After 18 months out of the water, primarily due to my hip replacement surgery, Hank and I embarked on our third trip to Fiji. A direct 11-hour flight from LAX makes it “easy” to get there, at least compared with other South Pacific destinations.
After arriving in Nadi on the main island at 6:00 a.m. local time, we joined our dive buddies Richard and Marilynn for a short 1-hour flight in a small plane to Taveuni Island, followed by a 90-minute van ride over bumpy dirt roads to our destination for the week, Paradise Taveuni Resort, nestled on the southern end of the island, not far from famous Rainbow Reef, the Great White Wall, and Vuna Reef.
Joining the four of us for many of our meals and dives were Adam and Denise, traveling from Tennessee, and Marcus and Beatrice, all the way from Switzerland. We love the opportunity to dive with regular dive buddies (we first met Richard and Marilynn on a dive trip in Bali) and new dive buddies!
Our first day was all about relaxing, getting a massage at the ocean-front spa, and taking a tour of the resort’s garden/farm, where they grow many of the fruits and vegetables we ate all week and raise a number of pigs (who eat our leftovers).
For the next five days, we did 11 dives, including one night dive (see photos and video below—all from Cindy and Hank). We had great help from the boat captains and dive guides, who made sure we went to the best dive sites and took care of all our dive-related needs.
We also enjoyed Fijian hospitality, including Fiji night at the resort restaurant with lots of the staff and local villagers singing, dancing, and sharing their culture with us. The short video below shows Ana alerting us to Happy Hour one evening!
I got called up to join the Fijian student dancers (see the short video below)–I won’t quit my day job!
On our non-diving day, we traveled to one of the local villages, where we experienced their kava ceremony, visited their local school, walked through the village, and stopped at the scenic blowhole on our way back.
Our last full day in Fiji was my birthday, and Hank worked with the resort staff to give me a very memorable birthday experience. While we were away on a beach walk, the housekeeping staff created a work of art on our bed. That evening, they set up a special table for us overlooking the water. We had an amazing meal that included crab, lobster tails, tempura shrimp and vegetables, an ice cream sundae, and a pink birthday cake!
The staff of Paradise Taveuni made our stay there very memorable. All the staff learned our names, shared their knowledge with us, and gave us personalized service at every opportunity. Our week in Paradise was a great way to celebrate my birthday and return to scuba diving! Click the video link below to see Hank’s compilation of our diving videos. Or scroll further down to see screen shots of our favorite critters (we shoot only video underwater).
After our first three days of diving, we had two more days to explore Vuna Reef, a night dive on the Paradise House Reef, and one more day on Rainbow Reef.
The last dive of our trip was another beautiful spot on Rainbow Reef, called Jerry’s Jelly. We saw everything there and the conditions were perfect. It was a great way to end our Fiji diving.
Vinaka to the wonderful Paradise staff and villagers on Taveuni! Vinaka to our dive buddies–Marilynn, Richard, Marcus, Beatrice, Denise, and Adam–it was great to spend the week with you! Bula!!!!
I love these trip report vlogs Cindy! I feel like I am on these trips with you. I noticed some cool butterfly fish in the video. Did you see some new ones you haven’t seen before?
Thanks, Todd! We saw a lot of butterflyfish in Fiji. The ones in the video were:
Singular bannerfish
Dot & Dash butterflyfish
Longfin bannerfish
Pacific double-saddle butterflyfish
Longnose butterflyfish
Yellowback butterflyfish
Masked bannerfish
Speckled butterflyfish
Teardrop butterflyfish
Redfin butterflyfish
Chevroned butterflyfish
A few angelfish as well: Three-spot, regal, bicolor
At least, those are our best guesses! Thanks for watching!
What an amazing dive trip. I think it is hard to beat Fiji. As always, thanks for sharing!
Thanks for reading, Dee! Enjoy your upcoming Fiji trip!
Cindy
What a beautiful and interesting dive trip! The colors are so vibrant and the variety of fish is amazing. So many fish I have never seen or heard about! Appreciate the narrative, the photos and the video. What an amazing environment. Thank you for sharing.
Hi Ilene,
You’re right–the colors are vibrant, which is one of the things we love best about diving in Fiji. Thanks for reading and writing!
Cindy
What a beautiful and interesting dive trip! The colors are so vibrant and the variety of fish is amazing. So many fish I have never seen or heard about! Appreciate the narrative, the photos and the video. What an amazing environment. Thank you.
Absolutely stunning pictures!! Happy Birthday, Cindy!!!