Part Two
After four short days at Hideaway, we hopped back in the car and made our way back to the airport for the short flight to Taveuni. We had carefully re-packed our luggage and gear into just one checked bag (large Akona roller), one carryon (bookbag) and one "personal item" (laptop bag for my buddy and large fanny pack for me) apiece. The checked bag, according to Air Pacific regulations, was to be no heavier than 44 pounds (normally less, but we got extra allowance since we were diving) and the carryons no bigger than roughly 11 pounds. Okay, we were a little (not by much) over and I was expecting to pay through the nose for the overage. When we checked in for our flight, they weighed each checked bag, tagged them and sent them on through without any overage fee. Then, much to my horrible shame, they weighed each of us carrying our hand luggage. How humiliating! It's bad enough to be weighed when visiting the doctor, but to add luggage to the mix--grrrrrrrr! Anyway, they didn't seen to be too concerned about the carryon weight, either. However, keep in mind that our dive bags were each less than 50 pounds and the carryons not more than a couple pounds over apiece.
If you need to store luggage while you island hop, you can check it in at the "Left Luggage" area at the Nandi airport. It only costs a few Fijian dollars per day per piece of luggage for them to keep your luggage safe for you. They do not stack bag upon bag upon bag, but instead place each bag on a sturdy wooden shelf, tag it with your information and give you a receipt.
As we climbed into the little six seat prop plane, I didn't feel nervous at all. Taveuni isn't that far away and hey, how bad could it be? Then the pilot told us it was going to take about an hour and-a-half. I'm not TOO claustrophobic, so I told myself it was no problem, we would just work crossword puzzles in the book we had brought along. Yeah, right. It was a wee bit windy up there, so we were pitching a bit side to side through the sky, sometimes in cloudbanks so thick the viz may have been a few inches at best through the windows. Approx. two hours later, we landed safely on the lovely island of Taveuni.
The airport measured maybe 20' by 50' and contained a handful of wooden benches, an antique set of scales and four very small offices (contained in the measurements already specified). Our resort shuttle was not there, yet, so we visited with a couple locals who had come by boat to meet a relative on a later flight. Again, very nice people.
Garden Island Resort was only about a twenty minute drive from the airport. The first thing I noticed on arriving was that the counter and wait staff were not nearly as friendly as other folks we encountered during this trip. At least two I could describe as being downright rude. Support staff, on the other hand, such as Housekeeping, Maintenance and Groundskeepers were all very outgoing and extremely affable. We checked in with Aqua Trek (same owner as Aqua Trek at Pacific Harbour), filled out our paperwork and handed over our gear for the week. The dive crew sets up everybody's gear before diving, helps divers in and out of their gear, then rinses and stores it at the end of the day.
The food at Garden Island was OK and the menu was pretty much the same each day, with the exception of dinner. Breakfast consisted of a buffet (Continental-style) of cereal, coffee, juice, muffins and bread for toast. Everything I ate on the lunch menu was outstanding, though the "beefburgers" (our cheeseburgers) were undercooked one afternoon and several of us who ate them had, well, let's just say stomach issues. Good thing I brought the Bactrim! Anyway, the dinners were very good as well. The tap water is safe to drink and is tasteless and odorless, so you can drink to your hearts content. Rooms were clean but musty, containing a small refrigerator and hot-water maker. This is a good place to note that the only toiletries they provide are tiny cakes of soap. If you want shampoo, you'll need to bring it yourself or buy it locally. This is definitely not a four-star hotel, but if you are going there to dive, it's adequate. There is a nearby bar and post office, plus a couple of tiny grocery stores and second hand clothing outlet. A ten minute taxi cab ride, for about $3 Fijian roundtrip, can take you to a nearby village that contains various small businesses, including grocery and fabric stores as well as a bank and many other establishments designed specifically to separate you from your hard earned money. The resort itself offers kayaking, waterfall and village tours and a miriad of other local activities.
In exploring the grounds, one afternoon, photographing the lovely flowers, I heard my dive buddy gasp loudly. I turned and looked in the direction in which she was staring and nearly fainted. There were three huge yellow spiders (non-poisonous banana spiders, I'm told) clinging to their webs several feet above us. I swear they were the size of blue jays. Needless to say, that was the last time I wandered through that area and even now, as I'm writing this, I can't help but shudder uncontrollably at the very thought of one of those monsters falling off a web and down my shirt or in my hair. Other interesting critters in the area were huge fruit bats, Fijian toads and small albino-like lizards.
The diving was awesome in Somosomo Strait. Due to the swift currents, the corals were very colorful and beautiful. We saw white tip reef sharks on about half the dives, lionfish, groupers, blue ribbon and moray eels, clowfish, angels, nudibranchs and more than I could ever even have room to describe. For exposure protection, since the water was around 81 to 83 degrees, I was quite comfortable wearing a one piece swimsuit under a pair of long Under Armor shorts and a short sleeve Under Armor shirt/bra combination. I forgot to mention earlier that before my first dive of this trip, I broke the zipper on my skins. I can't bring myself to wear a borrowed wetsuit, so...
We ended up diving five days of 2 tank morning dives with a couple of afternoon dives thrown in for good measure. Due to ripping currents, most dives ended up being drift dives to one extent or the other. When a diver began to get low on air or time (we were allowed to dive our own profiles), the buddy pair got together and ascended, mostly while drifting out over open water. On the surface, we just signalled the boat pilot, who would immediately come to pick us up if not already helping other divers. Safety sausages and whistles (at a minimum) are definite musts when diving these waters, due to strong and unpredictable currents (which sometimes change mid-dive). We rarely surfaced far from the boat (the pilot would anticipate approx. where divers would come up) and were never out of sight/sound range. These guys are good!
Surface intervals were spend on a small nearby island, where we were allowed to snorkel, search for shells above the waterline or to simply bask in the sun (or shade, if you preferred) in conveniently located lounge chairs on the beach. While snorkeling, my buddy was finding pretty shells she wanted to show me, so she began putting them down the front of her skin as kind of a convenient pocket. A few minutes into this activity, she came to realize that there was something alive inside one or more of those shells, and apparently they wanted out. She was nearly dancing on water trying to get those critters out of her suit. I thought it was funny. She didn't laugh.
Part Three will continue the adventure.
After four short days at Hideaway, we hopped back in the car and made our way back to the airport for the short flight to Taveuni. We had carefully re-packed our luggage and gear into just one checked bag (large Akona roller), one carryon (bookbag) and one "personal item" (laptop bag for my buddy and large fanny pack for me) apiece. The checked bag, according to Air Pacific regulations, was to be no heavier than 44 pounds (normally less, but we got extra allowance since we were diving) and the carryons no bigger than roughly 11 pounds. Okay, we were a little (not by much) over and I was expecting to pay through the nose for the overage. When we checked in for our flight, they weighed each checked bag, tagged them and sent them on through without any overage fee. Then, much to my horrible shame, they weighed each of us carrying our hand luggage. How humiliating! It's bad enough to be weighed when visiting the doctor, but to add luggage to the mix--grrrrrrrr! Anyway, they didn't seen to be too concerned about the carryon weight, either. However, keep in mind that our dive bags were each less than 50 pounds and the carryons not more than a couple pounds over apiece.
If you need to store luggage while you island hop, you can check it in at the "Left Luggage" area at the Nandi airport. It only costs a few Fijian dollars per day per piece of luggage for them to keep your luggage safe for you. They do not stack bag upon bag upon bag, but instead place each bag on a sturdy wooden shelf, tag it with your information and give you a receipt.
As we climbed into the little six seat prop plane, I didn't feel nervous at all. Taveuni isn't that far away and hey, how bad could it be? Then the pilot told us it was going to take about an hour and-a-half. I'm not TOO claustrophobic, so I told myself it was no problem, we would just work crossword puzzles in the book we had brought along. Yeah, right. It was a wee bit windy up there, so we were pitching a bit side to side through the sky, sometimes in cloudbanks so thick the viz may have been a few inches at best through the windows. Approx. two hours later, we landed safely on the lovely island of Taveuni.
The airport measured maybe 20' by 50' and contained a handful of wooden benches, an antique set of scales and four very small offices (contained in the measurements already specified). Our resort shuttle was not there, yet, so we visited with a couple locals who had come by boat to meet a relative on a later flight. Again, very nice people.
Garden Island Resort was only about a twenty minute drive from the airport. The first thing I noticed on arriving was that the counter and wait staff were not nearly as friendly as other folks we encountered during this trip. At least two I could describe as being downright rude. Support staff, on the other hand, such as Housekeeping, Maintenance and Groundskeepers were all very outgoing and extremely affable. We checked in with Aqua Trek (same owner as Aqua Trek at Pacific Harbour), filled out our paperwork and handed over our gear for the week. The dive crew sets up everybody's gear before diving, helps divers in and out of their gear, then rinses and stores it at the end of the day.
The food at Garden Island was OK and the menu was pretty much the same each day, with the exception of dinner. Breakfast consisted of a buffet (Continental-style) of cereal, coffee, juice, muffins and bread for toast. Everything I ate on the lunch menu was outstanding, though the "beefburgers" (our cheeseburgers) were undercooked one afternoon and several of us who ate them had, well, let's just say stomach issues. Good thing I brought the Bactrim! Anyway, the dinners were very good as well. The tap water is safe to drink and is tasteless and odorless, so you can drink to your hearts content. Rooms were clean but musty, containing a small refrigerator and hot-water maker. This is a good place to note that the only toiletries they provide are tiny cakes of soap. If you want shampoo, you'll need to bring it yourself or buy it locally. This is definitely not a four-star hotel, but if you are going there to dive, it's adequate. There is a nearby bar and post office, plus a couple of tiny grocery stores and second hand clothing outlet. A ten minute taxi cab ride, for about $3 Fijian roundtrip, can take you to a nearby village that contains various small businesses, including grocery and fabric stores as well as a bank and many other establishments designed specifically to separate you from your hard earned money. The resort itself offers kayaking, waterfall and village tours and a miriad of other local activities.
In exploring the grounds, one afternoon, photographing the lovely flowers, I heard my dive buddy gasp loudly. I turned and looked in the direction in which she was staring and nearly fainted. There were three huge yellow spiders (non-poisonous banana spiders, I'm told) clinging to their webs several feet above us. I swear they were the size of blue jays. Needless to say, that was the last time I wandered through that area and even now, as I'm writing this, I can't help but shudder uncontrollably at the very thought of one of those monsters falling off a web and down my shirt or in my hair. Other interesting critters in the area were huge fruit bats, Fijian toads and small albino-like lizards.
The diving was awesome in Somosomo Strait. Due to the swift currents, the corals were very colorful and beautiful. We saw white tip reef sharks on about half the dives, lionfish, groupers, blue ribbon and moray eels, clowfish, angels, nudibranchs and more than I could ever even have room to describe. For exposure protection, since the water was around 81 to 83 degrees, I was quite comfortable wearing a one piece swimsuit under a pair of long Under Armor shorts and a short sleeve Under Armor shirt/bra combination. I forgot to mention earlier that before my first dive of this trip, I broke the zipper on my skins. I can't bring myself to wear a borrowed wetsuit, so...
We ended up diving five days of 2 tank morning dives with a couple of afternoon dives thrown in for good measure. Due to ripping currents, most dives ended up being drift dives to one extent or the other. When a diver began to get low on air or time (we were allowed to dive our own profiles), the buddy pair got together and ascended, mostly while drifting out over open water. On the surface, we just signalled the boat pilot, who would immediately come to pick us up if not already helping other divers. Safety sausages and whistles (at a minimum) are definite musts when diving these waters, due to strong and unpredictable currents (which sometimes change mid-dive). We rarely surfaced far from the boat (the pilot would anticipate approx. where divers would come up) and were never out of sight/sound range. These guys are good!
Surface intervals were spend on a small nearby island, where we were allowed to snorkel, search for shells above the waterline or to simply bask in the sun (or shade, if you preferred) in conveniently located lounge chairs on the beach. While snorkeling, my buddy was finding pretty shells she wanted to show me, so she began putting them down the front of her skin as kind of a convenient pocket. A few minutes into this activity, she came to realize that there was something alive inside one or more of those shells, and apparently they wanted out. She was nearly dancing on water trying to get those critters out of her suit. I thought it was funny. She didn't laugh.
Part Three will continue the adventure.
