The Drums in the Distance. The Fire Dancers, Fiji Bitter and Tiger Sharks Dominate the Trip. Thanks to all Who Attended and Beqa Lagoon Resort Staff and Dive Guides Who treated us Kindly.
Hollywood Divers, Fiji Dive Vacation was Originally Scheduled for Late 2020 and Cancelled due to the Original Covid 19 / Corona Virus. Fiji was then shut down to to Tourism and we weren’t sure when we would be able to travel again. Two more Postponements During 2021 because of covid and finally we had a solid date of May 19th 2022.
Fiji Opened Their Doors to Tourists in December 2021 and had Vaccine requirements in place for all those who wanted to travel and dive on it’s Beautiful Coral Bommies. Fiji like Many Other International Dive Destinations were Shut Down to outsiders. They Suffered Greatly and Scrambled to Open with a Framework of Requirements that also turned away many wary Travelers.
Luckily our group met all the requirements and no one tested positive upon our arrival. Everyone was able to make all scheduled dives each day and we also lucked out with the weather. Cyclone Gina Moved through the week of May 12 to 19th and caused lots of rough swell and high winds during the rare, out of season weather event. This caused some divers to sit out that week.
After an Amazing week of diving and activities we had three of our much loved divers, test positive for covid. This meant they were prohibited from travel and had to stay behind in Quaratine. No Diving, No Drinks at the Bar and not even a regular room to house in. Highly Frustrating way to end an otherwise lovely week of diving, eating, drinking and chilling with our fellow divers from Los Angeles, Houston, Vermont and Australia. Some of the folks from other groups had to also stay behind.
Lessons To live by, we would recommend travel insurance when you are going away for many reasons but covid is a major obstacle in some countries as of now.
Beqa Lagoon required Travel insurance to allow our trip to happen. I personally used Divers Alert Network Travel Insurance as well as the DAN Dive Accident Insurance. Additional extended stay charges would be a desirable feature of any travel insurance that you choose. Be sure to check the latest Travel Requirements and Covid testing Schedule of your Chosen Dive Boat or Resort. You also may want to ask if the dive staff, and resort Staff is regularly tested.
During our Dive Trip we saw hundreds of varied Corals and Fish. Plentiful Clown Fish, as shallow as 3 Feet Deep, Coral Bass and Lion Fish were spotted all over the reefs. Visibility was logged at 30 to 60 feet with the occasional 80 foot vis in dark blue hues. Giant Clams, Massive Sea Fans and Gelatinous Soft Corals on most dives gave us a satisfaction that one does not experience in other places.
We also did some Tiger Shark Diving and although its not really “diving” as you are sitting on your knees on a barren patch of sea floor waiting for large animals to swim near, you will need to monitor closely your gas supply as the 8 to 12 foot long Tiger Sharks come in. Many on our trip had never seen a shark larger than your standard Caribbean Nurse Shark but you could hear it in their voices as soon as we were all back on deck of the C-Harley Dive Boat. Tiger Sharks are the Second Largest Shark that I have had the pleasure to dive with and they are Physically and Mentally Impressive. See the Video for Images of these Beautifully Sculpted Fish.
Underwater Camera Gear was in Every Divers Bag and the Pics and Video didn’t disappoint.
Ford Suehiro using his Nauticam - Sony RX 100 MK-6 System, Ron Lagerlof Shooting his Glass Domed Gates Housing for Red Cam, Yuriy Kot was using his Black Magic 4K Pocket Cinema Cam with Nauticam Housing and many others using go pro or Kraken Underwater Equipment for IPhones. One of our Local Dive instructors, Mike Schlegel was shooting with his Nauticam Sony A7R System some days using Macro and some days wide. Love seeing his work.
I was experimenting with the Ikelite Housing for Olympus Tough Tg-6 Camera and attached Fcon-02 fisheye to zoom through 30 mm Macro lens and dome kit. I did not fully master the systems abilities but I was able to get many super wide fisheye shots and then in the very same area, zoom through and get a reasonably close shot of a Clown Anemone Fish as they danced and darted about.
We are happy to answer questions about Fiji Diving as this was our Fourth Time to the Country with Nicest People you could ever meet. They really try hard to keep you busy and happy on your travels through their many lush green islands. Book a Trip and let us know if you need wetsuits, 82 Degree Seawater - 2 or 3 MM full wetsuit is reccomended and we can help with the solid choice and fit. Maybe you will even learn a few new skills as we did, How to make exotic drinks, food and how to cut open a coconut.
See the Fiji Video above Bula Vanaka.