It has been over 9 weeks since I
wrote my last Blog and time has positively flown by. For those of you
who do not know I am now back in the UK and have been for the past 4
weeks! Yes I know, a good Blogger keeps their page up to date but so
so much has happened in the past ? Weeks that I have barely had time
to stand still let alone write. But tonight I have a glass of soda
(with a splash of wine) by my side. Suzie (my friend from Fiji who
just so happened to be in Yorkshire while I was in Fiji) has
postponed her visit (after she missed the first train in a string of
onward connections) until tomorrow so I find myself with an entire
evening without anything planned!!!
So …....
When I last wrote I was still in
Fiji, Sigatoka to be exact, exploring the shops and mysterious
covered side alleys that led from street to street. I had been there
nearly two weeks and was feeling very much at home.
The next two weeks were a flurry of
activity as events of every description seemed to be handed to me on a
plate.
Kris had been asked to join in
various things with the boys during his stay at Mango Bay but work,
weather and opportunities had not always been right. With Kris about
to leave at the end of the month everyone now had a dead line to beat
and every day was quickly filled up with thing from the 'Things to
be done before I leave!!' list.
One such thing was Surfing the Reef.
Although there are amazing tides
inside the reef there are no waves. On the reef itself however it is
a different story. On either side of the various passes waves, built
in the deep water, break in perfect form onto the shallow reef. The
boat was loaded with various boards plus a few spares.
The paddle board was hauled aboard
along with some snorkel gear and we were off.
From the shore the white breakers are
nearly invisible, only a distant roar can be heard at night. In the
evening the misty spray is highlighted by the falling sun but the
size of the waves are hidden until you are upon them.
In the channel itself there is a
rapid and strong current that can rip you out through the narrow pass
into the deep dark Pacific Ocean that lies beyond before you realise
what is happening. As we moored at the marker buoy Pauly gave us our
instructions. Stay with the waves at the edge of the reef, don't get
caught in the rip, starfish fall to avoid getting cut on the coral,
please try not to break your board and have fun!
We were ready!!
I watched the boys paddle out into
the waves, dropped the paddle board over the side and headed toward
the shallows safely away from the pass. I have never used a paddle
board before but having seen the guys plus Elizabeth glide around in
comparative ease I was eager to try. Sitting, I discovered, is easy,
kneeling is cool, standing was a wee bit trickier than I had
anticipated!!
My excursion on the paddle board was
followed by a bit of snorkelling but, so busy was I looking at all
the wondrous fish and coral formations, I didn't pay full attention
to where I was drifting until to my horror I realised I was moving at
speed over deeper and deeper water! Some serious swimming was needed
to get myself out of the pass and back inside the reef, some serious
swimming that left me totally breathless and a little shaken. I have
drift dived through various passes totally enjoying the speed and
exhilaration that fast moving water gives, but to be on the surface,
out of sight of the boys who were obliviously surfing the waves,
while I headed out to sea, was a different matter!
Safe inside the boat I watched the
boys playing in the waves.
The surf had died down as the evening
drew in so feeling recovered and brave I slipped a board into the
water and paddled over to the smaller waves on the edge.
My first wave was great, even if I
didn't stand up, the second even better. I tried a third nearer to
the boys and was rewarded with a thunderous nose dive followed by a
roller-coaster ride over the reef wall and into the calm water of the
bay!
Pauly looked on concerned as my board
was swept away with me underneath it until I rose out of the water
with a cry of “Wicked!!” and paddled back out for some more!
I am neither as fit as I could be nor
as young but by the end of our few hours I had had as much fun as any
of the youngsters.
I had surfed the Reef, not well I
will happily admit, but I had still surfed the reef and lived to tell
the tale!!
The other main activity involved Kris's work - diving!
The full moon that arrived the day we
went surfing also messed up the tides at Mango Bay making diving out of our bay a
near impossibility.
Low tide seemed to last for ever
allowing the guests to walk all the way to the reef in ankle deep
water.
Following a brief consultation
between Kris and Garry, the owner of Diveaway it was decided that we
would dive out of Hideaway, Diveaway's Big Sister, further down the
coast.
It is also a lot bigger than Mango
Bay with beach fronted burras that stretch along the shore.
The beach
however is amazing with soft coral sands and warm shallow water safe
for children and adults alike.
Fiji diving is amazing. Over the
four weeks I was there, thanks to Gary's generosity and Kris's
wangling, I managed 11 dives at various sites.
Every dive was different, every dive
was beautiful, every dive made me glad to be alive and grateful for
the opportunities that have come my way.
More Dive stories to come ....
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