Take me back to Fiji!  And right away!

I have just spent the last week diving the absolutely spectacular Bligh Waters out of Volivoli Resort with the crew from Ra Divers and Global Dive.

It is not all about the diving though.  A tropical island get away would not be complete without at least a day of lying by the pool – both sleeping and swimming (and of course getting a bit sunburned) and the obligatory consumption of a lot of Gin and Tonic!

Over six days, we completed 11 dives and I was absolutely amazed by the condition of the coral reefs.
Skimming along the reef on a drift dive with soft corals open and as big as trees, well you can see why I want to go back so badly.  Not even considering the fact that it is at least half the air and the water temperature that it was in Fiji here at home right now!

As there was a lot of diving – lots and lots and lots – here is a quick break down of the sites and the dives and some highlights:

- Day One

Heading out on the boat on Day One, the plan was to dive the inner reef and ensure that everyone was comfortable in their equipment and feeling confident before we headed out to the reefs in the Bligh Waters.

Dragon Tails

Named for the Dragon Tail nudibranchs.
A mild current to swim against, we circled around large coral heads.

Dive Data
||  Depth: 22.7m |  Time:  59 mins |  Temp: 26 degrees |

Volivoli Sunrise

Coming across a white tip reef shark sleeping on the sand, we spent our time cruising between three large coral heads.

Dive Data
||  Depth: 19.6m |  Time:  66 mins |  Temp: 26 degrees |

- Day Two

Day Two was the exciting day!
The water wings came off and we raced to the outer reefs to dive the sites in the Bligh Channel – the reason we came.

The Soft Corals of Fiji's Bligh Waters

Black Magic Mountain

Coming up from around 40m, this site features a massive coral head with a rather large flat top to it.
Covered in nudibranchs, the soft corals were not all open as there wasn’t a lot of water movement.
Jono found a shark – funny that – so he missed the turtle.  Thats right, the turtle!  There is a video of the turtle at the end of this post.

Dive Data
||  Depth: 29.2m |  Time:  68 mins |  Temp: 26 degrees |

Mellow Yellow

Peacock Nudibranch at Mellow Yellow

Yellow it is named – and yellow it is.
The very top of this site is covered in – well I think they are a type of yellow soft coral.  I added some pictures to the gallery so if you know, please let me know!
Anna and I spent ages at the end of this dive in the sunlight with Peacock Nudibranchs and a tiny Lionfish.

Dive Data
||  Depth: 17.4m |  Time:  84 mins |  Temp: 26 degrees |

- Day Three

Wheatfields

The top of the coral head at Wheatfields is a perfect explanation of how this site got its name.

Dive Data
||  Depth: 24m |  Time:  81 mins |  Temp: 26 degrees |

Heartbreak Ridge

This site has a couple of swim-throughs – massive ones at nearly 30m.
The walls of the passages are covered in big gorgonian fans.  With a torch (and strobe), the colours are stunning.

My no-deco time disappeared faster than .. well … something very fast.

Before I knew it, I was right at the limits.  We slowly circled our way back up – white tip reef shark.  I spent a lot of time at 8m waiting for a Clown fish playing in some anemones.

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Dive Data
||  Depth: 29.2m |  Time:  68 mins |  Temp: 26 degrees |

- Day Four

Instant Replay

Oh I do love a good drift dive – and today, we were drifting!

Spotted sweetlips under rock.  Very large and hungry grey reef shark.

Dive Data
||  Depth: 25m |  Time:  52 mins |  Temp: 26 degrees |

Pot Luck

This site was apparently a gamble … but definitely not a disappointment!

Dive Data
||  Depth: 24m |  Time:  81 mins |  Temp: 26 degrees |

The New World

We decided that we really wanted to do a night dive but a few of our group had never done a night dive.
The Fijian guides said that they would take care of them so we headed off to the inner reef to find a suitable site.
I have to be honest and say that if I was making the dive site choice – it would not have been this one.

Dive Data
||  Depth: 24m |  Time:  81 mins |  Temp: 26 degrees |

- Day Five

Marys Maytag

The only dive where we were limited on our bottom time.
We were in a place where we were going to complete a rather fast and long drift dive and there was no where for the boat to anchor.  60 mins max they said.  So group One piled overboard, grabbed our cameras and headed down.

The site is stunning!!

Dive Data
||  Depth: 24m |  Time:  81 mins |  Temp: 26 degrees |

Open All Hours

Our own dive site!  Well, a site that we got to name – something to do with Andrew being Arkwright (he may have more than one Granville), the sound of the cash register draw a standing joke at the dive shop … anyways “Open All Hours” seemed appropriate.

It was rather a shame to find 3 or 4 Crown-Of-Thorns Starfish on this part of the reef.
These starfish are not only poisonous and dangerous to us, but they are corallivores – one Crown of Thorns can consume up to 6 square metres of reef each year.
They are extremely hard to kill, and with the long arms covered in venomous spines, any diver trying to clear an area must be extremely careful.

Dive Data
||  Depth: 24m |  Time:  81 mins |  Temp: 26 degrees |

Check out the whole Fiji 2010 Album:

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