Diving Fiji - take 2 — Lisa's (& Steve's) Travels

On our way back from New Zealand, we stopped off in Fiji to collect our dive gear and go diving again for another week. This time we stayed at a new-to-us resort on a small island off the island of Kadavu (SE of the main island, Viti Levu).

Amazingly, we were the only guests!

They had been busy just before we came, and were going to be full the week after we left, but we happened to arrive in a magic window. It was really rough. ;)

The first day we went diving, I was happy with my pictures…

… despite having my only remaining strobe decide to not work.

This is an endemic Fiji Anemonefish:

Well, that was to be the last diving for me.

I developed skin bends again about an hour after our third dive. I had done everything right regarding depth and time limits, but my body is extremely sensitive to nitrogen absorption, especially if I use air, rather than Nitrox, which is an enhanced oxygen mixture (not available on that island). So…Steve continued diving while I snorkeled. I recovered just fine (after breathing oxygen for an hour).

I still got some pretty neat pics - like this Lemonpeel Angelfish, that I could never capture while breathing noisily with scuba -

At first it was very frustrating for me to be above everything, when all I wanted to do was be down in all the coral and poking around, seeing eye to eye with the fishes.

I floated right over this brain coral…

… and got to see plenty of colorful fish and corals -

And when we found this Zebra Shark (another first for us!)…

… I handed my camera down to the guide with Steve (in the picture above with his GoPro on an extension stick), and he got this shot as it swam right by him -

In between dives, we’d stop at an uninhabited island for about an hour to allow the divers to blow off some nitrogen -

Our favorite sites were on a submerged volcano that collapsed on itself thousands of years ago…

hard and soft coral, as well as schooling anthias

… that I can’t begin to show its massiveness (is that a word?), but I can share some more fish -

yes, that’s Scar! (for those of you who saw “Finding Nemo”)

I did a happy dance/swim when I saw this family of Dory’s -

can you count all the Palette Surgeonfish (Dory)?

I’ve never seen that many EVER in a group like that. They’re usually solitary -

On our last day we were treated to a traditional Pacific Island fish barbecue using palm branches for tongs…

… and serving platters -

During the week we had also gotten to enjoy lovo, which is Fijian “underground” cooking with hot rocks. First they heat the beach rocks in a fire of palm wood…

… lay a grill of fresh palm wood…

… layer the various meats (fish, chicken, pork, lamb) and vegetables (taro, sweet potatoes and yucca), and start to cover with banana leaves…

… as well as coconut palm leaves…

… then cover with wet burlap and a tarp…

… and cook for about an hour and a half, while we enjoyed a Kava ceremony -

Kava is a drink that we have had multiple times on our visits to Fiji, bur have never liked much. It tastes like muddy water with sticks thrown in. Kadavu Island kava is actually amazing. It was clean tasting, and gave your tongue and lips a pleasant tingling sensation. It’s a major social scene in Fiji, and to be a courteous guest, you must partake in drinking a few bowls (3-4 oz each) or you risk being rude.

The dinner was delicious, and I enjoyed the full moon…

… as well as the sunrise the next morning -

When we left, we were dropped off by the boat on the beach and walked over to the airport…

… and enjoyed our last views of the island from the plane -

(this was taken on the main island in Fiji)

Talk about a fringing reef -

Oh! I almost forgot our favorite moments of the trip. On several occasions we snorkeled with Mantas at a cleaning station, and Steve got a great video on our last day.

(as usual, click on the link at the end of the post, “Read in browser” to see this video)

From Steve (sneaking in for a last minute edit): My Travel Agent/Lisa did a great job on this trip. After talking to others along the way who were disappointed at being unable to make last minute bookings or RV/car rentals, the advance planning was critical. Reservations at 22 AirBnBs in NZ, 2 dive resorts and a hotel in Fiji, 1 youth hostel, and a wilderness lodge made things seamless. She also made many dinner reservations at popular restaurants. As a result, the trip was very easy, (But, rest assured, most New Zealand wineries can be done on a walkup basis!)

Bye for now!