My last blog left me rearing to go shark hunting . . . as it were. Keiren arrived the next evening, and on Jan 2nd we hopped a bus for the 3 hour ride to Pacific Harbor, a locality about 34 minutes from Suva, on the other side of the island. We checked in, excited about the next day's adventure. The next morning we were picked up by a staffer from Aqua Trek dive company, and taken to the dive shop where we were fitted for scuba gear and where we also signed our lives away. Funny think, the whole time I didn't experience much fear - just a lot of curiosity and eagerness. A group of 9 divers and 5 staff jumped on a boat and we were out of the harbor by about 9am. As we raced toward the spot infamously named "The Bistro," there was a little solemnity amongst my shark diving compatriots. I suppose that can be expected given that we were about to swim with 10 ft+ sharks.
About 20 minutes later we stopped and dropped anchor at the marker bouy. After a briefing that felt way too, well, brief - we were simply advised not to panic if the 6 meter tiger shark showed up. For those of you counting at home, 6 meters is 20 feet! Don't panic huh!?! Sound advice, I suppose. But then what!?!? No time for questions, we all hopped in the water and descended to 17 meters immediately. A short swim along a descending ocean floor soon had us at 25 meters all lined up along a rope that ran more or less across the ocean floor. Only 3 meters in from of us was a concrete grid made of individual concrete slabs. This was the bistro. I looked up and behind me and saw one of the Fijian dive masters swimming with a huge wheeled trash bin towards the bistro. It was somewhat of a funny sight, and yet it made perfect sense. They needed something to attract the sharks. Now, before the bins were even opened, there were hundres of fish, including a
massive grouper, and large, black traveli, all getting a little frenzied. Apparently, they knew the routine. The bins were opened, and the divers each pulled out a large dolphin tuna. They cut it up right there on the ocean floor, and began waving the chunks of fish around. Sure enough, here came the sharks.
To see a large shark out in the wild for the first time is somewhat of an oddity. It's surreal. The setup was more akin to dinner theater than actually diving with sharks, as the fish and the sharks wanted nothing at all to do with us, or even the shark feeders really. First came the nurse sharks, about 2 meters long, and actually quite tame - friendly even. They were like dogs, slowly rubbing up against the shark feeders and more or less just hanging around. We each were invited to swim into the fray and stroke them. They kind of seemed to like it. Off in the distance something bigger was luming, and after a few distant passes, a 3 meter bull shark emerged, as fierce and massive as you might imagine one of these fellas to be. Now, after subsequent research, it turns out that the bull shark is the most aggressive of all shark species, logging the most shark attacks on humans - more than any other type of shark. Hmmm, what made this a good idea again??? Their aggressiveness is due to their high testosterone levels and to the fact that they can swim in fresh waster - somethings more than 1000 km upriver, far far far from the ocean. People swimming in relatively shallow rivers have too often been their victims. These guys were stout, stocky - like football or rugby players, and they had a fierce head to match. And yet, they were even more selective about eating than the fish or nurse sharks. They often passed and sniffed a piece of fish three or four times before grabbing it. When they did grab it, they scurried off to consume the chunk before returning.
After about 30 minutes of this theater, we ascended to dive a recent ship wreck. Kieren has photos of me on it, as well as the shark, so hopefully I'll get a hold of those soon. The sad story of my photos will follow. We finally ascended for an hour surface interval, and then hopped back in to watch the frenzy again, only at 17 meters this time. But this time, instead of 1 bull shark there were 5. There's a certain majesty about swimming amongst these creatures. Never once did I feel fear - only amazement. They're fierce, beautiful, tentative, picky - kind of like us. To watch one literally inflate, it's gills flaring, jaw dropped open and back the moment before it snaps shut on the fish fillet is something I'll never forget.
We returned to the dock, purchased the gratuitous "I survived the running of the bull sharks" T-shirts, and went back to our resort, where we just hung out for the remaining two days. Our last day in Pacific Harbor we visited Suva, the capital city of Fiji, but it was a Sunday, and most things were closed. We had some lunch, took in a movie, and headed back. The next day we headed back to Nadi, on the Western part of the main island. We were lucky enough to catch a lift with a local named Chetty, which cut our trip time literally in half. I was looking forward to another short trip back to the Yasawa's, and Keiren to returning home to Melbourne. Or so I thought. On January 7th, Keiren and I took a trip to the world famous Natadal beach, to take in the blue waters and relax. It would be the last day I would see sun in Fiji.
That night, the worst cyclone in 13 years hit Fiji, and everything came to a grinding halt. I cancelled my trip to the islands, and resolved to remain holed up at Momma's Tropic of Capricorn resort in Nadi Bay. There are a series of lower to higher end backpacker resorts and hotels in Nadi Bay. Moma's was run, naturally, by Momma. Momma is a 70 year old Fijian-born, Australian-raised, no-nonsense firecracker. All of her staff are in the family one way or another. She doesn't take crap from anyone, she swears like a sailor, and is by far the most loving and loveable Fijian in all of Fiji. The cooking is homestyle, the prices are more than reasonable, and the staff is friendly. Pay Momma a visit if you're ever in Nadi Bay.
The cyclone, however, was not nearly as nice as Momma. For 4 days everyone just did, well, nothing. Ryan had returned to the area and all of his dive jobs were cancelled, so we got to hang out a bit fair bit. I met more travelers from Columbia, England, Ireland, Scotland, Australia - all with stories of trips cancelled or prolonged due to the storm. By the 9th, Nadi town was flooded - really badly. The river banks were no longer discernable. So, on the 10th, we did what anyone with all the time in the world and nothing to do would do - we visited to town. Even in the middle of a catastophe, Fijians are friendly and joyful. "Enjoying the weather?" "Bula, where are you from?" "In town to go for a swim?" Pretty much all were heard. One Fijian named John escorted us everywhere through the flood waters, just to make sure we were OK. We passed by one photo shop that was open, now flood waters. Perhaps the shop where my shark dive photos were posted was open and safe too! A few blocks later, I discovered that of all the shops in all of Nadi, it was
the deepest under water - about 5 feet! No photos that day. We waded through the waters, chatted with townspeople, police and other travelers alike, and capped off the visit with a trip to a McDonalds a few hundred meters away on higher ground. It was fun actually, though certainly not the tropical paradise we had all become accustomed too.
The next day - last Sunday - was my departure day. I arrived at the airport on-time. Problem was, the flight crew couldn't get there due to all the flooding all over the area. Flight cancelled, flat out. I was put on standby for a flight to Sydney. People were frustrated, angry, stuck. Some had arrived Nadi only a few hours before and were basically turning right around because most people couldn't get into or out of the airport. It was a little chaotic, but after some moments of disorganzied uncertainty, I got on the flight and ended up on the top deck of a 747 with a whole emergency exit row to myself. Leg room for miles!!!
I arrived Sydney, was rebooked to Brisbane, and arrived later that night. 3 1/2 hours of travel turned into 11, but at least I'm here. Now, my Australia adventure begins. I'm staying in the gracious hospitality of Bill LePage on the Sunshine Coast at Avatar's Abode - another center dedicated to Meher Baba. It's beautiful here - and I've made some lovely friends already. From here I'll continue to plan my strategy for travel, and in some time I'll update you all again.
Thanks for following along. Life's good!
J