It seems that arriving and departing Vanuatu is quite the adventure, particularly if you fly with Air Vanuatu. On the way out, we heard that Air Vanuatu only loaded one of two luggage trolleys. On the way back exactly the same thing happened. You’ve got to feel for the 50% of passengers that arrived without their suitcases! We were also told that the airline has been known to leave early, in addition to its well merited reputation for arriving late. We escaped relatively unscathed. However, a number of Australians we spoke to said they would never visit the islands again because of the airline. Real shame that such a beautiful place is let down by the incompetency of airline personnel.
Anyhow, we arrive late evening at Nadi airport on the mainland of Fiji. Our taxi driver is a former semi-professional rugby player and clearly excited about the world cup. “Rugby is a religion here” he tells us. He seems to have memorised all the fixtures. Really nice guy.
After spending the night in a hotel near the port, we hop on the Yasawa Flyer. The boat calls at various islands. We are headed a fair way north to the Yasawa Islands, specifically Barefoot Manta Island. The journey takes around 3 hours. As we pass Kuata island, we are greeted by a Fiji warrior on an outcrop wielding a battle axe. A nice journey through the islands – all of which look as beautiful as one might imagine.
When we arrive at Barefoot Manta Resort, we are met with a traditional welcome song. In Fiji, when one arrives, one is welcomed home. We are told that the resort is like a family. It comes across as very authentic. Really lovely, warm, and welcoming people.
The resort services a mix of backpackers and holidaymakers, and we are pleasantly surprised when we arrive at our very nice beachfront tent.
On our first night on the islands, we attend a talk by the resident marine biologist. The talk is on sharks, and specifically the research they are doing locally. The research demonstrates that the presence of apex predators has a very positive impact on marine diversity and reef regeneration. Although initially, deeply cynical about shark feeding, he explains how his experience on the island has made him see things differently. Thirty minutes up the coast, a sister resort, has been feeding bull sharks for several years. The result is that they now have a population of some 24 bull sharks which has enabled them to study their habits and record the positive impact on the surrounding reefs. It is serving as a beacon for other conservation efforts.
Shark feeding takes place all over the world, but practices differ significantly – some good, most, bad. In this particular instance, the sharks are fed tuna heads by experienced feeders. The feeders are guarded by divers holding poles. We are told that it’s not necessary to touch a shark with the pole to alter its course. The sharks move in the direction that the pole is waved.
Given the maturity of the programme, divers are able to go down and watch the sharks. What’s really interesting is that it is one of the only places in the world where non-certified divers can do an introductory dive with bull sharks! Our interest is immediately piqued…
We find out a little bit more. Non-certified divers are trained in two basic skills, mask clearance and how to deal with losing their respirator. This is done in a pool. Each pair of novice divers is taken down by an instructor, who does everything else.
We sign up. Fair degree of trepidation – but when else will we have an opportunity like this?
We have two days to wait.
We fill the days swimming and snorkelling. The coral here is incredible. It’s also called Barefoot Manta for a reason. There is a healthy population of mantas that consistently feed in the channel off the beach. Drones are used to monitor manta activity and a drum is sounded when mantas are spotted. On such happy events, boats take guests out to the mantas alongside guides.
On our second day the drums sound. Having got ourselves ready we attend the dive centre and are shepherded into boats. Sadly, by the time we get out there, the manta has had enough. Shame – but that’s nature.
It’s an early start for our bull shark dive. We are equal part nervous and excited. The night before we had met another couple. A New Zealander and his girlfriend, who happens to herald from Chieveley. Ironically although they now live in Wellington, they met working at a restaurant that Jenn and I used to frequent. It’s almost certain that we would have seen them there several years ago. Small world!
In any event our friends are both certified divers. They go at 8am whilst we have breakfast and attend skills training. First of all though, the obligatory disclaimer. Interesting document that effectively disclaims liability for everything! Would be interesting to see how enforceable it would be in the event of an issue… decide I would rather not have to put it to the test!
The skills training is short and succinct. We are shown how to release water from the mask and clear the respirator if dropped. Kitted out in full diving gear and weights, we take turns in the pool demonstrating both skills to the instructor’s satisfaction. I have to confess to not enjoying the experience. Although I could perform both skills, I felt very much out of my comfort zone.
Jenn fared even worse than me. She really didn’t like the experience and so decided that rather than ruin it for everyone else, she wouldn’t dive. A very brave decision. Important to know your limits. Fine line between bravery and stupidity.
However, the instructors weren’t going to give up easily. They convince Jenn to at least do the skills test, go on the boat, and give it a crack. Safe in the knowledge that if she didn’t like it, she would be brought up by one of the instructors, Jenn gamely finds herself on the boat with the rest of us.
A 30-minute boat trip was long enough for the anticipation to build. When we arrive at the site Jenn decides to give it a go. Her primary concern had been that she would ruin it for everyone else, but we are so blessed with instructors that they assure her that if she doesn’t like it, they will bring her up on her own. So, Jenn decides to take the plunge – quite literally.
By now a combination of Jenn’s nerves and my own anxiety has built up pretty nicely. This only increases as we suit up and fall backwards off the boat one by one. Throwing oneself backwards off a boat is something that even some seasoned divers don’t like. Regardless, we do it and find ourselves in the water.
The drill is to make a short swim whilst descending gradually to the feeding site. We each hold the instructor’s arm. He only breaks contact to adjust our buoyancy. I’m not a big one for physical contact – but I held that arm pretty damn tight. I’m surprised that I didn’t cut off the poor guy’s circulation! I really wasn’t overjoyed at the sensation of dropping into a world designed for fish!
By now of course Jenn is having the time of her life. She swims like a fish and is happy as Larry now that she’s out of the pool and descending into the depths. Typical!
As we get lower, my ears start to hurt. They haven’t adjusted and I can feel the pressure building. I signal to the instructor who sees Jenn safely to the bottom before taking me back up a few feet. Pressure is relieved immediately, but as soon as we start to descend the pressure rebuilds. Cue another signal. Great!
By now I am definitely not having fun! I decide to focus on my breathing – figured that is important. My default stress response is to breathe deeply through my nose. Of course, I can’t do that under water. After several attempts to get to the 12m depth and normalise my ears, the lead instructor takes me a circular route to the bottom, stopping every few feet. Success, I’m down.
The feeding site is set against a solid reef wall. In front of it is a small rock wall, behind which we are crouched. To the far left is the feeder. At each end of the line and intermittently is a guard, arm with a pole.
It’s a sensory overload. There are, we discover subsequently, 18 of the 24 resident bull sharks at this particular sitting. They range in size, with the largest, a pregnant female at circa 3.2 metres. Under water, in their domain, they look enormous. They swim incredibly close to us – with only the guards poles stopping them from making contact. It’s a pretty eerie but mesmerising spectacle!
I’m part fascinated by the sharks, part massively uncomfortable. It’s not the sharks themselves, those I like. It’s being 12 meters under water. I can’t quite get my breathing into a regular pattern. End up spending the entire time we are down there fighting contradictory emotions. I love watching the sharks – but I can’t wait until its over so that I can go back to the surface for a beer!
Eventually we start to head back up. 3-minute stop to decompress and then we are at the surface. Fresh air!
Diving is not for me. Fancy having a go with Great Whites and would LOVE to do the Sardine Run in South Africa, but otherwise I think I’m done wearing scuba gear!
The sharks themselves were amazing. Bull sharks have a reputation for being aggressive and are in the top tier of species responsible for human incidents and fatalities. However, part of the aim of these types of tours is to remove prejudice and help people see past the hyperbole. At no point did either Jenn or I feel at risk from the sharks. If you were to be so daft as to try and touch them then I think you’d regret it. But otherwise, they are beautiful, majestic creatures. Not too toothy either! 😉
Bizarrely, despite the fact that I loved and loathed the experience in almost equal measure, it still rates as one of the Top 10 experiences. Unlike Jenn who loved it and would go again, I am very definitely done.
As a novice diver I was not allowed to take my camera down with me, for which I will be ever grateful. Instead, the pictures were provided by a professional in return for a fee. Money well spent.
Great lunch with our friends from Chieveley and its back to our island.
On the ride back, Jo suggests that seeing a manta when we return would be the icing on the cake and make it the ‘ultimate day out’. As we arrive, they are just launching the drone. Sure enough, there is a manta out there – but there are also several boats. We wait for the boats to disperse, the drum is sounded, and we are back in our own vessel headed out to the channel.
It’s a bit of a circus. Attempts by the staff to impose order fall into disrepair, but we do get the see the manta. We’ve been fortunate enough to see them before, but even so it’s pretty cool.
To crown Jo’s ultimate day out we celebrate with sunset prosecco and dinner on the beach. She’s a PHD student that has just submitted her thesis. She’s a specialist in shellfish parasites of all things. Takes all sorts!
A lazy day snorkelling, watching snippets of Wales narrowly beating Fiji in the rugby (the staff were all huddled over various devices attempting to stream the match), and it’s all too soon time to move on. We are headed to another Fijian island, namely Likuliku.
When planning Jenn worked out that it was pretty much the same price to fly as to take a ferry and pay for another night in a port hotel. So we are due to be picked up at 11.00 am. But first, the staff gather for the farewell song. It’s a traditional send-off on the islands and I have to say it was rather beautiful. Afterwards it was handshakes and hugs all round. All delivered with absolute sincerity. Felt quite emotional as we were waved goodbye.
Flying over the islands is a real treat. From the air you can make our shapes of the marine mega fauna, whilst the fringe reefs of the islands look spectacular.
Our destination is Likuliku Lagoon Resort. Lovely resort, with a great reef. We plan to do very little for three days.
The resort is lovely, boasting an incredible house reef and a Crested Iguana sanctuary (thought to be extinct until very recently). There’s no shortage of things to do from the island, but we opt to relax and enjoy the kayaking and snorkelling just off the beach.
One evening the staff put on a cocktail reception and entertainment – all good fun!
In due course, as we listen to the goodbye song for a second time, I find it hard to believe how quickly the time has gone. But as I listen to the music – I can fully understand why people make such long trips to get to these islands. Beautiful, relaxing, and home away from home. Until the next time we are welcomed home, farewell Fiji!
We have a bit of a slog ahead of us to get to our next stop in French Polynesia. Ferry to Nadi, overnight at the airport. Flight to Auckland. Then a flight from Auckland to Papeete. We are due to cross the international date line. More on that in my next blog.
Until next time…
Respect to you about the diving. /you did well.