Thread: Fiji?
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Old 02-14-2012, 11:02 AM   #4
makoa352
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Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: HAMAKUA-SOUTHPAC
Posts: 192
Re: Fiji?

Fiji is sick diving brah! The water, reef structures, and access are amazing. Depending on where you stay, the reefs can be fished out due to the local villages living off reef fish. We stay Naviti Island (Yasawa Island Group), Kese Village, and I was amazed at the way the local Fijian boys hammer small kine reef species with Fijian Slings...old metal shafts with a single piece of rubber with a finger loop at the end. In Kese village they did a lot of their hunting at night. I gifted to the village a smaller reef gun, and an old school Hawaiian sling. One of the village elders loved the sling and poked some nice fish! If you are staying in a local village and not a resort I would recommend doing something along those lines beside the customary yangona/grog (kava) you present to the elders for allowing you to stay/ dive their waters. Gear and hardware are pretty expensive there and they appreciate those kind of gifts. My boys and I saw several giant uhu but they were way elusive. There are so many islands and thousands of square miles of ocean to dive that you can usually find a boat and driver. We went ferral (village w/no roads, elect power) and loved it. Gained some serious Fijian Brothers from living in the village and diving with the Fijian watermen like that. I could never do the resort "all inclusive, picked off the shelf " dive vacation. We hit blue water one day and as was stated you will need to bring your own blue water terminal gear. We ate every species of fish we and the village guys shot, never a problem with cig. Nevah hit kaku (cuda) though. The village elder even fed us a blow fish he hit with the sling and I nevah ate a fish that tasty! He simmered in coconut milk
all day. Our experience is only of one small village, on one small remote island, and may be very different from the experience you will have where you stay. Enjoy the nightly grog sessions and the more formal Yangona/Kava ceremonies. Had some of my longest and deepest dives in Fiji I think due to the continuous grog sessions every night and resultant low heart rate!
In local Yasawan dialect I say to you "Cola Vina!" (Bula Vinaka)
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