Kate on Manta Reef

Drex and Me!

Drex is one of the drivers here at Matava.

Mostly he drives the dive boats. Drex doesn’t say too much but he is very good at making the teas and coffees at surface interval time (Much better then I am).

Like all our drivers Drex knows these reefs very well and is on the money at getting us to and from dive sites. I qualified Drex as an open water diver at the start of the year, boy was that fun – for both of us.

Sometimes when it rains Drex will wear his big yellow raincoat and pants, sometimes even a mask, I laugh but it is actually quite a practical outfit.

I always wonder what the driver does whilst waiting for the divers, Drex tells me he just spends his time looking for the bubbles. Good enough answer for me.

What a trip!

For the last week I have had the pleasure of meeting and diving with Bill Boyce.

Bill has an extensive knowledge of the marine environment, a great understanding of current conservation issues, his joke telling ability is second to none and he has an amazing talent for underwater photography. And these talents I’m sure are the tip of the iceberg that is Bill Boyce, however the greatest thing about diving with Bill is his enthusiasm… about everything.

 Joe and Bill fishing for sailfish (a Fiji National Record there!)
AND we didn't cut Joe out the photo this time Tim!

Now as a dive guide you always want to find the holy grail of species, the most beautiful nudibranch, the harlequin ghost pipe fish, the biggest manta, whatever it is you want to show the divers, you want it to be well cool! So I show Bill a few things that I find amazing, a beautiful emerald anemone, this gets a "YAHOO!" (yes he can talk underwater!), a pipe fish gets a few high fives and by the time I show him a tiny little nudibranch nestled in a sand flat I get a great big shove and I can hear him shouting underwater ‘no way man – how’d you see that!’

We surface from every dive and Bill is exploding with excitement about everything we just saw. This is the kind of diving I love, when every single thing underwater is appreciated, when every fish is admired for its diversity, where every nudibranch has its five minutes of fame, where each scratch on a sharks sleek body is recognised. People who are excited about diving, keep diving alive.

Thanks a lot Bill, all I can say is what a trip!  

Naiqoro Passage dive

We drop onto this coral wonderland at the Naiqoro Marine Reserve. No current, no swell, vis is perfect. We rummage through the reef like children looking for lost coins down the back of our dads lazy boy.

The striped dascylus like silver coins shimmering and darting in and out of the coral, anemone fish the golden coins just waiting to be spent, the colourful nudibranchs like a lost bag of jellybeans, your favourite kind, and out of nowhere Glass cleaner shrimps with tiny purple claws, like finding a clean twenty tucked far beneath the cushions.

Enough time spent here, we count our riches and head out further into the passage, wham! We hit the wall that is Naiqora Passage and with our belts fastened and our inflight entertainment rolling our journey begins.

Fan coral bending and shaking, fish swimming towards you but not moving at all as you fly past their anemone homes. We stop for a moment, cling onto a rock outcrop and watch a nudibranch, its tiny purple body with intricate orange trim, holding on for dear life as its antennae struggles with the ever increasing current.

We can’t stop, so much to take in. Soon its time to surface, we emerge with nothing, no one says a word, we feel like the richest people in the world and for that moment we probably are.

What lies beneath?

Like a blue cover hiding Christmas presents, the ocean recedes and I wait in anticipation to see what it was hiding.

The dogs wait too. Rocks and coral soon start to jut awkwardly out of the blue blanket that is still being pulled ever so slowly away. We walk the clear sand path that winds from the resorts doorstep to the small Waya Island, which sits directly South of  Matava.

Sea grass appears first and our search begins, small crabs, banded sea snakes, snake eels and all kinds of interesting creatures have their 15 minutes of fame as we watch them go about their daily lives. Seconds turn into minutes and we loose our selves in a small crab constructing his home.

Minutes turn into hours and soon the ocean decides we’ve seen enough and starts to slowly take its creatures back until once again we are left with a glassy blue blanket at our doorstep.

Kate the Kiwi Instructor

Young at Heart

Anthony going into the deep!

Anthony and Cheryl from Aussie arrived at Matava resort to diving guests that had just experienced a wonderful day diving with the Mantas. Cheryl and Anthony came to Matava with no diving plans but decided to give it a go, and they did just that.

Cheryl taking the plunge!

Armed with no diving experience and a ‘lets get on with it attitude’ they completed the course in three days, flying through the paper work and skills like naturals.

Now it must be said that these two Aussie’s were the ‘most mature’ students I have had the pleasure of teaching, but it didn’t make a difference as they were motivated and ready for a laugh. In no time they were out on the dive boat checking out the mantas for themselves. Well Done Ant and Cheryl.

Also Congratulations to Sylvia from Canada, Marcell from Switzerland and Byron, Wes and Denise also from Canada, who all completed the PADI Open Water Course.

by Kate the Kiwi Instructor

Joji the Bus driver

At 6pm every evening at Matava the distinct sound of the lali is heard through out the resort.

The guests and staff slowly make their way down to the main bure, the haven for the ritualistic combination of diving and fishing stories. It is during this hour that the conversation flows from the one that got away to debates on the actual size of the mantaray that the divers saw.

Joji or Maggie work behind the bar and with no 6 oclock news we only have each other to entertain ourselves and Joji to drive the bus.

Each evening brings new conversation from all types of different people, you never know who you might meet, where the conversation might lead or where Joji is driving us tonight.

The Manta Dance

The Manta Dance

So another breakfast we are served 'happy diver muffins' with eggs and 'maybe might see Manta toast'.

Myself and Sadie and Matt from Guam and Mark from Brisbane head out to Manta Reef for our morning dives. The 40 minute drive to this dive site is scattered with flying fish and a few yellow fin to keep us entertained. We drop down to 18m and move slowly across this flat topped coral bed that slowly undulates into two small but rather wide sea mounts.

This the Manta feeding site! So I begin the Manta dance, the calling of the mantas, the most hypnotically alluring dance, Yeah right! So it doesnt work, No Manta's in sight!

Soon the four of us are dancing, if you can call it that. Matt spots a swim through and signals that he's gonna take a look, him and Mark head down while myself and Sadie cruise over the top, a beautiful school of baracuda are waiting for us on the other side and as Matt fumbles with his camera to get a good shot, out of no where emerges our dancing partner - shiny, so graceful, black polished back with a gleaming white belly, slowly cruising, putting our dance to shame.

Our mouths are wide open just like the Mantas, except he is feeding and we are in awe of this beautiful creature. And soon another and another. It doesn't get much better then this!

Kate the Kiwi Diving Instructor at Mad Fish Dive Centre

Missing Home

So every time I see this spectacular coloured tropical species I get a sudden rush of adrenaline and instinctively start sizing up the prey. I then quickly remember that I'm in Fiji not New Zealand and not undergoing the typical NZ cray hunt (which I have to admit I do miss).

So instead I just have to hover motionlesly staring at this beautiful creatures painted form, decievingly delicate looking features and strong well developed front legs.

In fact after spending so much time watching these fellows I don't know if I can bring myself back to the hunt that Im so used to at home.

Kate the Kiwi Diving Instructor at Mad Fish Dive Centre

The Day I met Bella and Rupert

So it took me a while for my eye to adjust to the fact that the reef was not just a blur of color but was actually made up of individual living things. It as my first dive in Fiji where I saw them.

Never have I seen this marvel of  nature anywhere else, New Zealand could boast some wonderful creatures but none like this tiny perfectly painted shell-less molusc. And it instantly became my favourite - The Nudibranch.

From the Family Chromodorididae it took me some time to distinguish nudibranchs clearly from the flatworms which also frequent the reef. This tiny creature is intricate with colors that just amaze me.

So I began searching for them on every dive, the divemasters here, Mas, Jone and Jo definitly had developed their eye to find them and could spot one a good few meters away.

I'd thought I had seen them all, but today I found my favourite. With a light pink skirt and black stripes following the perfectly formed frame, I called them Bella and Rupert.

Now i'm sure there is many scientific experts on the subject of Nudibranchs that could identify classes and subclasses of these creatures on fine anatomical features. But all I can say (without sounding too girly) is that they are so pretty.

Kate the Kiwi Diving Instructor at Mad Fish Dive Centre

Finding Nemo Every Day

So I cried during the first scene of Finding Nemo, who didn't? But don't worry, Marlin, Nemo and their entire extended family are alive and well here in Kadavu. No dive can go by without these little clown fish making a profound statement of protection for their little homes of anemone.

Reasonably brave anemonefish that don't give in too easily to a diver invading their symbiotic relationship. Yesterday during our second dive, whilst staring at a pair of these quite interactive clownfish, one swam right into my mask, as if giving me a little warning nudge - well whatever he attempted to do, it was enough for me to back off.

I couldn't tell if this brave little fishes actions were indicative of the fact that he had't seen the movie or he was inspired by it?! Either way I'll continue my search for Dory.

Kate, The Kiwi Instructor
Mad Fish Dive Centre @ Matava

I Thought You Went Diving?

So we are heading out to a dive site, Jo is driving and myself, Jeanie and Richard are getting our gear ready.

All of a sudden a yellowfin leaps from the water in a dramatic slow motion arch, and I find myself watching in awe, then another and another. And within split seconds the small dive boat has spun around and Jo is frantically unwinding a handline at the rear of the boat while Richard is giving direction towards the silver jumpers.

And in all this time all I have managed to do is keep breathing. Adrenaline rush!

'Whats going on' I tell myself  'Im pretty sure I don't even like fishing!'. But it was to late to reason with myself, I was already standing on the seat in the middle of the boat screaming with excitement that Jo had hooked the Yellowfin Tuna... On a hand line!

So as the experienced fisherman play the game they know so well, I watch like a spectator at a game where I still havn't decided who I want to win.

All this time I keep saying to  myself 'I didn't even know fishing was fun!'

Soon the game ends and indeed Jo has one this round, with his fingers bleeding from the line and the fact there was no gaf on the dive boat (naturally) meant him and richard had to use there brute strength to pull the beautiful fish from the water... and we still have the dive to go!

Lucy, the resort cat, suprised to see the dive boat return with fish.

Kate the Kiwi Diving Instructor at Mad Fish Dive Centre

Discover Scuba Dives in Fiji

Over the last week we have had a number of people try diving for their first time. Greg and Rebbekah from Alaska, Sophie and Ari from the US and Anthony and Bridie from Townsville Australia.

The Discover Scuba dives are usually done at Two tree island – theres actually seven trees on the island? – We anchor in 2m of water not far from the vast coral playground that can easily be seen on the surface.

On Greg's dive we saw a beautiful school of brown surgeon fish, With Sophie and Ari we spotted a huge White tipped reef shark. Anthony, who came to Matava to fish, was delighted to see a couple of Spanish mackerel. A real beautiful spot to try diving for the first time.

Bridie and Greg, learning to breath from their regulator before the dive

Waterfall

After a morning spent diving in the sea, nothing is more refreshing then swimming in freshwater.

A 40 minute trek to Kadavu village will bring you to a beautiful waterfall. A playground for young and old. The speed at which the village children fly across the rocks and climb the steep cliffs is just crazy to watch.

During my last visit as I attempted to climb the slippery rock face to the top of the waterfall, I looked up into the face of a young girl, her outstretched hand offering assistance. I was struggling to hold my own weight on the step rock face and had to smile at the thought of this 8 or 9 year old girl offering to help me up to the top. But she insisted with a reassuring smile and her outstretched hand. With ease she pulled me to the top, smiled and continued running, jumping from rock to ledge before diving like an Olympian from the 10 metre height.

What a sight to see, to watch the fun and games, the laughing, smiling. Good old fashion fun.

Bridie, Kate, talking to locals Lendua and Ben

Local kids scaling the rock face

Kesa and Kate – Tour guides to the village

The surface interval!

The surface interval! :The amount of time spent on the surface between two dives.

Yes, indeed this time is a necessary part of diving dictated by mathematical decompression models that track the theoretical nitrogen you have in your body before during and after a dive (Breath).

But with all that said what a brilliant idea to have an hour or so break with a new group of people
with nothing to entertain ourselves except each other. Under some palm trees on a deserted beach with food and friends.

This has proven to be one of my favourite parts of diving, friendly games of cricket (Fijian style), international guests with a range of entertaining talents and wonderful staff ready for a laugh and some good old fashion fun!

Come check it out for yourself...

Kate the Kiwi Instr

It's not all about the diving...

It's not all about the diving here at Matava. Sure we dive every day and diving is discussed over meals and most people will dream about diving but there are plenty of other things to do here.

One of the most popular activities - nothing - quite hard for some, but after a few days most people get the hang of it.

The local village isn't far to walk to and there is a beautiful waterfall if the salt gets too much.

There's fishing trips and kayak trips and my all time favourite - touch at sunset.

Come check it out for yourself

Kate the Kiwi instructor