Wananavu Beach Resort
DANGER, DO NOT COMBINE’ should have been printed on our itinerary to Wananavu Resort in Fiji. Combine the cold New Zealand winter, the lure of a warm tropical paradise and four guys bursting for a great time and you get a recipe for some Fiji fun. Two divers and two non divers begin the trip and four divers emerged at the end with some fantastic diving, heaps of laughs and memories of a life time especially for the oldest in our group who dove for the first time at 73.
I knew when Jeremy and Kristen at Reef Safaris said ‘my dive shop is your dive shop’ that we would be well looked after and boy did they. Within a 30 minute boat ride of the resort we were dropped on some excellent sites on Sail Stone Reef. Dive sites like Golden Dreams, Bula Maize, and the Pinnacles had us mesmerised and keep us coming back for more. We could not wait for the next days diving and as we came up from the first dive we were thinking about going down for the next and as someone said we were going up and down like a naughty girls pants (of course with an appropriate surface interval).
Crystal clear warm water greeted us and as we were soon guided through some great swim throughs and between tall pinnacles by our Dive Master at a depth of 15 to 25 metres. Golden Dreams was named for the golden soft coral lavishly spread on the balmys and swim throughs. Visibility was between 30 to 50 metres with some beautiful soft and hard corals and a huge quantity of fish. We saw several White Tipped Reef Sharks, mating Octopus, several types of Stonefish, Lion Fish, Blue Fin Tuna, Spanish Mackerel and the small colourful reef fish were as thick as fleas on Grandpas hound.
One of my highlights was the high population of nudibranchs from the Blue Dragon (up to three per square metre) to Diserable Flabellina. Several varieties were photographed and listed as undescribed in the guide book so you do not know what waits to be discovered. These slow and beautiful sea creatures are perfect for the new and experienced photographer and the lack of current and good visibility helped get those clear shots without an external strobe. The Dive Master was great at pointing out these miniature dragons and was always willing to make the dive our dive by finding and pointing out animals or plants we wanted to see.
At Wananavu Resort we were spoilt for activities on our day off. Choices of several village visits, bamboo rafting, kayaking, snorkelling and petanque were all available. Talks on medicinal plants and ‘the tree of life’ the coconut kept us informed. Our group loved the interaction with the locals and I do not know who laughed the most at the waterfall village. After drinking kava, chewing on the sweetest sugar cane I have ever had and sliding down a natural waterfall into a refreshingly cool rock pool we bought a few pieces of handicraft.
One tip for the interested traveller which the Islanders really appreciated was the giving of items we take for granted. Everything from summer clothes for adults and kids, kids books, rugby boots and eyeglasses (like those you buy from the $2 shop) are greatly appreciated. As always in Fiji the Fijian people add a great deal to the experience. We go to the islands for the warmth and sun and soon discover the Fijians are just as warm and sunny.
Another buzz would have to be the light in Mike’s (age 73) eyes describing the fish and coral on his first dive. With a splash he was over the side looking at a world he had never imagined. His enthusiasm was infectious and had all the charm and adventure of a kid explaining his new discovery. He felt lucky to be able to experience the underwater world just as every diver feels when they come up from a great dive. Unimaginable is the only way I know how to describe scuba diving. A whole new world awaits you, we do not have to leave this planet and you can begin at almost any age.
