havecarryonwilltravel

Debbie is always apprehensive about night diving. She finds the darkness spooky. Jump into the water with no natural light and one of your senses disappears. The thing is you have a light. The light helps a bit but it still only hi-lights the area of the reef within the beam. What it does do is focus your attention on the hi-lit area.

We don’t do a lot of night dives but when we head to the Solomon Islands in a couple of weeks we will do a couple of night dives on the live a board. Part of the dive package here included a night dive so we take the opportunity to get used to the black water.

A giant stride into the water from the jetty. About a 5′ drop and splash. It takes a few more seconds to get relaxed than on a normal dive but we are soon below the surface with our lights on and swimming towards the reef. The house reef was devastated a few years ago when Cyclone Winston passed through so the substrate is mostly rock rubble. Not a very pretty backdrop.

We are not but a few meters into the dive and there is a rather strange creature lying on the bottom squiggling about. G is the dive master and he moves slow and does a thorough search of each patch of rock he passes by. There are 4 of us out this evening and we all scour the area looking for unusual things, things we do not see in the day, they only  come out at night.

A couple of nudibranchs, a couple of sleeping parrotfish, a swimming eel, and a crustacean or two. We only travel 50m or so then turn around and head back to the dock. It is a very peaceful dive, moving very slow, no current and no big group to bump into.

At the end of the dive Debbie is pleased, she enjoyed herself and the angst that comes from anticipating a night dive should be somewhat abated.

The first time we dove in open water was our open water exam in the waters north of Victoria, BC near Brentwood Bay. Surface intervals are always a good time to BS and the topic of boats was passed around. The dive master/boat owner mentioned it was not if a boat was going to fail it is a matter of when the boat was going to fail. Sometime in the next two days the boat failed. We were as far away from the dock as we were to go that day and kaput. There is a code among water craft that if you come across a vehicle in distress it is only common courtesy to help out. We eventually got a very slow tow back to the harbour.

The saying has to apply to dive gear. And it is my turn. The gear is exposed to salt water every time we dive. We have been diving a lot lately. I guess my gear has been subject to too much abuse. Everything was running smoothly and then my BCD will not hold air. On a regular dive it is not too much a problem as I can orally add little bits of air as required. One normally dumps a bit of air as the dive progresses and the tank empties and you ascend gradually and the air one does have expands and has greater lift. The time you need it is at the surface to remain afloat while waiting for the boat. Which again I could fill orally as it empties. But if for some reason the boat misses you and you have to spend huge amounts of time floating, it would be nice if not essential, to have a working, air holding BC.

The problem is a small valve on the inflation hose that closes and opens to let air in and out of the BCD. It is actually a schrader valve like the ones uses for car tires or for most bicycle tires. It has been sticking for some time and I have cleaned it a couple of times but this time I did not notice it was rusting. Snap, the pin that plunges to open the valve rusted through and broke off. The BCD will not hold air at all now. The shop here does not have a valve stem so I have to use a rental BCD. Don’t like the rental gear. It is nothing against the particular gear but it is not mine and the small differences are annoying.

Yesterday the fellow next to me hears air leaking when the tanks were turned on for our next dive. It was my gear. There is a small amount of air leaking from my pressure gauge. Not much, just enough to make it annoying. A quick try to repair it but the divers are going in the water and we have to abandon the repair attempt and put a plug in its place. I now have a computer that tells me the air I have in the tank so the gauge is not essential. When we arrive back at the dock the nice dive master helps me replace an O ring and it seems to stop the problem. Until the second dive the next day and the leak reappears. It is not bad so I just dive with the leak and I don’t think I lose a significant amount of dive time. I make it to the end of the dive and still have 600lbs. Again at the dive shop T and I attempt to remedy the problem and again without success. There is still a leak and I guess I will dive the next two dives and solve the problem when we get to Aus.

The Fijian  Gods have spoken once again only this time it is getting personal. The when has come and it is time to deal with salt and all it corrosive properties. When we get to Aus I will find out if it can be fixed cheaply or if it will cost me a fortune and a new BCD.

We motor further up the Rainbow Reef today to do three dives and have lunch on the boat. We finally find diving that compares to our expectations for Fiji.

The fish are more than abundant. A gazillion, at least. We see species we have not seen yet. A Blue Spotted Sting Ray, Ribbon Eel, Red-breasted Wrasse and Titan Trigger fish.

Ribbon Eel

The corals here are also varied, both in colour and type. It is spectacular looking at the colours as we drift by.

The dives today are all drift dives. We get dropped off in one spot, drift along and get picked up down the reef. We cross over the reef at one point  absolutely flying with the current. It is quite the adrenaline rush zooming over the coral, trying not to bump into everyone else. Once over the top we duck behind an outcropping and are immediately out of the current, where we can go at a leisurely pace.

Pennant Bannerfish

The water temperature is surprisingly cold. Again, expectations were a temperature above 80 C, maybe up to 82 C. Today, parts of the dive are a chilly 78 C, and because we are not exerting much energy, we both get cold. I am now seriously contemplating wearing my electric shirt under my wetsuits tomorrow to help keep me warm.

Today we experience Fiji diving reaching towards its best. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.

As we motor out to our first dive spot today, we spot a pygmy whale. I catch sight of its back as it comes up for air. We see a fin further away as he waves goodbye. A great start to the day!

At a dive site near the Volivoli, the dive boat cruises around with a pod of spinner dolphins while we oohed and aahed at their antics. It was a large pod with numerous babies. So graceful and sleek.

Black-saddle Toby

Our first night at the Paradise, as we were walking across the grass after supper (in the dark) to our room, my flashlight beam catches a frog sitting in our path. Not sure why, but I jumped as if the poor little frog was going to eat me. The frogs come out after dark and are spread out all over the yard. Kinda creepy but I am not jumping at them any more.

Juvenile Blue Stripe Eel

The are 3, or maybe 4, resident dogs on the resort. Very well behaved and friendly and not scary. They are Rhodesian Ridgebacks, originally from South Africa.

And of course the underwater wildlife is unique and wonderful. Pipefish, nudibranchs, anemone fish, class and starfish. The soft corals   are different than what we see in the Caribbean, more colourful (purple, pink, orange, yellow) and unique shapes.

The birds here twitter and squawk and provide us with amusement watching their flitting in and out of the dining room, hoping for a morsel of food.

Paradise Taveuni Resort……I think the resort is aptly named. It is an hour’s drive from the airport, half on paved road and half on very bumpy gravel road.

Our welcome sign outside our bure (room). We also had welcome foot rubs, as is the custom in Fiji. I applaud Murray for going along with it. I have super soft feet now!

The resort sits above the water where the breeze blows constantly. It is very different from the Volivoli architecturally and design wise. It is very open here, it feels like the guests are one big family, even though we each stay in our own bures. The dining area is open and small, but cozy and inviting.

The staff here is super friendly and everyone wants to learn our names. The view is incredible. So far, the food delicious. I think we will get used to being here very quickly.