Letter to Divers, cont.

A little further out in the Bligh waters is Charybdis Reef which is 20 miles long and unexplored except for Dan. Due to rough seas we were only able to dive it on two days but it was well worth the trip. These dives are wall dives and since they are in the middle of Blight waters, one must keep and eye out towards the deep for visiting large pelagics. Two dive sites have been named, “Never Ending Story Chapter Two” in honor of the Loma Loma site of the same name and “Water Colors”. We observed soft coral “trees” with stalks the as large as 8-10 inches across and 3-4 feet tall in about 120 feet of water. As we moved along the wall, gray reef and white tip sharks cruised by along with wahoo 5-6 feet long, schools of unicorn fish, large putter pelagic trigger fish, jacks and trevally. At “Water Colors” we found gardens of black coral and pristine multicolor soft coral of giant size. One pinnacle had two caves which were thick with large multicolored soft corals and sea fans all intertwined and forming a backdrop for the colorful reef fish and spotted sweetlips that called this masterpiece home.

The water temperature was a comfortable 81-82 degrees but the visibility was generally cloudy 40-60 feet with some days exceeding 100 feet. The lack of visibility is reported throughout Fiji and is due to plankton growth caused by El Nino. Predications are that it will soon be subsiding.

While our diving experience was fantastic, land accommodations were great also. We rented a house just down the beach about 200 yds from Dan’s house and had meals prepared by Dan’s Fijian wife Alisi who is a gourmet cook and Lynette Mercer. The three bedroom house was artfully decorated, clean and comfortable. The caretaker Marioni served our meals, did our laundry and cleaned the house everyday. After diving, most days were spent on the deck overlooking the water or walking the beach collecting shells. The air temperature ranged from 78-80 degrees and there was a constant breeze. If you wanted to have more interaction with people and night life there are two resorts within 10 minutes of Dan’s dive shop. They are Wananavu Resort with a beautiful view of Nananu-I-Ra Island, swimming pool, gardens and restaurant and Mokusigas Resort on Nananu-I-Ra Island with similar amenities. We attempted to walk around the island but never succeeded due to encounters with locate residents who are most interesting and friendly.

Dan offers a diving experience which is becoming rare in the diving industry dominated by transient staff and dependent on large numbers of divers for profits. It is unusual to find a owner/diver who maintains high standards in a small facility and sets a goal for every customer to have a diving experience unique to their skills and offers a chance to increase their skills with every dive. We depend on Undercurrent to make us aware of these great diving opportunities and we encourage you to let your readers know about unique operations like Dan’s before they fade away. We hope to return to Nananu-I-Ra next year for two more weeks of some of the best diving we’ve encountered!

Sincerely,

Frank and Maureen Reichmuth

E- Mail: fransel@ap.net

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