Fiji is known as “The Soft Coral Capital of the World” and the recent destination of my latest scuba diving holiday.

I chose to board the Island Dancer II out of Suva for one week of diving around some of the 322 islands of The Republic of Fiji. There were only seven passengers and five native Fijian crew members.  We were from six different countries and spoke just as many languages, although everyone’s English was exceptional.

On a live aboard dive boat all you do is eat, dive up to five times a day, sleep and then start all over again the next day.  It is a great way to get in lots of diving while travelling around less  frequented locations.  When the weather is perfect life is good, but when there is wind and/or rain things become more challenging.  Since we were on the edge of cyclone season we had some not so good weather and on a few crossings I found myself clutching to the edge of the bunk trying not to roll out. Thank goodness for sea sickness products.

In spite of the bumpy conditions the coral configurations and micro aquatic life were phenomenal.  Soft corals are unique since they do not produce calcium carbonate skeletons and in the nutrient rich currents they can be found in a rainbow of colours.  Often I felt as though I was swimming in a large aquarium through the outrageously beautiful coral heads and swarms of colourful tropical fish.  We also experienced a shark feed while navigating high currents. Thanks to good local dive guides I saw my first pygmy seahorse, ribbon eel, pipe fish, red anemone and finally, we found Nemo (clownfish).

The experience of scuba diving around pinnacles, walls and coral heads is akin to a walk in an underwater park. I feel very grateful to be able to enjoy this activity.  A very small percentage of the world’s population has this opportunity.  This is unfortunate because I sometimes wonder if everyone had the opportunity to swim in one of these watery coral landscapes, becoming a part of mother nature’s aquarium, perhaps the oceans would stop being treated as garbage dumps and bottomless fish ponds.

Thanks to fellow divers, Jonas Maechler, Marcel Laframboise and Tammy Laframboise for sharing some of their beautiful underwater photos which can be seen below.  Congratulations to Marcel and Tammy for sharing first prize in our ‘Divers’ Choice’ contest.

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