Plus Size Divers - Big Adventures Update Maui & Fiji Trips

[ladycute1]

Hi Everyone! Many of you have been very supportive of Big Adventures and my plus size scuba diving friends -- Thanks so much! It's time for an update.

I also want to point out that Big Adventures is not operated for a profit -- it's my hobby, and I hope that by organizing dive trips I can support my 'habit' -- but, don't worry -- I haven't given up my day job -- and I _certainly_ wouldn't think of trying to do the job of a travel agent!

It's time for Big Adventure III this week! I'll be sure to provide a _full _ report after we return.

Big Adventures will be celebrating its FIRST BIRTHDAY at the Women Living Large Conference, in Seattle, November 1 - 3, 2002. No diving, but great fellowship for plus size women and their allies. Get more conference details and registration information at www.womenlivinglarge.org I'd love to see you there!

The Tentative Big Adventure Calendar for 2003:

Big Adventure IV - Maui, HI- February 7 - 14, 2003
Deposit of $200.00 due by December 2, 2002
Balance due by December 16, 2002

Big Adventure V - Maui, HI - March 21 - 28, 2003
Deposit of $200.00 due by January 15, 2003
Balance due by February 3, 2003

Big Adventure VI - Maui, HI - June 6 - 13, 2003
Deposit of $200.00 due by March 31, 2003
Balance due by April 14, 2003

SPECIAL: Big Adventure VI ++
JOIN US IN FIJI!!! The final details of the trip are still being ironed out but the dates are as follows: Friday June 13 - Sunday June 22, 2003. This scheduling, means that the trip runs back to back with Big Adventure VI in Maui. Participants may choose to partake in either one or both of these great trips.

Big Adventure VII - Maui, HI - September 26, 2003 - October 3, 2003
Deposit of $200.00 due by July 21, 2003
Balance due by August 11, 2003

Pricing and / or additional details are available by emailing me directly or checking out my (slightly out of date) web site www.bigadventures.net

 

[Natasha]

Liz:
I see the dates have passed on this. How about a report on how everything went?
:gorgeous:

 

[ladycute1]

OK, Natasha,

As you requested.. here's my "full report".

Big Adventure III took place September 27 - October 4. Two newly certified divers joined me in Maui for a week packed with diving. The two participants arrived having just completed their AOW and each had 9 dives in their log book -- all of them in Lake Mead. (Luckily, they were pretty easy to impress). They left Maui at the end of the week with a total of 22 or 23 dives in their log book. (In my 12 days there, I logged 26 dives!)

Well, the Big Adventurers had heard about Lanai and really wanted to dive the Cathedrals there. The Ed Robinson trip was booked, but we were able to get on Maui Dive Shop's three tank trip. Off we went, -- well prepared with dramamine AND sea bands. Out of 14 divers, 7 were sick that day. And, I mean un-relentingly sick -- I haven't seen so many green people since St. Patricks' Day! Luckily, I was fine, but I spent one of the hour long surface intervals with my travelers, hanging out in the water to avoid the effects of rocking boat. One diver nicknamed himself Puke - Ahontas!

And.. visibility at the Cathedrals was moderate and was degrading through the day... ranging from about 40 feet down to about 20.

We did see cool marine life... a pair of Harlequin Shrimp -- out in the open... dining on a leg of a sea star.. viper eel, sharks. Even with the seasickness, we still managed to have some fun, and we met some friendly people.

However, this is the second time I have tried a trip to Lanai and been disappointed. The last one was a trip in February and with another dive operator. My plan, is that I will discourage divers from taking that trip -- at least from Maui -- it's a fairly long boat trip that can get pretty rough, and the visibility at Lanai is unreliable.

We went on to do a ton of shore diving. We practiced some skills and explored at Ulua Beach in Wailea. We dove 5 graves and Makena landing multiple times -- both starting from one side and then the other and also making the whole circuit. It's a fabulous site -- I did that dive probably six out of my 26 dives and each one was different -- lots of caves, sharks, turtle cleaning stations, swarming butterflys -- i had a school of about 200 Millet Seed Butterflys swarming around my head.
Eels, -- zebra, yellow margin, white mouth. Nudibranchs - gold lace sea slugs, fushia flat worms, scrambled egg nudibranchs. Countless Trumpet fish. Many Coronet fish. We saw two collector urchins that I think must have been mating... the invertebrate book doesn't really talk about the actual mating -- but I can't think of anything else to explain the behavior we saw. We saw three spotted eagle rays swimming in formation --- after that, I keeled over and fell "dead" in the sand... Also found octopus...

I also did Ed Robinson's Twilight trip -- it's a two tanker that leaves in the afternoon -- usually goes to Molokini -- everyone else has left -- and the animals are coming back in... countless sharks, rays... some BIG lobsters -- there was one that we decided needed at least a pound and a half of melted butter!! Frog fish! During the surface interval, you watch the sun set and have a sandwich, then you go back in for a night dive -- Amazing sites! a really big Spanish Dancer that allowed us to play with it... an octopus.. hunting eels... Just wonderful.

I did a shore night dive at Ulua Beach and all in one dive saw: a pleurobranch - stunning! squid, a white octopus, slipper lobster, and a HUGE sponge crab -- at least 18" across it's body.

We did a couple of dives at White Rock in Wailea -- visibility was lousy due to some swell -- but once you hunkered down in the reef -- it cleared to about 30 - 40 feet. At one point, we came over a crest in the reef and saw two big sea turtles. We stopped and just drifted closer to them. They looked at us, and slowly they split up. One swam toward us and then turned -- almost like he wanted us to follow. So we followed him slowly, and he cruised over the ridge of another coral finger, and settled down towards the sand and then ducked into a tiny cave that was just big enough for him... we stopped and lay down outside hi cave for a few minutes, and he just calmly looked at us, slowly blinking his eyes. After about 5 minutes we turned to leave, and as soon as we moved away from his cave, he came out and swam off in the other direction -- it seemed like he was showing us his house!


We also went out to Ahihi Cove and had a good dive there too -- we lost count of how many turtles we saw.

I got up to Maliko Gulch too -- That is just such a spectacular place -- very different formations -- more plate coral and lots of rock grottos. Some sizable peacock groupers, a dwarf moray, turtles of course. We were able to make it all the way out to a big sunken anchor.

All in all, just tons of spectacular diving. and, I'm very pleased about the progress of my skills. I was certified in July of 2000. I just logged my 175th dive. My navigation is getting better, my air consumption is improving dramatically -- typically hour long dives, and on the particularly shallow shore dives -- I've gotten to an hour and 20 minutes. I'm hoping to finish my dive master training when I'm back at Christmastime.

OK -- Now -- Big Adventure Calendar stuff!

I just got back from the Women Living Large Conference where I talked to lots of women who are interested in making one of the 2003 trips -- I'm soooo excited!!

The 2003 calendar is:

Big Adventure IV - Maui, HI- February 7 - 14, 2003
Big Adventure V - Maui, HI - March 21 - 28, 2003
Big Adventure VI - Maui, HI - June 6 - 13, 2003

The Fiji trip has been set and it will follow Big Adventure VI --

Departing Honolulu on June 13 and returning on June 22.
The cost from Honolulu is: Shared Double: $1,699.00 (Single Supplement: $289.00 )

and includes:

Roundtrip economy class airfare from Honolulu to Fiji on Air Pacific

Meet & greet – Nadi International Airport

Round trip transfer to Lagoon Resorts at Pacific Harbour

7 Nights accommodations with all meals

6 – 2 tank dives with Aquacadabra Dive Shop at Pacific Harbour

1 of 6 dives to be a night dive for the group

1 of 6 dives to be at Frigate Passage

All applicable land taxes in Fiji

We're not sure how many openings we will have, but we know it will fill fast -- so if interested, message or email me for further discussion.

Then there will be
Big Adventure VII - Maui, HI - September 26, 2003 - October 3, 2003

There has also been a request for a July Maui trip -- depending on level of interest, I may be able to add that trip.


OK, this I'm sure is way too long
- but, you asked for it Natsha --

Feel free to reply with questions or things that need further clarification.

Looking forward to hearing from all of you.

Liz

 

[giannau]

As 1 of the 2 divers on the Maui trip I must say it was great. Liz is right it's not hard to impress us. After diving in the tolit I mean Lake Mead (outside Las Vegas) Maui was a dream come true!

We had such a good time. And I include the time spent being sick, we both were. Still a bad day diving is better than a good day at work!

 

[ladycute1]

Thanks for your kind words, Gianna -- I'm glad you had a good time, and I hope you'll join me again!

Liz

 

[seaangel]

Too bad about Lanai, I have only been there once and it was awesome. Our visibility there was unlimited. The water was a bit rough when we surfaced after the second tank, but it was so beautiful there. We went with the Trilogy they did a small group, there were only three of us on the dive portion. I would say don't give up on it or discourage going there as it can be great. It is suppose to be one of the top dive sites in the world.

 

[Natasha]

Liz:
That report was not too long. It was great! Sounds like you girls are having a blast. Thanks for sharing.
Gianna: Welcome to scuba, and to scuba board. I hope you'll be able to post more trip reports.
I did find the Lanai part interesting. I also have been there, and went on the Trilogy from Maui. It was in December of 97.
I absoulutly love the Trilogy, and the staff that runs it. There were no rough waters at that time. But I found the ocean life to be less then worth talking about.