Scared Silly
Contributor
In mid June I did some last minute research and a few mouse clicks away my spouse and I found ourselves on a flight to Fiji at the end of June for three weeks.
The particulars:
We flew Fiji Airlines out of LAX. We booked directly as after flying into Nadi as we continued on to Taveuni. We bought the value ticket that allowed one checked bag but no seat selection. We just rolled the dice as it really did not matter as they were red-eye flights. Fiji Airlines allows 30kg for baggage whereas most US based airlines the limit is 23kg. At LAX they also weighed our carryon. Mine was well over the 7kg limit but when I said it was cameras and electronics they were fine with that. For the domestic flights they weighed us with our carryon (smaller planes with smaller load limits).
The Nadi Airport is easy to navigate, though the domestic terminal is much smaller. We spent some quality time there waiting for our flight to Taveuni. The hot lunch take-a-way is good. One can get money from the ATM inside the main terminal.
On Taveuni we stayed at the Maravu Lodge for 4 nights. We used that as an opportunity to get over any jet lag and as chance to see the island. The lodge has a-la-carte meals via separate restaurant. We did a coast walk from Lavena (arrange via the lodge) and on our own a day tour of the date line (which was fun because we have also been to Greenwich), the Waitavala Waterslide (a natural waterslide, we swam but did not slide), Catholic Church, we also took our driver, Harry to lunch.
Now about our driver, Harry. Our day with him was good fun. A very gregarious person that everyone seemed to know (Taveuni is not a big island). As we drove by others he would greet them with rolling tongue "Brrrr" with getting that back in return with a wave. The next day we saw him while getting ready to depart for the drive for the coastal walk. Then the following day as we were walking to the store he pasted by us greeting us with a "Brrrr"and insisted on giving us a ride to the store and back. The early morning we moved dove to Taveuni Dive Resort he drove us. The co-incidental part is that his son-in-law is the captain for the Nia'a. A bit more on that latter.
Note Fijians are very friendly to folks as we were greeted with "Bula" everywhere we went.
We dived for five days at Taveuni Dive Resort. A stellar operation. As we were already on the island we dove with them the morning of our stay (most arrive then dive the next day, we dropped our bags off and went diving). Which meant being there by 7am as the boat leaves promptly at 8am. We arrived with enough time we were served a light breakfast before leaving. We timed our stay so we could dive the White Wall which we did twice. The reefs and the diving were good. A nice variety and good visibility. The dive crew were all locals and very personable and fun, usually a driver and two dive guides (one in the front and one in the rear). One would come up with those low on air first, with the other remaining with the others. They did an excellent job finding small critters including pygmy seahorses. The resort crew were also excellent (the resort is all-inclusive). One is well cared for there. The operation is certainly one of the finest I have dove and stayed with. And one I would highly recommend.
A few notes: we booked directly with the resort. Jon was most helpful as our stay we slightly out of the norm by diving the first day. The wifi is limited to the main area and not in the bures. Which is fine - one needs to unplug. And the bures do not have AC, only fans - which again is fine. We found a few mornings to be a bit cool.
After nine days on Taveuni we head back to Nadi for a four day tour of the island. We rented a car and headed south. Spending a morning at the Sigatoka Sand Dunes and an afternoon walk to the Biausevu Waterfall. The sand dunes were great, go in the morning when it is cooler and do the long walk. The waterfall walk was a bit "industrial" but the money supports the local villages. After that we drove into the interior to the village of Navala, which has many traditional wood/grass bures. The village was in the process was building four new bures so the visit was nice in those regards. I was able to visit the inside of one that was just finished and enjoy some kava with the men (women do not help, so men only). Without the building I am not sure the visit would be worth the effort given as one does not go inside and there are traditional bures elsewhere on the island (we saw two others in the village of Cuvu). One does pay to enter the village as well as presenting a gift (kava root). Also note that one is driving on dirt roads for some time as the village an hour south of Ba and three hours north of Sigatoka (two hours of dirt roads).
After that we had a couple of down days with just a visit to the Garden of the Sleeping Giant. It was established after Raymond Burr died as he had large orchid collection. Definitely worth the visit. But again go early in the am before the hoards of tourists arrive.
Next was a seven day/night stay on the Nia'a live-a-board. We dropped the car off and were picked up at the airport for the 30 minute shuttle to the boat. As we got on the live-a-board the whole crew was there to greet us. As I double checked with my wife that the captain's name was Angus I noticed one of the crew members ears perked up. I asked, if he was Angus. Sure enough he was. We introduced ourselves, and said we spent last week with his father-in-law. He warmly greeted us as already knew about our arrival as they had talked. We laughed when he said his father-in-law was a quiet man.
The diving was all centered around the Bligh Straight. A nice enough variety of sites for the six days of diving but not as much variety as one might have wanted. All-in-all what I would consider solid diving with some deep wall, some structures, or a bit of everything. We did not have the best visibility except the first day at Grand Central Station (we dived that site two mornings). Diving consisted of three day dives and three night dives. I did one of the night dives using my florescent-light but skipped the other two night dives as I was not seeing enough to make the effort as the first dive of the day was at 7am (a couple were at 6:30am). The boat often moved during the night so getting quality sleep was not easy.
A few highlights, the manta cleaning station did not disappoint as we had five different reef mantas come in multiple times. The second day at Grand Central Station we had two hammerheads swim by. It was hilarious as our group was first in and headed to the edge to look into the deep. My wife and I were a bit away out more in the flats. I was looking back at the Arch and noticed the other group had dropped in. About that time two hammerheads swam by between the second group and the first group but basically right under us. The first group was looking out at the blue so they did not realize what had just swam behind them. Other highlights were whip coral shrimp, frog fish, and pygmy sea horses.
A few notes: we booked via Dive Advice. I have used them in the past and highly recommend them. The Nia'a as a live-a-board boat I would give 4/5, the crew and food 5/5. A solid live-a-board and operation.
However, what really makes the Nia'a live-a-board is the crew and the cultural experience (all of the crew are Fijian except for the two cruise directors). The crew wants to share some of their Fijian culture with visitors. There is a small village tour and dance presentation by the kids with a kava ceremony. The end with the kids was great fun (left as an exercise for the next diver). However, for me personally was the evening I spent hanging out with some of the crew and captain. Their day was done so they had their guitars out and singing both traditional Fijian songs as well as American tunes. And of course drinking kava. I was out on the dive deck and they invited me to join them. Initially I was going to head to bed but decided the hang with them. I am glad I did as I was the only guest to do so. The fun was sharing pictures of my home with them. The expression on their faces was great when I told them that in the winter the mountains I ski in get 20 meters of snow, and then explaining and showing yo-yo skiing. And while Fiji is known for its many waterfalls, that in winter ours were frozen and showing pictures of ice climbing. All-in-all a great interaction which made the trip very much worth while.
One picture - probably my best of the trip which is not all that great.
The particulars:
We flew Fiji Airlines out of LAX. We booked directly as after flying into Nadi as we continued on to Taveuni. We bought the value ticket that allowed one checked bag but no seat selection. We just rolled the dice as it really did not matter as they were red-eye flights. Fiji Airlines allows 30kg for baggage whereas most US based airlines the limit is 23kg. At LAX they also weighed our carryon. Mine was well over the 7kg limit but when I said it was cameras and electronics they were fine with that. For the domestic flights they weighed us with our carryon (smaller planes with smaller load limits).
The Nadi Airport is easy to navigate, though the domestic terminal is much smaller. We spent some quality time there waiting for our flight to Taveuni. The hot lunch take-a-way is good. One can get money from the ATM inside the main terminal.
On Taveuni we stayed at the Maravu Lodge for 4 nights. We used that as an opportunity to get over any jet lag and as chance to see the island. The lodge has a-la-carte meals via separate restaurant. We did a coast walk from Lavena (arrange via the lodge) and on our own a day tour of the date line (which was fun because we have also been to Greenwich), the Waitavala Waterslide (a natural waterslide, we swam but did not slide), Catholic Church, we also took our driver, Harry to lunch.
Now about our driver, Harry. Our day with him was good fun. A very gregarious person that everyone seemed to know (Taveuni is not a big island). As we drove by others he would greet them with rolling tongue "Brrrr" with getting that back in return with a wave. The next day we saw him while getting ready to depart for the drive for the coastal walk. Then the following day as we were walking to the store he pasted by us greeting us with a "Brrrr"and insisted on giving us a ride to the store and back. The early morning we moved dove to Taveuni Dive Resort he drove us. The co-incidental part is that his son-in-law is the captain for the Nia'a. A bit more on that latter.
Note Fijians are very friendly to folks as we were greeted with "Bula" everywhere we went.
We dived for five days at Taveuni Dive Resort. A stellar operation. As we were already on the island we dove with them the morning of our stay (most arrive then dive the next day, we dropped our bags off and went diving). Which meant being there by 7am as the boat leaves promptly at 8am. We arrived with enough time we were served a light breakfast before leaving. We timed our stay so we could dive the White Wall which we did twice. The reefs and the diving were good. A nice variety and good visibility. The dive crew were all locals and very personable and fun, usually a driver and two dive guides (one in the front and one in the rear). One would come up with those low on air first, with the other remaining with the others. They did an excellent job finding small critters including pygmy seahorses. The resort crew were also excellent (the resort is all-inclusive). One is well cared for there. The operation is certainly one of the finest I have dove and stayed with. And one I would highly recommend.
A few notes: we booked directly with the resort. Jon was most helpful as our stay we slightly out of the norm by diving the first day. The wifi is limited to the main area and not in the bures. Which is fine - one needs to unplug. And the bures do not have AC, only fans - which again is fine. We found a few mornings to be a bit cool.
After nine days on Taveuni we head back to Nadi for a four day tour of the island. We rented a car and headed south. Spending a morning at the Sigatoka Sand Dunes and an afternoon walk to the Biausevu Waterfall. The sand dunes were great, go in the morning when it is cooler and do the long walk. The waterfall walk was a bit "industrial" but the money supports the local villages. After that we drove into the interior to the village of Navala, which has many traditional wood/grass bures. The village was in the process was building four new bures so the visit was nice in those regards. I was able to visit the inside of one that was just finished and enjoy some kava with the men (women do not help, so men only). Without the building I am not sure the visit would be worth the effort given as one does not go inside and there are traditional bures elsewhere on the island (we saw two others in the village of Cuvu). One does pay to enter the village as well as presenting a gift (kava root). Also note that one is driving on dirt roads for some time as the village an hour south of Ba and three hours north of Sigatoka (two hours of dirt roads).
After that we had a couple of down days with just a visit to the Garden of the Sleeping Giant. It was established after Raymond Burr died as he had large orchid collection. Definitely worth the visit. But again go early in the am before the hoards of tourists arrive.
Next was a seven day/night stay on the Nia'a live-a-board. We dropped the car off and were picked up at the airport for the 30 minute shuttle to the boat. As we got on the live-a-board the whole crew was there to greet us. As I double checked with my wife that the captain's name was Angus I noticed one of the crew members ears perked up. I asked, if he was Angus. Sure enough he was. We introduced ourselves, and said we spent last week with his father-in-law. He warmly greeted us as already knew about our arrival as they had talked. We laughed when he said his father-in-law was a quiet man.
The diving was all centered around the Bligh Straight. A nice enough variety of sites for the six days of diving but not as much variety as one might have wanted. All-in-all what I would consider solid diving with some deep wall, some structures, or a bit of everything. We did not have the best visibility except the first day at Grand Central Station (we dived that site two mornings). Diving consisted of three day dives and three night dives. I did one of the night dives using my florescent-light but skipped the other two night dives as I was not seeing enough to make the effort as the first dive of the day was at 7am (a couple were at 6:30am). The boat often moved during the night so getting quality sleep was not easy.
A few highlights, the manta cleaning station did not disappoint as we had five different reef mantas come in multiple times. The second day at Grand Central Station we had two hammerheads swim by. It was hilarious as our group was first in and headed to the edge to look into the deep. My wife and I were a bit away out more in the flats. I was looking back at the Arch and noticed the other group had dropped in. About that time two hammerheads swam by between the second group and the first group but basically right under us. The first group was looking out at the blue so they did not realize what had just swam behind them. Other highlights were whip coral shrimp, frog fish, and pygmy sea horses.
A few notes: we booked via Dive Advice. I have used them in the past and highly recommend them. The Nia'a as a live-a-board boat I would give 4/5, the crew and food 5/5. A solid live-a-board and operation.
However, what really makes the Nia'a live-a-board is the crew and the cultural experience (all of the crew are Fijian except for the two cruise directors). The crew wants to share some of their Fijian culture with visitors. There is a small village tour and dance presentation by the kids with a kava ceremony. The end with the kids was great fun (left as an exercise for the next diver). However, for me personally was the evening I spent hanging out with some of the crew and captain. Their day was done so they had their guitars out and singing both traditional Fijian songs as well as American tunes. And of course drinking kava. I was out on the dive deck and they invited me to join them. Initially I was going to head to bed but decided the hang with them. I am glad I did as I was the only guest to do so. The fun was sharing pictures of my home with them. The expression on their faces was great when I told them that in the winter the mountains I ski in get 20 meters of snow, and then explaining and showing yo-yo skiing. And while Fiji is known for its many waterfalls, that in winter ours were frozen and showing pictures of ice climbing. All-in-all a great interaction which made the trip very much worth while.
One picture - probably my best of the trip which is not all that great.
