March/April 2018 —the south, you have some of the most beautiful
coral in the world. Bright colours, a healthy
fish population, and some very interesting reef
formations. For me, the Namena Marine Reserve
is the highlight of the trip.”
Sites such as School House, Grand Central
Station, Black Forest and Chimneys are all first
class but the pick is surely E-6. Legend has it that
Jacques Cousteau himself named the site after he
and his crew took so many photos that his boat’s
lab was unable to keep up with the developing of
all the rolls of E-6 film.
E-6 is located at the narrowest point of the
Vatu-I-Ra channel, washed by strong currents.
The constant exchange of water provides for
enormous biodiversity – it is estimated that more
than 300 species of coral and 1,000 species of fish
make this area their home.
Beyond the diversity, this site is riddled with
caves and tunnels. Hung with rock formations
that turn them into underwater cathedrals, they
are lit spectacularly by streaming rays at midday
when the sun is high.Farewell, auf wiedersehen, isa lei
All too soon we were headed back to VoliVoli
where Semi, our dive guide, had told us to expect
an emotional farewell. It’s something that Captain
Sei is apparently known for.
“I find it hard to believe that the last kava
ceremony is approaching”, said Cathrin Schmid,
a fellow guest as we sat at the bow of the boat the
preceding evening.”
Kava, a sedative and euphoriant made from
the root of the plant of the same name, is to Fiji
what a good red wine is to France. A universal
social lubricant, it can have the same devastating
effect as too much red wine we’d discovered. The
‘Fiji Siren Rubber Band’ had done their best to
encourage the after-dinner atmosphere mostnight and we’d not been shy to take the cue.
Next morning though there was sadness in
the air as Captain Sei summoned the crew and
guests together on the dive deck for the last time
and made a touching farewell speech. Surreally,
this man built like a tree began to tremble, then
tears rolled down his cheeks. He nodded to the
crew and they began the ‘Isa Lei’, a traditional
Fijian song of farewell. Through my own watery
eyes I could plainly see that guests and crew felt a
strong bond after a mere 10 days together.
It is this aspect of Fiji that surprises every
visitor, hitting you like a tackle from one of the
nation’s massive rugby players. The Fijians live life
with hearts open and warm, wishing everyone
‘bula’, and ‘sega na leqa’ – no worries. As we bid
farewell, I thought of Georg, one of the employees
at the VoliVoli.
“The whole world should be like Fiji,” he told
me, “open, warm-hearted, and cheerful.” AAPUTTING ON A SHOW
A lionfish adds a few frills to an already busy reef
scene peopled with orange anthias and fusiliers.45