Island Dreams' dive travel specialist Susan Young has just returned from a familiarization trip to Fiji. A scuba instructor with her 100-ton ship captain's ticket, Susan lived for 15 years in Grand Cayman, where she worked for Red Sail Sports. We hope that you will find her unique insight and boundless enthusiasm of value as you plan your own Fiji adventure.
October 26 -- Getting There
"Greetings! I'm so tired I don't know which way is up. Had a Rubenesque woman sitting next to me on the Los Angeles to Fiji flight, who hogged the armrest and her corpulence invaded my space. Didn't get much rest, but I'm here and will check in for my flight to Taveuni in a few moments .... after a big cup of chai! It was dark when we landed ... 4:50 a.m. local time. When the dawn slowly came 'round, I could see the outline of jagged mountains just by the airport...very cool! Stay tuned..."
October 28 -- Fish Factory
"Well, do you wanna hear about my dives? Tee hee...first dive was at a site called Fish Factory, and it was indeed...schools and schools of brilliant orange fish, deep purple fish, Moorish Idols (or Irish Morals, as my dive buddy in Truk and I called them), anemones with resident clown fish -- Brooke, please tell Evan I saw Nemo, and all his cousins! -- lionfish, nudibranchs -- I was in heaven with the nudibranchs! Second dive was a site called Blue Ribbon Eel Reef, and it didn't let us down. I wanted to see nudibranchs and a blue ribbon eel this trip, and scored on the second dive...with more lionfish, an enormous bumphead wrasse, a 12-foot wide manta ray overhead and a sea snake thrown in for good measure! It was fabulous. Our dive guide finally figured out the noise he was hearing was me squealing with delight into my regulator. We were on the surface waiting for the boat to pick us up when he saw the sea snake, also on the surface. He swam over to it, gently stroked it, held it gently behind it's head and the other hand on it's body and brought it over for me to see. The snake was beautiful, and felt almost rubbery. They're actually very shy, the dive guide told us, although incredibly lethal, like 5 minutes from the bite and you're history ... but he claimed no one around Fiji has ever been bitten.
"I had dinner both evenings at Garden Island Resort with the Australian couple who are the new managers, and they're delightful. Learned lots about Fiji, Taveuni, the people. Food was wonderful, and plentiful. I slept completely through the nights although I awakened at 4:30 a.m., and didn't go back to sleep, as the sun rises about 5:00.
"Left Taveuni this morning about 10:00 a.m., arrived Nadi about 11:30, got a taxi to the resort from which I'm writing this, and where we actually begin the fam trip. The taxi ride was two hours, the roads are dreadful but I asked the taxi driver to pull over and I bought four huge mangos. Hope I don't have to share! We're scheduled for a group dinner tonight and diving tomorrow. Can't wait to get in the water again. OK, kids, must go for now. Stayed tuned for Chapter 3."
November 4 -- Bula from Fiji
"It's almost all over but the bag drag to the airport. Last night's farewell dinner was killer .... wonderful food, waaaay too much great Australian red wine and stories told on everybody by everybody at the table. Laughing until we were crying. The Minister of Tourism for Fiji was at my table and he's a sweet man with a positive vision for Fiji for the future. There are so very many aspects of Fiji 180 degrees different to Cayman, and I must say, all for the better. Expats comprise only a very small number of the dive community. The divemasters are all Fijian, love what they do, and are so beautiful to watch in the water. The head divemaster at Garden Island Resort has been diving 26 years! Has been an instructor for 20! You won't see that in Cayman, with the possible exception of Arthle Evans.
If someone were to ask me what I loved most about my trip, I'd hands down immediately say the friendliness, the authentic, warm openness of the Fijiian people. Everyone greets you with a smile and a "bula!" and they mean it.
The birds are fabulous, I even think the mongoose are cute! Beautiful, bountiful flowers -- ginger, heliconia, hibiscus, frangipani, mimosa, bougainvillea. The children are gorgeous and sweet.
I'm off for a few minutes on the beach, then a massage and manicure this afternoon, followed by final packing. This is probably the final note from this gentle island country, but it won't be the last one ever from here ... my heart has to return.
Hugs, Susan
Susan's Note to Island Dreams' clients about Garden Island Resort
"I hope you'll love your time on Fiji as much as I did! My first and foremost impression is of the Fijian people ~ warm, friendly and very amenable to helping you any way they can. Wani from Garden Island Resort will pick you up at the airport and tell you about Taveuni on the 20-minute drive to the resort. He's so very sweet, and says "eh" at the end of his sentences, making me think there's some Canadian influence there somewhere. Most of the staff at the resort have logged at least 10-12 years there. Garry and Marce (pronounced Marcie) Cross are the new Aussie managers. That they have had a very positive influence on the staff is evident by the way the staff respond to them. They are fabulous! When I left, I felt like I was leaving old friends behind. They have years of hospitality experience in the Pacific, including Vanuatu ~ get them to tell you stories of diving on the USS President Coolidge.
"Garry and Marce are not typical resort managers in that they stay behind doors and never leave the resort. They greet guests at breakfast, lunch and dinner, ask if they might join you for dinner, and love being with their guests. Garry has already joined an organization on Taveuni working to preserve the coral reefs by educating residents and visitors alike and working toward economic growth for the island keeping the environment and well-being of the residents first and foremost. The goal of the committee is growth, but controlled growth with a definitive focus, not helter-skelter with no reins on outside influence.
"All rooms at Garden Island Resort are ocean view, as is the dining area. My room had a king size bed plus a twin-size day bed, plus 2 chairs, a small table between them, a water heating pot for making coffee or tea (plus the tea bags, instant coffee, sugar and such) and a small fridge, and are air-conditioned plus have a ceiling fan. There's tons of storage space on shelves and hanging area in addition to a small bureau with four drawers. Each room has a patio, if on the ground floor, or balcony, if on the second floor, with two chairs and a table. The bathrooms have a spacious tiled tub, good counter space and lots of room on the floor for tucking away toiletry bags, etc. Do remember the electricity is different: you'll need an adapter if taking hair dryers, shavers or the like (the rooms do not have hair dryers). The housekeepers put a nice bouquet of hibiscus and frangipani (plumeria) in a shell on the table, and will lay frangipani blossoms on your pillow.
"Breakfast is served beginning at 7:00 a.m., with a table bearing fruit from the island -- bananas, papaya and the very sweetest pineapple I have ever tasted -- cold cereals, bread for toasting and juices. The wait staff will come to your table, asking if you want something more substantial like eggs, hotcakes, etc. Please do not expect to lose weight on this segment of your trip...the reason being that the resort bakes their own bread. I knew I was in trouble. The dinner rolls are dee-vine and would have suited me fine to consume all by themselves with butter. There are little banana breads in muffin wrappers as well as other muffins at breakfast, and you'll have homemade cookies during the surface interval between dives. Lunch is at the usual lunch hours and can be as light or as substantial as you like ~ salads, sandwiches, special fried rice, Taveuni beef used for burgers, etc. You make your selection for dinner by 5:00 p.m., and dinner service begins at 7:00 p.m. The first night I chose a chicken breast that was stuffed with a coconut-sage dressing, one of those combinations that you think so odd, it has to be good. Didn't let me down...it was delicious. It was served with a half potato oven roasted, a half ear of corn and a local spinach-type green called rourou. Don't pass up the rourou, it's yummy. The dinner menu changes daily, and the second night I had Indonesian chicken ~ baked in coconut milk with spices.
"The dining area is lovely ~ all local hardwoods for the tables, chairs and support posts. They've done something fun on the support posts: palm fronds have been plaited together so they cover the supports completely. It gives a bit of color and a nice tropical feel to the dining area.
"There is a TV in the dining area where you can hook up your video equipment to watch the day's diving adventure, but no TV in the rooms. I neglected to ask about Internet for use by the guests, but will ask about it. The social area also has games available ~ Scrabble, etc.
"Aqua Trek was quite fun, and very safe and caring, all at the same time. Tawake, the dive shop manager, is a Fijian who has been diving 26 years and at the resort about 18 years. All the dive staff are Fijian, whether they are boat operators, in the shop, or divemasters. Go to the dive shop on the afternoon you arrive, do all the paperwork and set up your dives. You can store your gear there, they'll put it on the boat for you, take it off after the dives, rinse it and hang it up: all you need to do is collect it later and put it away. There were just six divers in the group my guide had, and they are very specific about how the dives will be conducted but not overbearing or strict. We had quite a bit of current on both dives, swam into it a bit on each, but mostly let it carry us along. A dive guide gets in the water with each group of divers and the boat moves along, following your bubbles and picks you up when you surface. They are very friendly to photographers, will point out eels, nudibranchs and get out of the way so you can take a photo.
During the few dives in the waters of Taveuni that I did, I saw a manta overhead, a huge bumphead wrasse, a turtle, nudibranchs, a blue ribbon eel and a sea snake...plus the brilliant clear colors of the legendary soft corals. The dive guides are very conscientious about keeping the reef healthy and advise guests to be mindful of their buoyancy, particularly if they're not used to swimming with current. One curious fact about all the dive operators I noted ~ all weights are 3-pounders, there are no 2 pound weights, no 4 pound weights. I usually use 6 pounds, which works well for 3-lb weights but they advise you to use 1-2 pounds more than you usually would to help stay down in the current. I ended up being a bit heavy, using 9 pounds but that was ok ... but what I didn't like about it was there was a weight on each hip, and one at my lower back. There was no other way to distribute the weights. And they may ask you how many "blocks" you want, so be aware that each block is going to be 3 pounds. Tanks are aluminum 80's, and if you use their regs, the pressure gauge is in bars, not pounds.
"The morning I was leaving, I was walking in the garden area and realized the air was faintly perfumed with frangipani. What a lovely parting memory.
Cheers, Susan"
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