FIJI / TONGA, 1999
By Julie Alioto
Two weeks ago I reluctantly flew home from Nadi, Fiji after spending
two short, but incredible weeks aboard NAI'A learning about humpback
whales and diving the pristine reefs of the Kingdom of Tonga and Fiji.
This trip surpassed any and all expectations we had about diving in
these areas and diving with the crew of NAI'A.
NAI'A's web page does an excellent job providing information about
the ship's layout, cabin sizes, diving, itineraries, and pricing.
If you have specific questions about any of these, I suggest you check
out the web site: www.naia.com.fj. What I can begin to tell you about
in this trip report is the people on board NAI'A who go out of their
way to really make you feel like family and make your vacation, which
is a "dream vacation" for many, that much more special and
memorable because their generosity doesn't end when the ship has reached
port, the trip's over, and it's time to go home.
Rob Barrel, co-owner of NAI'A, and Cat Holloway are two of the friendliest
people you will ever meet; they immediately make you feel at home
once you meet them. The two of them are quite an impressive couple
with the amount they've accomplished and the committment they've made
to protect the ocean and its inhabitants. Ask them their thoughts
and opinions on just about anything concerning the ocean and you'll
receive an honest answer with an unbelievable amount of clarity. They
also share an array of stories with their guests that tend to captivate
anyone who happens to be within earshot. Dinnertime was typically
storytime with Rob and Cat each seated at one of two long tables telling
us about places they've been, things they've done, critters they've
seen etc... I don't think either of them really had a chance to eat
a lot during the two weeks our group was on the boat since we all
kept asking them questions! They were wonderful about it and didn't
seem to mind. Cat, by the way, has got to be the best storyteller
I've ever heard! I've never seen anyone so expressive and so enthusiastic.
Her whole face lights up when she tells a story and you can tell she's
really excited about letting you in on it. You really get to see it
when she does a dive briefing which is no ordinary dive briefing!
She gives you amazing amounts of detail - what to look for, where
to find it, behavior to look for, etc... Her enthusiasm for diving
and what you're about to see is so catching that you're running for
the skiffs, chomping at the bit to get in the water and find it!
The crew of the NAI'A, who are all Fijians, is just as warm and friendly
as Rob and Cat. They're amazing in that they know all 18 passengers'
names by dinner the very first night, even if they've barely seen
you! They also go out of their way to make you feel like family and
anticipate your needs before you do. Rusi and Richard are the two
divemasters on the boat. Both of them are excellent and have incredible
eyes, finding pipefish, tiny nudibranchs, scorpionfish, and sharing
it with divers who are nearby.
Since working on the NAI'A is considered a career for the crew, they
are often away from their families and villages for weeks on end.
They've made NAI'A their village and welcome guests to experience
a part of Fijian culture with nightly Kava parties which include music,
singing, and, of course, kava! The music is beautiful, the kava is
- well, tongue numbing to say the least. It's one of those things
that you just have to experience for yourself.
THE KINGDOM OF TONGA
Tonga, the oldest and last remaining Polynesian monarchy, consists of three main island groups: Tongatapu/'Eua, Ha'apai, and Vava'u. The purpose of our trip to Tonga aboard NAI'A was to seek out humpback whales in their ancient breeding and birthing "grounds" among the islands of the Ha'apai group. In addition to these incredible encounters, we would have the luxury of diving and exploring pristine reefs where very few, if any, divers had ever been before.
HUMPBACK WHALE ENCOUNTERS
Rob and Cat spent a good part of our first night on the boat educating
us about humpback whales, showing video of in-water encounters, and
explaining how and when in-water encounters would take place. The
goal was to find the right whales - whales that did not change direction
abruptly as we approached, seemed undisturbed by the presence of the
boat, and seemed curious. NAI'A's approach is to parallel the whales,
gradually closing the distance between whale and boat.
Our first full day aboard NAI'A brought encounters with whales. All
it took to get 18 jet-lagged passengers to the top deck of the boat
at 8 AM was Cat saying "I just saw a blow!". We would initially
spot the whales by the "blow" and then by the arch of the
body as they began a descent. The view from the top deck of the boat
of mother and calf swimming side by side, one blowing and then the
other, one diving and then the other was amazing itself. At the end
of the first morning, we had been following a mother and calf for
awhile. It was time to attempt an in-water encounter...
In-water encounters, according to Rob and Cat, were usually from NAI'A's
stern with long lines set up for snorkelers with a skiff tied behind.
Whales, for some reason, seemed to like to follow the stern. Our in-water
encounters throughout the trip were from the skiffs that placed us
in the water. The end of that morning found us in the skiffs waiting
for the "right moment". We saw some beautiful dolphinfish,
had a couple in-water attempts with no whale showing up, saw more
dolphinfish, and then had the encounter. Mom dove deep pretty quickly
with baby sticking around a little longer but then following suit.
The encounter lasted about 10-15 seconds with the baby about 30' away
(vis in the open blue was good). I can't really give you any more
specific details other than the fact that it was awesome and mind
boggling to be that close to such an amazing creature.
During our stay in Tonga, I would have one more in-water encounter
with whales with that same overwhelming feeling. Other people had
more encounters, especially that first day when the whales were a
little more inquisitive, but the majority of whales we followed were
shy. The one day that did bring us curious whales brought bad weather
unsuitable for snorkeling. Our experience with humpback whales was
anything but disappointing though. We spent hours and hours on deck
watching whales breach, pec slap, and spy hop day after day.
EXPLORATORY DIVING IN TONGA
In between whale watching and taking a day to hike Ha'apai's active
volvanic island of Tofua, where the mutiny of the Bounty took place,
we had the opportunity to do some incredible diving.
Diving was done from NAI'A's two skiffs which basically dropped you
off and then picked you back up wherever you surfaced. It couldn't
get any easier. Safey sausages were a must and were provided if you
didn't have one.
Water temperature fluctuated between 72-73 degrees and visibility
was approximately 100 feet on all 10 dives I made during our stay
in Tonga. (10 was the max #dives we did in Tonga) Current was variable;
some sites had only slight current whereas a few were drift dives.
Tonga's underwater realm is filled with tons of species of hard corals,
many rising close to the surface. Fish life is abundant in many areas
althought you don't see the schools of fish like you do in Fiji. Speaking
of fish, here's a partial list of all the different species you're
likely to see on just about every dive: butterflyfish - blackback,
longnose, raccoon, lined, pyramid, threadfin, spotted; moorish idols;pennant,masked,and
Indian bannerfish; Clark's anemonefish; tomato and pink anemonefish;
blue-green chromis; three-spot dascyllus; scalefin and threadfin anthias;
sunset and bird wrasse; clown triggerfish; bicolor parrotfish; pixy
hawkfish; arc-eye hawkfish; blue and gold fusiliers - I could go on
and on and on...
You'll also find grey and whitetip reef sharks, giant clams, lionfish
- several different types, scorpionfish, tons of sea cucumbers -HUGE!,
big fat sea stars, and yellow-headed morays.
Another thing that set Tonga apart from diving in Fiji was the sounds
underwater. It turned out that we would have more encounters with
whales in the water but it would be indirect. "Singers"
or male whales can be heard vocalizing underwater. Their song is extremely
moving to listen to, often sounding happy as well as sad. On several
occasions we would hear singers in the distance during dives. We would
look all around but we knew they were too far away. The one exception
was during our last dive in Tonga. You could hear whale song really
well during this dive. What made us wonder if we would see him was
the fact that you could actually feel vibrations from the low gutteral
tones. We knew he was somewhere closeby but we didn't see him.
Five of the dives we did were exploratory dives. Neither Rob nor Cat
nor anyone else they knew had ever dove these sites before. We were
going to be the first and that alone was pretty damn exciting! We
were the ones to scout it out, find the things that make the site
stand out, and decide if it was worth recommending to dive again to
future divers on NAI'A's charters. We also came up with dive site
names - some which may stick for good, others which may just stick
with us because we named them. A few of the new Tongan dive sites
include: "Infinity & Beyond" - beautiful site with soft
and hard coral and filled with tons and tons of different fish, anemones,
sharks, and nudibranchs; "No See Um" - night dive that turned
out to be a night, drift dive named "No See Um" because
the rip roaring current wouldn't let us see anything!; "Skyscrapers"
- my favorite! Named for the towering cliffs and pillars of hard coral
that seemed to form a small underwater city.
We left the humpback whales in Tonga and crossed the ocean to begin
the second half of our trip diving Fiji.
FIJI
After a 23 hour ocean crossing, lots of rocking and rolling, and
no nitrogen, our group was ready to dive Fiji. We began with a dive
site off Ongea Levu and Ongea Nanki that was teaming with fish everywhere!
Anemonefish - skunk and orange-fin - I could watch these guys for
hours darting in and out of the tentacles of the anemone, looking
at you with that pouty kind of face; three spot dascyllus; schools
of blue and gold fusiliers; undulated moray eels (yes, plural!); two
tone dartfish; emperor angelfish; humphead bannerfish; banded pipefish...the
list goes on! Giant clams, coral jewel clams, and beautiful crinoids
in all different colors were everywhere. But the best was yet to come...
At the sound of Rusi's rattle, we turned around to see him signalling
to us with a flap of his arms up and down pointing to the edge of
the wall. I knew exactly what we would see and it would be a first
for me - two beautiful manta rays gracefully flew past us as we just
remained still. Bula! Welcome to Fiji diving!
This first dive would set the tone for the remainder of the trip.
Dives in Tonga barely made it to 50 minutes with water temps at 73
degrees; our first dive in Fiji was in 76 degree water and broke the
hour mark.
Dive sites were scattered around smaller islands off Viti Levu. Visibility
was typically 100+ feet with water temps between 77-78 degrees, occasionally
at 76 like our first dive. The variety of diving we were able to experience
off NAI'A was incredible - wall, drift, bommies, shallows with lots
to search for, a shark feed, and more exploratory dives like we did
in Tonga. Reefs were pristine with an abundance of fish - massive
schools in some areas that were mesmerizing. Everything you here about
Fiji being the "soft coral capital" of the world is true,
but bring a "torch" with you even in the daytime to be able
to appreciate all the vibrant, beautiful colors without losing anything.
The small stuff was the most challeging and rewarding stuff to find
which is usually the case. We found lots of colorful nudibranchs,
several poison pistol nudibranchs, banded and glittering pipefish
galore - you wanted to yell at them to get out of the way after awhile,
a harlequin ghost pipefish (don't you think it looks like a hairy
little twig?), and lots more.
By the way, grey and whitetip reef sharks were pretty common. One
person even saw a scalloped hammerhead.
I could tell you about a lot of dive sites but since I did 26 dives
in Fiji alone I think I'll just tell you about a few of my favorites...
"JIM'S REEF" - Named for Jim Church
Towering mounds of coral in about 60 feet of water rising to about
20 feet below the surface of the water. Highlights: tomatoe anemonefish
in a brilliant red anemone; giant moray eel; blue ribbon eel; 2 manta
rays cruising across the tops of the coral heads.
"ANTHIAS AVENUE"
Topography similar to "Jim's Reef". Highlights: a teeth
cleaning by two very brave cleaner shrimp! It was the coolest thing
- I must have gone back 2 more times! Rob and Cat know this place
where these 2 cleaner shrimp hang out. You have to place your chin
down on this ledge in the opening of some rock, take out your reg,
open your mouth, and wait for these 2 little guys to jump in your
mouth to start cleaning. They're shy at first, but after the first
person they run to the opening when they see a diver coming. And they
go to town! The first time I did it it felt so funny that I started
laughing and spit the two little guys out! Want to see what it looks
like? Check out July/August 1999 Alert Diver page 32 - that's Cat.
Other highlights: fire gobies; 3 blue ribbon eels - 2 coming out of
the same hole; garden eels; unicornfish; and a 6 foot long banded
sea snake that scared the hell out of me.
"SAVE-A-TACK PASSAGE" - Incredible
Dive Site!
Descend to swirling schools of barracuda with a few grey reef sharks
in the mix. Several bommies make up this dive site with names like
"The Arch", "Kansas", and "Oz". "Kansas"
is absolutely beautiful - it's covered with sinularia, this yellow
soft coral that looks like a wheat field waving in the wind.
"E6" - Another incredible dive site!
Discovered by Rob 5 years ago from a sea plane. Huge bommie thought
to once have been a volcano. Sheer drop off to 3000 feet. It's so
big you have your choice of doing a wall dive, exploring swim throughs
like the "Cathedral" which is semi-circle in shape with
rays of light shining down through openings to penetrate darkened
areas, and shallow coral gardens with tiers of coral shelves reaching
the surface in some areas. Fish life, as it has been everywhere else
in Fiji, is abundant!
"E6" was the last dive site of the trip. We sadly left the
NAI'A on Wednesday September 22, but we weren't finished yet...
BEQA LAGOON
Before I left on this trip, I posted a message about going to Tonga
& Fiji under "Where are you diving this weekend?" At
the suggestion of someone on the board (sorry, I can't remember who!),
we decided to dive Beqa Lagoon Wednesday afternoon with Aqua Trek.
Obviously we felt like 36 dives wasn't enough on the NAI'A and needed
to get at least 2 more in before we left Fiji! Thanks to whoever made
the suggestion because it was well worth it!
Aqua Trek usually goes out in the morning, but made a special trip
that Wednesday afternoon for myself and two other friends. We had
the boat to ourselves with the exception of one student on board.
We also had Rusi, the divemaster to ourselves. This Rusi is not to
be confused with the Rusi of the NAI'A. Rusi of Aqua Trek was just
as amazing as Rusi of the NAI'A though. Diving with him was really
the highlight of diving Beqa Lagoon because he has incredible eyes
for the tiniest things i.e. nudibranch, tiny crabs on sea whips, 2
baby scorpionfishes he held in his palm after finding them in coral
rubble. If you get the chance, I would recommend diving with Aqua
Trek and Rusi. Aqua Trek is located in Pacific Harbour near the Centra
Resort.
That's my trip in anything but a nutshell. I can't say enough good
things about Rob, Cat, and the crew of the NAI'A. It's no wonder why
they have people returning year after year. Do you remember me saying
their generosity doesn't end when the trip is over? We got off the
boat on Wednesday. On Thursday we were walking around Suva trying
to find the handicraft market when we ran into Rusi with his wife
and little girl. Rusi had seen us walking around while he was in cab
with his family. He asked the cab driver to stop because "I saw
my friends from the NAI'A". Rusi took us to the market instead
of just giving us directions before saying goodbye again.
If you're interested in the humpback whale encounters, you might want
to check out the June 1998 issue of Dive Training. There's an article
in there by Dee Scarr about her humpback whale encounters aboard NAI'A.
