News
Project Shark is back! blue o two release a brand new Fiji itinerary
UK-based Tour Operator blue o two are excited to announce a brand new Fiji itinerary from 2019.
Dive into tropical waters with flourishing shark populations on their brand new itinerary, Project Shark: Fiji. The aim of Project Shark is to highlight the global issues facing sharks, with a Fijian focus, as well as enjoying some of the most exciting dive sites that Fiji has to offer. Project Shark in Fiji will include a focus on manta rays as they can also be seen in this destination and are closely related to sharks. Encounters with endangered species allows divers to add a greater purpose to their liveaboard holiday.
On board the beautiful S/Y Fiji Siren, this 10 night trip departing from the Darling family’s Volivoli Beach Resort on Vita Levu takes divers through the Bligh Waters. This itinerary will involve close encounters with sharks, with the possibility of diving with manta rays. Divers will be joined on board for the duration of this trip by our experienced blue o two Project Shark trip host, Dr Elke Bojanowski.
Project Shark is a perfect trip for anyone who has an active interest in the preservation of the marine environment. Divers will not only enjoy fantastic diving with some of the most fascinating pelagic animals on the planet, but will learn about globally endangered marine species and what, as divers, they can do to aid their protection. Dr Elke Bojanowski will conduct seminars giving divers the opportunity to gain a better understanding of the biology and behaviour of sharks. During this trip, divers will be able to play a part in adding to valuable research efforts by the ‘Manta Trust’ who work towards the conservation of manta rays worldwide.
Founder of the ‘Red Sea Sharks Trust’, dive guide and marine biologist, Elke Bojanowski Ph.D, began the Longimanus Project in October 2004 and since this date she has been actively collecting underwater photographs and video-clips of oceanic whitetip sharks for catalogue, review and analysis. Since 2012 the project has expanded to become Red Sea Sharks and has increased its scope to include grey reef, whitetip reef, scalloped hammerhead, pelagic thresher and silky shark catalogues. blue o two are therefore delighted to now expand their Project Shark itineraries to now include Fiji.
Join blue o two on board for Project Shark: Fiji in 2019:
16/06/19 – Project Shark: Fiji – S/Y Fiji Siren (10 nights) – £3760 per person*
*Package includes: Full board on the vessel (incl tea/coffee, juices, soft drinks & local beers), all diving on air, nitrox if certified, 12lt cylinder, weights & weight belt, equipment hire (BCD, regulator, 3mm shorty wetsuit, mask, fins & boots). Given changes in exchange rates the final package price can only be confirmed at the time of booking. The price shown EXCLUDES flights and local transfers although these can be organised on request.
For further details on Project Shark: Fiji, please contact the blue o two travel team on +44 (0) 1752 480 808 or divingholidays@blueotwo.com, or visit www.blueotwo.com.
For a week at the end of February I was invited to sample the diving with Orca Dive Club based at the Breakers Diving and Surfing Lodge by courtesy of SOMABAY.
Somabay covers an entire peninsula and is home to several resorts as well as residential compounds. Somabay caters for scuba diving as well as many other sports, including windsurfing, golf, sailing, go-carting, horse riding and many other activities.
All the activities are of a world-class standard and any or all of these can be booked directly from The Breakers.
I took Easyjet from Bristol (UK) to Hurghada. Easyjet are not by any means my favourite airline but the flight was cheap and direct (except for the surprise extra £48 I was charged at the gate for my carry-on bag).
I was met at Hurghada airport by a driver and car and taken to the Breakers 28 miles (45Kilomaters) south along the coast. Once at the hotel I was too late for an evening meal and so a basic meal was delivered to my room. That and a beer from the fridge and I was fast asleep.
Early the next morning after breakfast I arrived for my rep meeting at the Orca Dive Center for 8.00am. I was immediately made to feel welcome, and after brief introductions I got some dive gear from the store, had a chat with my dive guide Mohamed and got ready to try the house reef situated at the end of a very long wooded pier where all diving gear and divers are taken out by buggies.
Once at the end of the pier, a helping hand from staff makes sure your gear is set and then it’s a short walk to the very end where you can either climb down a ladder of simply jump in the water next to the reef. The house reef extends both north and south giving a very easy and safe dive with plenty to see. At this time of the year the water temperature was a constant 22 degrees Centigrade and there was little or no current, so there were no issues in swimming back to the pier.
Quite a few divers were in dry or semi-dry suits, but being from the UK and used to the cold I found a 3mm wetsuit with a 3mm neoprene vest quite comfortable. Even after 50 years of diving I still find that first dive of a trip slightly nerving until I am actually underwater and then all becomes relaxed and I ease into auto diving mode. There was plenty to see with many of the Red Sea favourites along the way.
After the dive and a buggy ride back to the hotel for a very good buffet lunch I was back in the water, once again on the house reef for an afternoon dive.
Check in for part 2 tomorrow when Jeff gets on a day boat and dives a few of the off-shore reefs.
Book your next Red Sea dive adventure with SOMABAY! For more information, visit www.somabay.com.
Stay at the Breakers Diving & Surfing Lodge when you visit! For more information, visit www.thebreakers-somabay.com.
Find out more about ORCA Dive Clubs at SOMABAY at www.orca-diveclubs.com/en/soma-bay-en.
In an interview recorded exclusively for Scubaverse.com, Jeff Goodman interviews Jeremy Higson from Sea to Sky about the itineraries the tour operator offers in Oman.
For more information about diving in Oman, contact Sea to Sky now:
Email: hello@mysetaosky.co.uk
WhatsApp: + 39 379 236 7138
Website: www.myseatosky.co.uk
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