HE Two WORLDS OF

A Pink Anemonefish (Amphiprion perideraion)huddled within the safe confines of its host anemone.

p e a n a W a i e

A

beam of light stabbed through the darkness. It seemed tobe meticulously searching for something as it moved across

V the ocean floor. A second light beam appeared just beyondthe first, silhouetting the first diver. Its steady beam suddenly changedto short, frantic movements, indicating its holder had found some-thing of interest to show his dive buddy. Both lights converged onto asingle spot where two mating nudibranchs presented a photographicdiscovery in the exciting waters of Fiji.

t ' e a I fo .s e

More divers jumped into the waterin search of undersea creatures.Topside, the dark waters were cut bythe bright circular flash of light from aphotographer's strobes. A second flashwas closely followed by a third. Thiswas a great night for underwater pho-tography. Later, as the divers surfacedand recounted their experiences ofnight diving in Fiji, their excitementwas highly contagious.

We are continually intrigued by theunderwater experiences divers re-count while relaxing at dinner or qui-etly sipping a drink in the bar. Overtime, we have found the best way toreally learn about specific dive sites isto listen to these yarns. We realize thatoften the fish aren't really as big asdescribed and some aspects of a dive

can easily approach these colorfulcreatures while other times they attack.We found that when they swim towardyou in a defensive mode, they usuallyhave a nest of eggs under the edges oftheir anemones. If you look closely,you can see two small eyes peeking outfrom each of the eggs.

Once, for nine days we closelywatched a nest of clownfish eggs turnfrom a silver-gray to orange-red. At9:00 pm on the ninth day, each clown-fish baby fired out of its egg like arocket. We were able to capture this onfilm, but we realized that the experi-ence was more valuable than any ofthe pictures we had taken.

Some of the most colorful animalsin the world are nudibranchs. Fiji isloaded with these in every size, shapeand color, but the trick is knowingwhere to look. The best time to find

3,000 feet from the ocean floor towithin inches of the surface. This ult i-mate wall dive attracts just aboutevery marine species found in Fiji.

After surfacing from a dive, some-one commented he had seen an ani-mal that looked like a cross between asea anemone and coral, with twohorns on the front and a large tuft onthe other end. When we asked how bigit was, the reply was more than onefoot! Minutes later, every diver on theboat was in the water headed back toE-6. This nudibranch was huge andmeasured 14 inches across. (Yes, webrought a ruler with us.) It was so bigwe had to use a 15mm lens to get thewhole animal in the picture! It resem-bled the hard coral next to it, whichmade no sense because nudibranchsusually take on the color and textureof animals they intend to eat. When

^ ~m &'-—^_ .» . tjfc, B'Xc _.v 4* '"•«••

S(Witfi more limn 500 dives logged in (Tiji,TY never cease to be amazed by tfie marvelous

^T" -

creatures that abound in these azure waters.''^

may be slightly exaggerated, but thatmakes for great dive stories. Withmore than 500 dives logged in Fiji, wenever cease to be amazed by the mar-velous creatures that abound in theseazure waters. Sit back as we reminisceabout some of our best dives!

Many of our favorite memories dateto the time we spent in Fiji's northernregion with Jean-Michel Cousteau,working on his educational CD enti-tled Cities Under the Sea. We had thepleasure of working with a fabulousmarine biologist, Dr. Richard Murphy.He showed us how to locate and betterunderstand Fijian marine animals;skills that have proved invaluable.

One of our first experiences waswith clownfish. These are some of themost photographed critters by bothprofessional and amateur photogra-phers alike. Clownfish can be foundthroughout Fiji, both in the shallowsand at various depths. Sometimes you

96 SKIN DIVER JANUARY 1999

them feeding, mating and fighting isat night. Photographers with photoequipment set up for 1:2 close-upswill shoot a roll of film in no time.

The most unusual nudibranch wehave ever seen was on a dive in BlighWater between Viti Levu and VanuaLevu, Fiji's largest islands. The divesite, called E-6, is a pinnacle that rises

Opposite page, clockwise from top left:Fi j ians need no excuse to have a greattime. A flashy parrotfish photographed

on a reef in central Fiji at night. ForFi j ians. palm fronds have myriad uses.A close view of the softly hued tenta-cles of an anemone; these animalsflourish in Fiji's waters. Gray Reef

Sharks (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos)patrol the reefs at Supermarket. A fes-

tively colored nudibranch(Chromodoris sp.). The spiky arms of a

Brittlestar wind around a hard coral.

we returned to the boat, we checkedall the identification books in vain. Weeventually called it a Horta, after theStar Trek creature it resembled and, tothis day, it still has not been identified.

One of the best ways to really get toknow the animals on the reef is towatch a fish cleaning station. When acleaner fish hangs out its shingle anddances on its tail, the other fish lineup to get parasites removed fromtheir mouths, gills and other bodyparts. On one dive in Savusavu Bay,we watched two cleaning fish set upshop. As time progressed, a largeschool of fish came to a screechinghalt in front of this offshore bommie.The front edge of the school formed acircle around the cleaners and theyworked quickly to service the hun-dreds of patients. As each fish wascleaned it would move to the otherside of the station and wait. Afterabout 30 minutes, the cleaners closed

!

flp

\

E I H cruise through one of the largest patch- water. He opened his mouth and thees of pristine Cabbage Coral in Fiji. shrimp moved in and started to pick

up shop and the school moved on. On one trip we had the pleasure of at his teeth and gums. We all formed aIf you are into larger animals, there diving with Stan Waterman, who was line to have our fingernails manicured

are many locations in Fiji where you shooting a film on Fiji. On one specific and laughed so hard we kept losingcan swim with sharks, Mantas andturtles. You may encounterthese animals on almost anydive in Fiji but several loca-tions guarantee action.Western Fiji has a dive sitecalled Supermarket, whereyou settle in a circle andsharks swim around you asthey are fed in the middle ofthe circle. The sharks get soclose the only excuse for notgetting great pictures is that youforgot your camera.

Nigali Passage, in Central Fiji,is a 90 foot deep trench wheredivers drift along with sharks,rays, groupers, turtles and whoknows what else during the tidal

l ' . \ ( I ! I t D e l . A N

TijiIslands

•AT

our regulators.On another scientific photo

expedition we were in search ofFiji's fluorescent animals. Seaanemones and certain hardcorals give off their ownbright light in red, pink, greenand blue. Many of these crea-

tures are found in Fiji's north-ern area, in the SomosomoStrait off Taveuni, Laucala,Qamea and Matagi. On a recenttrip we dived a site with yardsand yards of "carpet" consisting

of small, glowing anemones.Photographing these animalsrequires high speed film, flash

and a steady hand, but theresults are unique photos of animals

exchange. On one of our dives through dive we discovered an unusual cleaning glowing yellow, green and red.this opening, several divers saw a station run by Red and White Banded We have photographed Blue RibbonSailfish making its way through the pas- Shrimp. These critters were not going Eels and Leaffish in just about everysage to deep ocean. One of the high- to clean fish, but divers. Stan was first in part of Fiji. The problem is that youlights at the end of the dive is a quick line to try this new experience under- really have to slow your dive down in

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order to experience these animals.We have discovered Blue RibbonEels along deep walls, in sand flatsand at the base of coral bommies.Leaffish are almost always found onthe tops or sides of bommies. At theend of one dive near Kadavu insouthern Fiji, we had saved a single

Travel '"lips• Fiji is 17 degrees south of the

equator, just northeast of Australia.• No special immunizations are

necessary.• Your passport must be valid for

six months beyond your intended stay.• Electricity is 240 volts.• The time difference between Fiji

and Los Angeles is 19 hours.• Summer is November to March-

average temperature is 86°F; winter isApril to October—average temperatureis 73°F.

• Tipping is not the norm. To showyour appreciation, contribute to theStaff Fund, which is equally distributedamong the entire staff.

• You must have $20 for departuretax. Flights to Fiji are available throughAir Pacific/Qantas and Air NewZealand. These nonstop flights fromLos Angeles to Fiji's InternationalAirport in Nadi take approximately 10hours. The outer islands are reachedvia either Air Fiji or Sunflower Airlines.

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frame at the end of the roll for thatkiller shot but were getting low onair. Just as we were about to surface,we ran across two Blue Ribbon Eelsin the same hole. Sometimes pa-tience pays off.

When we first started diving inFiji, we heard stories of an extreme-

100 SKIN DIVER JANUARY 1999

ly rare pipefish found in the north offNamenalala Island. There are severalunofficial names, but we know it as

our divemaster, found this pipefishalong a wall at about 90 feet. We werescheduled to dive another location thenext day, but the entire crew threat-ened mutiny if we didn't get a repeat

. . -vt^1 .^- ̂

^ trip to *Tiji 15 more tfian^just a dive vacation. It's an

/•* / 4*

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the Rufus Pipefish. This master ofcamouflage is covered with reddishlooking "hair" and hides in an algae ofthe same consistency and color. Untilour most recent trip to Fiji, we hadonly seen a few pictures taken by luck-ier photographers. At the end of a diveon Mount Mutiny, in Bligh Water,everyone was out of film when Russi,

dive. After we made a second dive atthis spot the next morning, this shylittle creature with a hairy face becameknown as the Russi Pipefish!

Many resorts in Fiji do most oftheir diving in the morning as thetrade winds kick up in the afternoon.Afternoon and night dives are usual-ly optional, except on the live-

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aboards. You will find calmer watersinside the bays, but the straits andoutside walls offer the ult imate incurrent diving. The outside walls andpassages feature drift diving wheredivers have the chance to encounterthe big critters. The shallows are filledwith coral bommies, where a multi-tude of animals make their homes.Fiji's underwater world has some-thing for everyone.

Some of our best experiences hap-pened in Fiji's other world, abovewater. When you come to Fiji, makesure your itinerary includes a visit to alocal village. Fijians seem to enjoy lifeto the fullest and take pleasure inmaking sure you do, too. They wel-come you unconditionally into theirsimple thatched roof homes to sharesong and grog.

If you are lucky you will be invitedto a meke. This traditional eventinvolves villagers of all ages reenactingFiji's history with song and dance.During the village visit, you mighteven drink a cup of kava. Groundfrom the yangona tree root, this con-coction is not to be missed! If yourt iming is right, you might experience atraditional Fijian meal called a lovo,where the food is wrapped in plantleaves and cooked in deep pits.

In addition to the culture, Fiji offersmajestic waterfalls to explore, hikingtrails where rare birds abound, fra-grant flower gardens, romantic islandhideaways and every type of water-sport you can imagine. A trip to Fiji ismore than just a dive vacation. It's anexperience of a lifetime. Grab yourcamera and come experience the twoworlds of Fiji.

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102 SKIN DIVER JANUARY 1999