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Tales from Taveuni
Taveuni, the third largest island in Fiji, was to be our first destination on this diving tour of Fiji. As we flew over the mountains of the main island, and then out to sea, over deep blue waters dotted with miles of reef, we knew we were in for a treat. Taveuni is famous for Rainbow Reef, a large reef system with some of the best coral in the world, and we had two days diving to sample it and see if it could live up to our expectations.
We stayed at the Garden Island Resort, which is located immediately off the beach, with Rainbow Reef right on the doorstep, some 3 – 15 minutes boat ride away (depending on which dive site is on the cards). The hotel has 30 rooms and a dining room with a wonderful view. The food here was fantastic, with Caroline getting a “Vegetarian Surprise” each evening made from fresh veggies grown locally. On our first evening, we wondered what the noise was outside our room as early evening approached. There was a cacophony of squabbling of some kind in the trees, perhaps birds coming into roost, we thought – but we were wrong – it is a huge colony of bats! The Fiji Flying Fox is a large bat with a white patch on the back of its head and the Garden Island Resort is home to huge numbers of them. Look up into the trees, and you can see hundreds of them hanging upside down from the branches during the day, and then flying overhead while you eat dinner in the evening. It is an amazing sight. We were also treated to a silent, close fly-by from a large owl, who swooped elegantly above our table; nature thrives here.
Our room at Garden Island Resort was a real treat. It ticked all our boxes for what makes a great room on a trip: huge glass windows overlooking the ocean, a veranda to sit and relax (and dry out gear), a really good shower and finally loads of surfaces and electric sockets for setting up and charging our underwater photography gear.
Our diving was with Paradise Taveuni, who picked us up from the so-called Korean Jetty each morning. Their boat, the Taveuni Explorer, is a catamaran, which can hold 30 or so divers, with plenty of space for camera equipment and an upstairs deck for relaxing. In fact, they were running the trips just for us over these two days, and so we had the boat and crew to ourselves. Alan, who owns Paradise Taveuni, a resort and dive operation, joined us so that he could share some of his favourite dives sites with us.
All of our 5 dives would be on Rainbow Reef, and our first dive site was called Rainbow’s End. As with many great soft coral dive sites, there needs to be some current to maintain the healthy reef, and so we knew we would be drifting along with the current on this dive. Whilst this made it harder to get great images, it was worth it to see all the coral in its full glory. Purple, red, yellow, orange, & green: the colours were simply astounding. Every inch of space is taken up with hard and soft corals. As we got shallower and crossed onto the top of the reef, the current died down and we could catch our breath and have a look around. It is not only the coral that is abundant, but the fish life too. Numerous anthias surround every bommie, and schools of fish rush past, seemingly oblivious to the currents, and in the distance, a turtle was grazing. All too soon it was time to come back up to the boat, and compare what we had seen. Rainbow Reef is a dive site that lives up to its name!
Wanting to relax and take a little more time, without the currents hurrying us along, we picked two more sedate dives to fill the rest of our day. Mid Way and Freeway are shallow sites, with sandy areas and plenty of coral to keep us happy. Walter, our dive guide, took us on a slow tour of these sites, pointing out octopus, nudibranchs and other reef inhabitants. Whilst the coastline and resorts were terribly damaged earlier in the year by Cyclone Winston, it was fantastic to see that the main reef was still completely untouched by the storm… and in great condition. Between our second and third dives, we had lunch and a cold drink and chatted away about Fiji, Taveuni and the diving in the area. Paradise Taveuni are based in the South of the island, and regularly get sharks, mantas and even pilot whales and dolphins playing around the boat. It was a great first day of diving and a perfect way to start our Fiji odyssey.
Our second dive saw us visit the most famous dive in the area: White Wall. This is regularly voted into the top 10 lists of wall dives around the word. The reason it is so special is that wall is covered in a white (or pale blue) soft coral- “the nearest Fiji gets to snow”, our captain Maikeli joked. The dive site is reached by descending down a swim through that cuts through the wall and deposits you at 25m into the blue. Turn left, and you see it – a wall stretching deep down into the black, covered in this amazing, almost glowing soft coral. It does indeed look like it has been snowing on the white wall. We drifted along, on a mild easy going current, and watched in wonder at the beauty of this reef, but all too soon, we had to start heading shallower, away from the white coral and back to the “normal” reef. Here overhang and swim-through entrances were lined with an abundance of variously coloured soft corals and sea fans.
The Paradise Taveuni team had really gone out of their way to make sure we saw all the best dives in such a short space of time. As we were flying the next day, they picked us up at 6:30 in the morning to ensure we that could do two dives safely, giving us 24 hours no-dive time before our onward flight in the morning. Our final dive was one of our favourites, a shallow reef called Cabbage Patch. As the name suggests, the reef here is covered in cabbage coral, with huge numbers of fish swimming between the coral fronds, and schooling above the reef too. Nick spent some time becoming one with the schooling fish and was soon in amongst them taking photos. The reef was alive with activity from hunting fish to tiny nudibranchs on their slow commute. In only 10m (30ft) of water, we could have spent many happy hours here.
Back at Garden Island Resort we had a couple of hours free before we had to start packing, so we headed to the International Date Line. The 180 degree meridian is a short (if somewhat hot in the midday sun) walk up the hill from the hotel. We headed across a rugby pitch and were soon able to jump from the present day, into yesterday! Not something you can say very often! We took some photos and headed back to pack up. We then spent a very enjoyable evening with owner, Phil, and his friend Mike, discussing diving, Fiji, politics and life, all the while with the bats bickering and flying overhead. Magic.
Our thoughts from Taveuni as we head on to the next Fiji destination are that this is an island with a wonderful reef, friendly locals, great food, lots of bats and a place that we would love to return to.
Marine Life & Conservation Blogs
Creature Feature: Dusky Shark
In this series, the Shark Trust will be sharing amazing facts about different species of sharks and what you can do to help protect them.
This month we’re taking a look at the Dusky Shark, a highly migratory species with a particularly slow growth rate and late age at maturity.
Dusky sharks are one of the largest species within the Carcharhinus genus, generally measuring 3 metres total length but able to reach up to 4.2 metres. They are grey to grey-brown on their dorsal side and their fins usually have dusky margins, with the darkest tips on the caudal fin.
Dusky Sharks can often be confused with other species of the Carcharhinus genus, particularly the Galapagos Shark (Carcharhinus galapagensis). They have very similar external morphology, so it can be easier to ID to species level by taking location into account as the two species occupy very different ecological niches – Galapagos Sharks prefer offshore seamounts and islets, whilst duskies prefer continental margins.
Hybridisation:
A 2019 study found that Dusky Sharks are hybridising with Galapagos Sharks on the Eastern Tropical Pacific (Pazmiño et al., 2019). Hybridisation is when an animal breeds with an individual of another species to produce offspring (a hybrid). Hybrids are often infertile, but this study found that the hybrids were able to produce second generation hybrids!
Long distance swimmers:
Dusky sharks are highly mobile species, undertaking long migrations to stay in warm waters throughout the winter. In the Northern Hemisphere, they head towards the poles in the summer and return southwards towards the equator in winter. The longest distance recorded was 2000 nautical miles!
Very slow to mature and reproduce:
The Dusky Shark are both targeted and caught as bycatch globally. We already know that elasmobranchs are inherently slow reproducers which means that they are heavily impacted by overfishing; it takes them so long to recover that they cannot keep up with the rate at which they are being fished. Dusky Sharks are particularly slow to reproduce – females are only ready to start breeding at roughly 20 years old, their gestation periods can last up to 22 months, and they only give birth every two to three years. This makes duskies one of the most vulnerable of all shark species.
The Dusky Shark is now listed on Appendix II of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS), but further action is required to protect this important species.
Scientific Name: Carcharhinus obscurus
Family: Carcharhinidae
Maximum Size: 420cm (Total Length)
Diet: Bony fishes, cephalopods, can also eat crustaceans, and small sharks, skates and rays
Distribution: Patchy distribution in tropical and warm temperate seas; Atlantic, Indo-Pacific and Mediterranean.
Habitat: Ranges from inshore waters out to the edge of the continental shelf.
Conservation status: Endangered.
For more great shark information and conservation visit the Shark Trust Website
Images: Andy Murch
Diana A. Pazmiño, Lynne van Herderden, Colin A. Simpfendorfer, Claudia Junge, Stephen C. Donnellan, E. Mauricio Hoyos-Padilla, Clinton A.J. Duffy, Charlie Huveneers, Bronwyn M. Gillanders, Paul A. Butcher, Gregory E. Maes. (2019). Introgressive hybridisation between two widespread sharks in the east Pacific region, Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 136(119-127), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2019.04.013.
Blogs
Join Pharaoh Dive Club for Red Sea Splash Family Summer Camp in August 2024
3rd AUGUST 2024 – 1 or 2 WEEK PROGRAMMES
Daily water programme with Snorkelling & Scuba Diving.
Beginners or qualified, something for all.
Leave the kids with the Splash Team for days of Excitement, Fun & Adventure!
BOOK NOW: INFO@PHARAOHDIVECLUB.COM / TEL: +44 7598 329059 or +20 100 6822000
There are various options for accommodation with options for 2, 3, 4 or 5 guests.
Eco Huts provide accommodation for families of up to 4. The best option to enhance the adventure and closest to camping with basic facilities. For August we will provide central air cooling for all the Eco Huts.
Deluxe Chalets are only suitable for 2 guests. Fully air conditioned rooms with private bathroom and other facilities.
Boutique Rooms are available for families of up to 5.
Individual bespoke rooms fully air conditioned with private bathroom and other facilities.
Eco Huts: £675 per adult / £425 per child / Under 8 FREE of charge
Deluxe Chalet: £830 per adult / £505 per child / Under 8 FREE of charge
Boutique Room: £925 per adult / £550 per child / Under 8 FREE of charge
BOOK NOW: INFO@PHARAOHDIVECLUB.COM / TEL: +44 7598 329059 or +20 100 6822000
This is a truly unique opportunity to have a Family Desert Adventure totally away from it all! You will be based at the remote Roots Red Sea on the coast of the Egyptian Eastern Desert, 140km south of Hurghada city.
Red Sea Splash main focus is Snorkelling & Scuba Diving but that’s not all, we provide a rounded week of activities in support.
Pool& Field Games – Arts & Crafts
Marine Biology Workshops
Cultural Activities – Orienteering Adventures
Roots Red Sea have established strong links with the local communities of Hamerwain & El Quseir affording our guests to have a true taste of the local culture, SPLASH CAMP embraces this opportunity and bring in the local children to join in the fun with our adventure seekers.
During the day, families are welcome to take part in all activities together or the kids can be left with the SPLASH CAMP team while the parents enjoy the facilities or go diving themselves!
At the end of the day, its family time while the SPLASH CAMP team take a break. For those with the energy, there are family evening activities planned a few evenings.
Open Air Movie Night – Desert Star Gazing Walk & Talk
El Quseir Evening City Tour
The second week is very special, we head off on the Big Blue for a liveaboard safari around Fury Shoals.
BOOK NOW: INFO@PHARAOHDIVECLUB.COM / TEL: +44 7598 329059 or +20 100 6822000
U-8 Splash Club
Sadly we can’t offer Scuba Diving to the Splash Club but we can have lots of fun Snorkelling & Free Diving!
Splash Club includes:
Certified Snorkel Course – Marine ID Games – Intro to Free Diving
Arts & Craft Sessions – Adventure trails – Cultural Playtime – Pool Games
U-12 Explorer Club
In addition to an exciting snorkelling and Free Diving Programme in the Splash Club we can take you under the water on SCUBA to a whole new world of fun and wonder. If you are under 10 your first breath under water will be as a Bubblemaker and continue with daily Seal Team Missions. From 10 we will complete a Discover Scuba Diving experience in the amazing Red Sea. Alternatively we offer a full junior certification programme to become an international qualified Scuba Diver.
U-16 Adventurer Club
For qualified Scuba Divers regardless of age it’s the Adventurer Club and exploration of the local reefs and marine life. There will be 2 dives every day with the Open Ocean marine field station team who will introduce you to Red Sea marine life and workshops on marine research. Alternatively there are opportunities to continue your scuba diving certifications with our instructional team.
Parents are welcome to join the club activities and join the courses.
BOOK NOW: INFO@PHARAOHDIVECLUB.COM / TEL: +44 7598 329059 or +20 100 6822000
Big Blue might seem like the new kid on the block, but the team behind the highly acclaimed liveaboard is far from that. They have been running Red Sea safaris since the late 1980’s and were in fact part of the early pioneers who ventured out to the unknown on vessels that in today’s world, really shouldn’t have left the harbour! It’s that experience and the years of operating the award-winning Roots Red Sea resort which truly set Big Blue apart from the crowd!
Large lounge area, spacious sun deck and terrace deck.
Airy restaurant with five tables with up to six chairs per table, serving a varied and delicious menu with special dietary requirements catered for.
The spacious cabins have side by side beds and a large walk in wet bathroom.
Ample dive deck for divers & snorkelers.
Safety is everyone’s priority, whether you are relaxing on board, swimming, snorkelling or diving.
On board Big Blue is fitted with smoke alarms, emergency lighting and a fire alarm system. The lower corridor has a full-size door fire exit at the bow and open stairs to the stern. There are evacuation plans in each room along with life jackets, glass breaker tool and a fire extinguisher.
BOOK NOW: INFO@PHARAOHDIVECLUB.COM / TEL: +44 7598 329059 or +20 100 6822000
Red Sea Splash at Fury Shoals is a very rare opportunity to get involved with marine biology expedition for children and adults. Open Ocean biologists are on board to provide fascinating and entertaining facts about the marine life you will see. The team will provide workshops on marine life identification and survey methods both of which, should you wish, you will have the chance to put into practice during your safari.
The week is open to snorkelers, scuba divers and non divers too!
Fury shoals is perfect for first time mariners as it offers plenty of protection from the weather.
We board at Port Ghaleb on Saturday evening and prepare to set sail early on Sunday morning.
Heading south, our first day will be diving the reefs of Abu Dabbab before sailing overnight to reach our ultimate destination the Fury Shoals.
Here we will spend four days swimming, snorkelling and scuba diving amazing reefs. This includes guaranteed DOLPHIN encounters at Sataya Reef! After the last dive we haul anchor and head back to Abu Dabbab for our final two dives before disembarking our boat BIG BLUE.
Camp Extension Cost*
Adult £650 per adult
Under 16 £350 per child
BOOK NOW: INFO@PHARAOHDIVECLUB.COM / TEL: +44 7598 329059 or +20 100 6822000
FURTHER INFORMATION – INFO@PHARAOHDIVECLUB.COM
TEL: +44 7598 329059 or +20 100 6822000
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