Thursday, 27 December 2018
Thursday, 13 December 2018
Tuesday, 27 November 2018
Saturday, 3 November 2018
Diving Fiji – Visit The ‘Friendliest People On Earth
Fiji is a paradise destination with fantastic diving, and the hospitality to travelers has resulted in the country being coined as one of the friendliest in the world. Read on to find out more about this laid-back and welcoming liveaboard destination.
Where Is Fiji?
Fiji lies in the South Pacific Ocean, northeast of New Zealand, and consists of 333 tropical islands. Of these islands, only 110 are inhabited and the others are largely untouched. Fiji is known for soft coral diving, white-sand beaches, and pristine natural environments.
What Are The Main Areas For Diving?
Strong currents flow around the islands of Fiji, bringing nutrient-rich water to dive sites that result in a variety of dives and marine life to experience. There are a number of different island to dive and highlights include:
Yasawa Islands
The Yasawa Islands are the driest and warmest area of Fiji, with sunshine almost all year long. Naviti Island has a unique dive at Babylon Caves, where divers can explore a cave complex, a reef-capped wall, and spot manta rays. Barefoot Manta, just south of the Yasawas, is a popular island to visit for manta ray encounters from May to October each year and is also home to some of the best coral gardens in Fiji. A visit to the Yasawas wouldn’t be complete without also visiting Nanuya Lailai Island; the setting for the famous Blue Lagoon movies of 1949 and 1980.
Gau Island
Gau Island, or the Amazon of the Seas, has incredible biodiversity and is the fifth largest island in the Fijian archipelago. This special island has a fringing reef on its north and east coasts, with a barrier reef off the west and south coasts creating a large lagoon. Gau Island is usually visited as part of a multi-stop Fiji diving itinerary and is not to be missed. Shark Fin Point is the place to go for eagle rays, reef sharks and plentiful fish life, whilst Koro Gardens is covered in hard corals.
Ngali Passage
The Ngali Passage is a beautiful and exciting dive with just a 3-hour window for diving, outside of which the current exceeds 4 knots and the visibility is low. Divers drop into the swift current and ride it through a passage, which is around 20 meters long and resembles a sandy road. The steep walls of the passage are covered in hard and soft corals and the water is full of barracuda, whitetip reef, and grey reef sharks. There is a coral ledge within the passage for spotting more sharks and other marine life, before letting go and flowing with the current into the coral-filled lagoon.
Somosomo Strait
The vertical walls of the Somosomo Strait are washed by strong currents and offer great wall and drift diving. The area is known for its colorful soft corals and large bushes of white, brown, pink and orange corals appear when the current is running. Purple Wall is true to its name and is covered in purple soft corals, plus whip corals and sea fans. The Great White Wall is one of Fiji’s most famous dives. This wall and drift dive has a large concentration of white soft corals that give the appearance of a wall of snow and is a dive not to be missed. The Purple and Great White walls are accessible by Somosomo Strait liveaboard diving.
Namena Marine Reserve
Located between the main islands Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, this beautiful 70 square kilometer reef has incredible marine biodiversity and consists of both Namena Island and the horseshoe-shaped barrier reef. Thanks to the chiefs of the region Kubulau, a total ban on fishing was placed in 1997, after an increase in commercial fishing in the 80’s and 90’s when a serious threat on Namena Reef was foreseen. There are numerous dive sites to explore at the reserve and marine life highlights include pipefish, nudibranchs, unicorn fish, garden eels, barracuda, reef sharks and even occasional hammerhead sharks.
Who Is The Diving Suitable For?
Fiji diving is suitable for all divers and is a destination that can be enjoyed by less experienced Open Water divers and experienced divers. Some liveaboards, such as the Fiji Aggressor, have no requirement for a minimum number of logged dives. Whilst currents can be strong at some dive sites, others are relatively easy.
When To Visit Fiji
It is possible to dive all year long at Fiji. Visibility is best from July to December when the water is coolest at 22 – 25m and visibility can exceed 40 meters. Summer in Fiji is from November to April, which is the rainy season with water temperatures of 28 – 30 ?. Visibility is variable during summer due to plankton blooms, which attract large pelagics such as manta rays and whales. September is a particularly good month to visit as it is the tail end of winter and the humidity and heat are comfortable.
How To Get To Fiji
Nadi International Airport is the main airport of Fiji and has daily domestic flights to other islands. Nausori Airport is Fiji’s second international airport and lies on the eastern side of Viti Levu.
Useful Phrases To Know
Whilst English is the official language of Fiji, it is worth knowing a few local phrases when visiting this friendly archipelago.
- Bula – To greet people or say hello.
- Vinaka – Thank you
- Vinaka vaka levu – Thank you very much
- Moce – Goodbye
- Kerekere – Please
https://www.deeperblue.com/diving-fiji-visit-the-friendliest-people-on-earth/
Diving Fiji – Visit The ‘Friendliest People On Earth’
Wednesday, 10 October 2018
Fiji - Scuba Diving with Turtles
Night muck dive under the Korean Wharf, Taveuni
H went for fun 1hr 20mins night muck dive under the Korean Wharf, Taveuni, courtesy of Juho, dive instructor at Garden Island Resort.
H is not certain of octopus species - MAY BE JUVENILE COMMON OCTOPUS, OR REAL ALGAE OCTOPUS.
Thoughts? :)
H is not certain of octopus species - MAY BE JUVENILE COMMON OCTOPUS, OR REAL ALGAE OCTOPUS.
Thoughts? :)
Friday, 5 October 2018
Thursday, 4 October 2018
Rainbow Reef - SOFT CORAL CAPITAL OF FIJI
https://spark.adobe.com/page/q1pWeKnU307Sv/
The Somosomo Straits are a magical natural wonder created between the Fiji Islands of Vanua Levu and Taveuni.
Ocean Currents funnel nutrients which permit soft corals to flourish in the Straits
This creates the Soft Coral Capital of Fiji, THE RAINBOW REEF
The colors of the Soft Coral form its Rainbow
From Pastel Yellow and Pink
Images- r seidman
The Somosomo Straits are a magical natural wonder created between the Fiji Islands of Vanua Levu and Taveuni.
Ocean Currents funnel nutrients which permit soft corals to flourish in the Straits
This creates the Soft Coral Capital of Fiji, THE RAINBOW REEF
The colors of the Soft Coral form its Rainbow
From Pastel Yellow and Pink
Images- r seidman
Sunday, 30 September 2018
Manta rays feed using ricochet separation, a novel nonclogging filtration mechanism Raj V. Divi1, James A. Strother2,* and E. W. Misty Paig-Tran1,* See all authors and affiliations Science Advances 26 Sep 2018: Vol. 4, no. 9, eaat9533 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aat9533 Article
http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/4/9/eaat9533?utm_campaign=toc_advances_2018-09-28&et_rid=17045989&et_cid=2397960
Thursday, 13 September 2018
Scuba Diving Fiji - Savusavu
A short teaser of whats to come, I had a couple of amazing dives while I was in Savusavu. Thank you so much Andy from Jean-Michel Cousteau's for having me on your boat.
Saturday, 8 September 2018
Leveraging PADI Travel for Your Group Trips by PADI Asia Pacific
You already know that travel and scuba diving go hand in hand. You probably also know that the majority of scuba divers will take multiple international dive trips during their lifetimes. Using this fact to your advantage and offering group travel opportunities to your customers can spell success for your business.
Benefits of Organizing Group Trips
Embedding travel into your business is a proven way to engage new divers and to keep certified divers active. The promise of getting to use new skills and explore new places encourages divers to enroll in more courses and buy more equipment. Successful PADI Dive Centers sell group trips to fascinating scuba diving destinations to leverage their customers’ desire for adventure. Group trips fuel engagement by building a community of travelers who are loyal to your business. This makes dive travel a win-win for everyone involved.
Why Organize Group Trips Through PADI Travel?
Luckily, you don’t have to go it alone when it comes to booking group travel. Partner with PADI Travel for your trips and get access to:
• Unbeatable group discounts – PADI Travel offers the best prices and terms around. As a global, wholesale travel agency with significant reach and purchasing power, PADI Travel is able to pass on competitive rates and terms to you when you book group trips. You have access to unbeatable group discounts (a.k.a. commissions) through PADI Travel that you can decide to pass on to your customers or to increase your margins.
• Special deals – The PADI Travel team negotiates special deals that may include anything from free enriched air nitrox fills to significant overall discounts. You can save big by securing available special offers on your next trip.
• Extra spots – One of our most popular promotions for group trips booked through PADI Travel is extra spots. Sometimes there are free cabins, rooms, equipment or other special terms for large group bookings. Again, you can decide how to manage these extras – increase your margins or pass spots on to your customers or staff.
• Diver medical insurance – Every diver in your group will benefit from the complementary diver medical insurance offered with each booking. This means reduced extra costs and more savings for your group.
Additional Benefits
If you end up with unfilled spots on your trip, PADI Travel can help you fill them. The future PADI Travel Marketplace will have global reach and help divers connect with you in order to fill your trips.
As an added benefit, PADI Travel acts as your personal tour operator. If any problems should arise prior to departure or after your customers are on the ground, the PADI Travel team will be in charge of handling issues. The 24/7 world-class customer support team is on hand not only to help you organize and fine tune your group trip, but also to deal with any problems or questions that may occur at any point. This essentially removes many of the hassles associated with organizing travel and reduces your personal workload.
You also can take advantage of the PADI Travel team of scuba travel experts to improve your knowledge of the world’s top dive destinations. Use this information to advise customers and increase your bookings. PADI Travel can help you organize, market and run successful group trips across the globe. Simply ask for a nonbinding quote the next time you organize a trip and discover new ways to thrill your customers.
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