So today was my last excursion on my 5 month long trip. Today I was off on a snorkeling excursion with Crusin Fiji and I have to say it was far and away the best tour I had in Fiji and one of the top ten on this trip. The folks running the cruise are fantastic and the guys on the boat were first rate. (This was the trip I was supposed to take on Tuesday, but it was cancelled because of high seas.).
Anyway, I was picked up at 7:00 a.m. for the hour and fifteen minute drive to Port Denarau, about 5 km from Nadi The trip took me through Sigatoka Town aka Rugby Town (apparently most of the Fiji national team comes from this town and the town team mascot is an horse so they have an huge statute at the entrance to the down with a horse and a rugby ball.) and then through multiple villages before we reached the outskirts of Nadi. Unfortunately, we hit “rush hour” in Nadi and it slowed us down so the trip actually took about an hour and a half.
Once I was checked in, I was taken to the meeting point, a nearby restaurant on the dock and was able to grab a quick bite for breakfast before the Cruisin Fiji folks joined us to provide some instructions and divide us into two groups. Fortunately, I was put in the no children group because the first group ended up with five kids under the age of three, and one cried nonstop. Ugh.
Anyway, once we were put in a group, we walked down the dock to the two waiting boats and by just after 9:00 a.m. we set off for our first stop, Mana Sand Island, which we reached at just before 10:00 a.m. We were fitted with fins, mask and a snorkel and set off for the short swim to the sandbar and surrounding reef. And wouldn’t you know it, my mask started leaking. I made it to the island and found one of the guides and he brought over another mask, but this one leaked as well.
At this point, I was told I needed to go back to the boat to find a smaller mask as they did not have any small ones on the island. So before I set off, I decided to take a picture with my GoPro of our boat and … nothing. No power, no nothing. What the heck? I had put a fully charged battery in the GoPro last night. I was beside myself because I had not brought a second battery figuring that 100% charged was all I needed.
I got back to the boat and tried everything possible to get a charge and nothing. I figured that when I ut the battery in the camera last night I must have accidentally turned it on and ran the battery down to nothing. At this point, I was completely depressed. The one thing on this trip I was counting on was video of the fish in Fiji. I didn’t have a clue what to do except ask a couple folks on the boat who I saw with GoPros if they were carrying a backup battery I could use.
In the meantime, I sat and watched the large schools of black and white striped fish surround our boat because the mask guy was in the water so I was missing out on snorkeling this reef. Ugh.
Anyway, once the guy was back on the boat, he found a mask that actually fit me. I jumped into the water and bingo, winner, winner. However, still no GoPro.
Just before 11:00 everyone was on the boat and I found an Aussie gent who had the same GoPro 11 I have. I asked him about a spare battery and low and behold he was carrying one and was happy to help me out. He switched out his 60% batter for his 100% battery, gave me the 60% and presto I had a working GoPro. I could have kissed the guy.
Now the second stop was about a 45 minute boat ride to Monu Island, where a deep sea cove (i.e. not shallow) was located just off shore. Along the way, we had morning tea (beer and wine) and biscuits. I opted for water and biscuits since I was swimming. In addition, I took pictures of the various islands we passed. The scenery was spectacular, the water calm and the weather absolutely perfect.
Once we arrived at the reef near Monu Island, I put on the mask and snorkel (left the flippers behind because they were too big) and jumped in. And the viewing was spectacular. Lots of multi-coloured fish, but sadly no turtles or sharks. And the GoPro worked like a champ. Because the water was so clear, I was able to switch back and forth between camera mode and video mode (sometimes when the water is a bit cloudy it is hard to see what setting is activated, but that was not a problem here).
I swam pretty close to the island where a huge reef was located and took a bunch of pictures and videos. Now the only downside to this location was that we were in deep water so the fish were quite a distance away. Nevertheless, the viewing was pretty awesome.
By 12:30 we were back on the boat and headed to Monuriki Island, which was the film location for the movie “Cast Away” starring Tom Hanks and his volleyball Wilson. Monuriki Island was just around the corner from Monu Island so the trip was less than 10 minutes.
So once reached the island, a small boat ferried us to the island, which included the Tom Hanks’ sign “Help Me” in shells. Once we landed, were had a traditional lovo lunch and were told that after lunch we could go on an island tour, swim, snorkel or do absolutely nothing. We would be spending about 3 hours here.
Now lunch was really good and included fire grilled chicken, grilled eggplant, salad, potato salad, fruit and drinks. I found a little piece of sand and chowed down. And just as I was finishing up, I saw a couple from my boat walk by with “Wilson” headed towards the “Help Me” sign. Not one to be left out, I grabbed my camera and ran over to the sign. I ended up taking their picture and they took mine. Priceless!
At this point, I walked back, pulled up a bit of sand and settled in for a rest while I listened to the music the guys were playing. And the boat staff could not have been more fabulous. As I was relaxing more than one guy came by to see if I needed anything. First class service.
Around 2:00, I decided it was time to go snorkeling so I put on the mask and snorkel and headed out. Now the reef at this island was quite close to the beach and the water was rather shallow making it easier to see the fish and to take vids and pictures.
At one point, I spotted a beautiful orange coloured fish with a blue stripe and huge eyes. I rushed to take a picture, but the little bugger ducked into a small piece of coral. I spotted it coming out the other side and when I crossed over to the other side, the fish ducked back in. I then reversed and went to the original side and spotted his big eye staring at me and the fish once again moved completely back into the coral. This went on for three or four times and I never did get a picture of the fish. Pissed me off.
Anyway, I did manage to capture some pretty nice videos of multi-coloured fish, including a whole school of tiny turquoise fish. I ended up spending about an hour in the water before the guys started calling for us to wrap it up.
Once ashore, the first boat loaded up and then it was our turn. By just before 3:30, we were loaded into the boat and by 3:40, we were heading back to Port Denarau. I gave the battery back to the Aussie gent and gave him a big hug. He literally saved my day.
We were back at Port Denarau by 4:45 and by 5:00 I was back in the car headed to the Coral Coast. The trip took about an hour and a half and by 7:00 I had changed and was walking back to the Crab Shack for my last dinner in Fiji. (And yes, the mud crab was just as fabulous as it was a few days ago.). Tomorrow, I have most of the day to lounge around before the driver picks me up at 5:15 for my trip to Nadi airport and my flight to Vancouver with a connection to Seattle. What a trip this has been! I am going to post a separate blog with the Highs and the Lows of my trip