Coronavirus Travel - Fiji

[bamagrad75]

Been there a couple of times, once up to the far northern islands, once to the Astrolabe Reef (one of the great barrier reefs). Apologies in advance for picture quality. First trip was the great kill any camera I owned trip. 3 cameras died in less than 2 weeks.

Warm, friendly people. Stunningly beautiful water & lots of dive/snorkel opportunities. Some coral damage from several nasty cyclones over the past few years. Can be expensive, some of the resorts are very pricey but others have arrangements down to island hopper backpackers.

First trip, took the ferry from Nadi out to the various islands. It stops, the local resort boats come to pick up new arrivals & luggage, then on the way back, stops & picks up those departing. Modern ferry, well done.



Resorts are sometimes built on any spit of land. They often get wiped out from cyclones, then they just rebuild.



As you move toward the actual islands, they are heavy volcanic rock, surrounded by the most crystal clear turquoise waters.



A view of the shore from my island. I was right at Manta Cut, a deep channel between 2 islands with FAST current. When the critters return with the winds, the mantas come in to eat, play & mate. I was fortunate enough to swim with a couple of them & have a one on one encounter with one large female who lifted a fin over my head as she went past.

 

[bamagrad75]

Of course, there for the creatures. A lovely wrasse.



Everyone lived for the sunsets. And at night, with no light pollution, the stars viewed from the beach were amazing.



Giant clams of every color could be found. These are natural cleaners of the ocean, taking in dirty water & putting out cleaner water. The area around a giant clam is always clearer than the rest of the area.



Long nose file fish. Only about 6" in length



Coral from Sunrise Beach



I chased this stupid blue angelfish back & forth across the reef like a crazy woman for an hour. He ducked into coral, sped out the back side, we had a heck of a battle for me to just get this picture. Angelfish are horrible at not wanting pictures taken.

 

[bamagrad75]

Every morning, once the winds turned, the bait fish would come into the cove in front of my cabin & the trevally's would come in hunting them. The water would become this explosive battle of the bait fish coming in as close to shore as they could.

Later in the morning, the baby blacktip sharks would come in when the tide was low & swim around. I would stand in the middle & they'd swim all around me. Very magical.

The 2nd time I went, I headed to the far outer islands in a different direction to the Astrolabe Reef. Timing turned bad as a cyclone was hitting Vanuatu & the fish out to sea & the waves to us.

An hour plane ride from Nadi, then another hour boat ride out to the far island.



The view from my business class flat bed seat early morning. We didn't leave LAX until early morning, I had them prepare my bed immediately & slept thru dinner & didn't wake up until it was time for breakfast.



The coastline of Fiji as we headed toward the Astrolabe

 

[bamagrad75]

As you can see, we weren't exactly flying G550's to the outer islands.



At the Astrolabe Reef, at the upper left you can make out a jellyfish.



Always have to take a picture of every clownfish.



My friend, the banded sea snake. Harmless but very curious. I was in a different section of the reef & saw the noob snorkelers coming a bit unglued. Swam over & he was swimming around. Told them he was harmless & wandered off. He followed me. Then they followed me. At one point, he ended up resting on the back of my snorkel vest while I did all the effort.



Regal Angelfish. The only one who doesn't run when they see the camera turn toward them.

 

[bamagrad75]

These look like clownfish but are a type of damsel. If you look to the right, you'll see a tiny orange lobster. They frequently live together. Found this group in the reef at the island where French Survivor was filmed.



This reef squid found me & decided he liked me. Must have swam alongside me for over 30 minutes.




Chevron Butterflyfish


On the hour long boat trip back to the landing strip, we were entertained by flying gurnards, dolphins and a host of things that just decided to jump out of the water as our boat went by.

It's a LONG wait to get to the Astrolabe, and sadly, the mantas were driven off by the cyclone. There are very few resorts there, so you really have to want to go there to find a place to stay.

 

[jvett77]

First trip, took the ferry from Nadi out to the various islands. It stops, the local resort boats come to pick up new arrivals & luggage, then on the way back, stops & picks up those departing. Modern ferry, well done.

That's the island I want to move to.

 

[jvett77]

View attachment 240033

These look like clownfish but are a type of damsel. If you look to the right, you'll see a tiny orange lobster. They frequently live together. Found this group in the reef at the island where French Survivor was filmed.

View attachment 240036

This reef squid found me & decided he liked me. Must have swam alongside me for over 30 minutes.


View attachment 240040

Chevron Butterflyfish


On the hour long boat trip back to the landing strip, we were entertained by flying gurnards, dolphins and a host of things that just decided to jump out of the water as our boat went by.

It's a LONG wait to get to the Astrolabe, and sadly, the mantas were driven off by the cyclone. There are very few resorts there, so you really have to want to go there to find a place to stay.

Amazing underwater sights!