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Golden Dreams and Majestic Sirens: Our Last Hurrah in Beautiful Fiji
The final diving location on our tour of Fiji was at Volivoli Beach Resort, near Rakiraki on the main Fijian island of Viti Levu. After a 4 hour drive from Waidroka, it was lovely to be so warmly greeted by all the staff here.
The resort is owned by the Darling family, and we met up with Steve Snr, and his sons, Nick and Steve, along with Fiji Siren Operations Manager, Simon Doughty, for a welcome beer in their newly re-opened restaurant and bar. Volivoli was severely damaged by a particularly destructive cyclone that hit Fiji earlier in the year, and only opened its doors to the public again at the beginning of November. Despite this, they have just won the prestigious award of “Most Outstanding Dive Resort, Fiji 2016” and you can see why, with the new rooms beautifully appointed, a superb pool and great food coming out of the kitchen.
We were worried that we might not get to sample the diving here, as a storm was brewing and the rain had been falling heavily and steadily all day. Taking our gear down to the dive shop, we were given a small ray of hope, with the staff saying they would do everything they could do get us out on the local reefs (but alas some of the more spectacular sites here were going to have to wait).
The dive centre is immaculate; you could eat your dinner off the floor of their impressive compressor room – we kid you not! Now, we just had to keep everything crossed that the morning would bring better weather. The team assured us that either way, they would come and let us know at breakfast. We decided to be positive, and somewhat optimistically, went to setup our camera equipment before dinner.
The next morning we received the good news we had hoped for – the diving was on. With other divers choosing to have a lie-in, we had the boat to ourselves in the morning and the crew took us to see two beautiful reefs. Many people thought the reefs would be badly damaged here after such a massive storm earlier in the year, but even close to shore, there is no sign of this. It was overcast, and the sea was a little rough, but once underwater, the scenery was exceptional. Once again, Fiji was proving to us that its colourful reefs are some of the best in the world. We dived at Neptune’s Rhapsody and Hakuna Matata, and as we slowly circled the reef walls, barracuda schooled in the distance. Our afternoon dive saw us being joined by Nick Darling, and a further 5 divers. We descended onto Golden Dream dive site, so named because of the orange soft corals that thrive here, and soon our guide was pointing out nudibranchs, morays, and even ghost pipefish. But the highlight of the dive was a pair of octopuses displaying on the reef, changing colour and shape as the ascended with us and continued to perform on the safety stop.
Here is a video of one of the octopus by Nick Darling:
Volivoli and Ra Divers have 3 boats, which means that they can handle over 30 divers at any one time. In addition to this, Fiji Siren also runs from here, so ideally you could do a week or 10 days aboard this sumptuous live-aboard, and then spend some time on land, exploring the local reefs and wonderful countryside.
On our final day of diving, we ran out of luck and the weather finally caught up with us. Diving was cancelled for the day, due to high winds and lots more rain, so instead Simon Doughty offered to give us a tour of the majestic Fiji Siren. She had all her sails and soft furnishing packed away, in “cyclone mode” to lessen any potential damage. Still, though, she is an impressive sight. Built only 3 years ago, she carries 16 divers on trips that take in some of the best diving Fiji has to offer.
Alas, it was once again time to move on, and this time, to start our long journey home.
www.sirenfleet.com/liveaboards/fiji-siren
Find out more about Nick and Caroline at www.frogfishphotography.com.
Free Octopus with every purchase of a SCUBAPRO regulator system
Just in time for the spring season, divers can save money with the FREE OCTOPUS SPRING PROMOTION! Until July 31st SCUBAPRO offers an Octopus for free
with every purchase of a regulator system!
Get a free S270 OCTOPUS with purchase of these combinations:
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with A700
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with S620Ti
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with D420
MK25 EVO Din mit S620Ti-X
Get a free R105 OCTOPUS with purchase of the following combinations:
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with G260
MK25 EVO or MK17 EVO with S600
SCUBAPRO offers a 30-year first owner warranty on all regulators, with a revision period of two years or 100 dives. All SCUBAPRO regulators are of course certified according to the new European test standard EN250-2014.
Available at participating SCUBAPRO dealers. Promotion may not be available in all regions. Find an authorized SCUBAPRO Dealer at scubapro.com.
More information available on www.scubapro.com.
Jake Davies boards Ghazala Explorer for an unforgettable Red Sea diving experience…
Overnight, the wind picked up, making the planned morning dive a bit bumpy on the Zodiacs to the drop point on Thomas Reef. There, we would dive along the reef before descending through the canyon and then passing under the arch before ascending the wall with a gentle drift. The site provided great encounters with more pelagic species, including shoals of large barracuda, tuna, and bigeye trevally.
Once back on the boat, it was time to get everything tied down again as we would head back south. This time, with the wind behind us, heading to Ras Mohammed to dive Jackfish Alley for another great gentle drift wall dive before then heading up the coast towards the Gulf of Suez to moor up at the wreck of the Thistlegorm. This being the highlight wreck dive of the trip and for many onboard, including myself, it was the first time diving this iconic wreck. I had heard so much about the wreck from friends, and globally, this is a must on any diver’s list. Fortunately for us, there was only one other boat at the site, which was a rarity. A great briefing was delivered by Ahmed, who provided a detailed background about the wreck’s history along with all the required safety information as the currents and visibility at the site can be variable.
Kitting up, there was a lot of excitement on deck before entering the water and heading down the shoreline. Descending to the wreck, there was a light northerly current which reduced the visibility, making it feel more like the conditions that can be found off the Welsh coast. At 10m from the bottom, the outline of the wreck appeared as we reached the area of the wreck which had been bombed, as our mooring line was attached to part of the propeller shaft. Arriving on deck, instantly everywhere you looked there were many of the supplies which the ship was carrying, including Bren Carrier tanks and projectiles that instantly stood out.
We headed around the exterior, taking a look at the large propeller and guns mounted on deck before entering the wreck on the port side to take a look in the holds. It was incredible to see all the trucks, Norton 16H, and BSA motorcycles still perfectly stacked within, providing a real snapshot in time.
Overall, we had four dives on the Thistlegorm, where for all of the dives we were the only group in the water, and at times, there were just three of us on the whole wreck, which made it even more special, especially knowing that most days the wreck has hundreds of divers. Along with the history of the wreck, there was plenty of marine life on the wreck and around, from big green turtles to batfish, along with shoals of mackerel being hunted by trevally. Some unforgettable dives.
The final leg of the trip saw us cross back over the Suez Canal to the Gobal Islands where we planned to stay the night and do three dives at the Dolphin House for the potential of sharing the dive with dolphins. The site, which included a channel that was teeming with reef fish, especially large numbers of goatfish that swam in large shoals along the edge of the reef. These were nice relaxing dives to end the week. Unfortunately, the dolphins didn’t show up, which was okay as like all marine life they are difficult to predict and you can’t guarantee what’s going to be seen. With the last dive complete, we headed back to port for the final night where it was time to clean all the kit and pack before the departure flight the next day.
The whole week from start to finish on Ghazala Explorer was amazing; the boat had all the facilities you need for a comfortable week aboard. The crew were always there to help throughout the day and the chefs providing top quality food which was required after every dive. The itinerary providing some of the best diving with a nice mixture of wreck and reef dives. I would recommend the trip to anyone, whether it’s your first Red Sea liveaboard in the Red Sea or you’re revisiting. Hopefully, it’s not too long before I head back to explore more of the Red Sea onboard Ghazala Explorer.
To find out more about the Northern Red Sea reef and wrecks itineraries aboard Ghazala Explorer, or to book, contact Scuba Travel now:
Email: dive@scubatravel.com
Tel: +44 (0)1483 411590
Photos: Jake Davies / Avalon.Red
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