traditional Fijian sulas to wear, partook in the kava drink ceremony, and enjoyed singing and dancing by our Fijian hosts. What a beautiful night to remember. Fiji is a nation comprised of beautiful people with rich cultural traditions. You will never meet a friendlier group, nor experience a higher level of true, sincere hospitality offered by these people.
We came as strangers and left as friends. It's the Fijian way.
A nation of over 300 islands with only about 1/3 occupied, Fiji offers a superb array of both hard and soft corals. You open the crayon box here to find every color vibrantly displayed in hundreds of fish, and soft corals bursting with every hue of the rainbow. Its hard coral selection is immense and spectacular. In some locations, it was difficult to find a space where something wasn't growing!
Our group of 18 started at Waidroka Bay Surf and Dive Resort. These were supposed to be our warm-up dives before heading to the Nai'a, Fiji's premier liveabord dive yacht. We adventured out to an area that has only been dived 4 times in the last 7 months. Conditions have to be perfect to make the hour and a half trek. As I plunged into the water, the view almost took my breath away. This was the most pristine, untouched site that I have experienced in years. Virtually every square inch of underwater real estate was covered by a huge variety of hard corals from small sprouts to table top corals spanning several feet! It was like being in Alice in Underland! What a warm-up dive!
Not to be outdone, our second day was the famous Beqa Shark dive. While tranquility ruled the previous day, we were in for high energy diving. Kneeling behind an artificial rock wall, we had an excellent view of the stage before us. I felt like I was seated at an amphitheater with the play about to begin. A few really big nurse sharks cruised before us. Then the really big boys joined in. Bull sharks! The guides descended onto the stage to begin the performance which consisted of moving a garbage can of food around. Large metal bins of bait were scattered along the bottom to keep them engaged. A mass of swimming, spiraling, circling sharks followed the food source. For all of its frenzied appearance, it was quite well organized.
The sharks knew food was coming when the bait can opened, so they put on a show to earn their just rewards. What an exciting spectacle!
On our last day of diving at Waidroka, we visited the Beqa Lagoon area, which has both hard and soft corals. What a beautiful mix of vibrant color, myriads of fish, and coral encrusted reefs and pinnacles. The fish in Fiji are amazingly colorful-if you are going to blend in with the kaleidoscope, then you have to dress in your flashiest outfit! What a sensory experience!
We ended our trip with a true Fijian cultural night. We were given traditional Fijian sulas to wear, partook in the kava drink ceremony, and enjoyed singing and dancing by our Fijian hosts. What a beautiful night to remember. Fiji is a nation comprised of beautiful people with rich cultural traditions. You will never meet a friendlier group, nor experience a higher level of true, sincere hospitality offered by these people.
We came as strangers and left as friends. It's the Fijian way.
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NEXT REPORT: DIVING ON THE INCREDIBLE NAI'A LIVEABOARD
