Having passed our in-water fish tests, we’ve now all practised the fish equivalent of a coral PIT. Laying a tape measure out for 20 meters, we slowly swim its length, recording every type and number of fish we see within a five metre reach.  The task would be much easier if the fish would just stop still for 5 seconds, but for some reason they seem intent on swimming past us at a rate of knots. The really devious ones then decide to come around again for another look.  Trying to figure out which ones I’ve counted already, and which are new, is an entertaining exercise and I’m sure they deliberately try to confuse me. We have learnt 150 different types of fish and can identify them all within a few seconds. Thanks to the diverse nature of Madagascar’s coral reef, we get to see a great range of these fish on every dive.

Our afternoons have been busy with lectures and chores including scrubbing the boats to rid them of algae and prevent salt water damage.  On our day off, we headed to the baobab forest, about an hour’s walk away, our picnic lunch stashed on the accompanying zebu cart. We were fortunate to be accompanied by one of Madagascar’s leading field biologists (the kind of guy who arrived for dinner that night with a chameleon perched on his shoulder), so we had a fascinating field-trip through some of the region’s terrestrial make-up. 

As usual, there have been plenty of other things to keep us busy out of the water this week: lunch with the Andavadoake Women’s Association; more classes at the school; and football games on Sundays, played between local Andavadoaka and neighbouring village teams. These are fast, hard games. Most players are in bare feet, running the length of the compacted sand pitch in the heat of the afternoon sun, as we foreigners – and the goats – shelter in the shade of the trees. You don’t see too many illegal fouls in these games and no one argues with the ref, a far cry from the antics of footballers in the UK.

We are flying towards the last week or two of our expedition, with the slight change in weather indicating we’re experiencing Madagascar’s balmy winter, markedly warmer than the winters we’re used to in our home countries. The mornings and evenings have a slight chill to them, but the days are still hot, sunny and wonderfully rain-free. The idea of leaving this all behind in a few weeks is not sitting comfortably.

My first day with Blue Ventures as their first scholar. I was up at 6.15, excited and enthusiastic and looking forward to the 400m swim test at 7 which we had to pass in order to dive with the team. Qualified with a PADI open water certificate, I was as yet not a very confident diver and this expedition was my chance of fulfilling all those dreams of learning and being a good diver. After breakfast we all changed and headed for the shore chatting and sharing jokes. With smiles and encouragement the staff explained that if we were to dive we needed to successfully complete the 400m swim. I could feel a knot in my stomach, nervousness, staying in Suva for the last 3months with only occasional weekly swims, how in the world was I going to complete the swim. I was assured that there was no pace set or timeline as long as we finished the 400m. There were 2 buoys at 200m apart and we had to start at one and after touching the 2nd buoy, we had to swim back. Thus we started Tristan and Helen were leading the swim with a SMB with the faster swimmers, while with SMB’s in hand Ruth and Theo tagged along with intermediate swimmers. Making sure that nobody was left behind were Jo and Britt and not surprisingly I was with them as one of the slower swimmers. Howard was on the shore alert in hand in case there was an emergency. I managed to complete the swim but not without touching ground 4 times, as was the only condition, thus I was the only one disqualified. I was distraught yet instead of being told how badly I had done, I had words of encouragement and positive feedback on how I could do better, not only from the staff but the volunteers as well. It lifted up my spirits as I got hugs from Ruth and Helen for making the effort. Next we were divided into 2 groups and headed for snorkeling. Ah…with mask and snorkel it was so much easier. Watching all the corals, the different types and colours of fish and a vast array of tiny colourful marine organisms, it was like being in another world for nearly 90minutes. By then it was one time for lunch, the beautiful smiling faces of the kitchen staff had never been a more wonderful sight. It was not a wonder with everybody wolfing down their plates in no time. There was excitement in voices, everyone was sharing there half day experiences and it suddenly felt like nobody had enough words to describe what they had seen. After lunch at 2 we headed to the Classroom for our first lecture with Tristan. Here we were briefed of our expectations for the next 5weeks and were given a species list of Targeted Fishes and Invertebrates. We had to start getting back to our books and snorkel point outs as this was all going to be tested. Yeah, you couldn’t just guess what each different species; there was no room for inferences of fish with Tristan and Invertebrates with Ruth, you HAD to know them at some point. We were later also divided into groups and given a chore for the week. I was in Group 2 with Linda, Goergie, Tom and Katy, and we were on Dive Shack duty for the week. With a three and half hour break to explore the island before dinner, I opted to work on my swimming skills which needed my attention. After being in the water for 40 minutes, with Theo who was more than willing to help and encouragement, I felt much better than I did in the morning. After relaxing and catching up with the volunteers over the days events, we had dinner. The board was presented after dinner which outlined the activities of yet another exciting day with a visit to Bau Island. Wearing reef boots the day concluded with a Reef Flat walk holding torches in hand to explore the little creatures in the process of feeding and sleeping. Exhausted after an eventful day and eager about the promises of the next 5 weeks, I was re-living the day in my dreams.

07-04-09

The second day started with more eagerness, as I had to do a 400m swim with Britt, who had kindly agreed to help me with swimming, (though not out of only pure intention to help me but to train for his Divemaster test as well which required a lot of timed swims!!) It was not the best and I touched ground twice but there was Britt with words of encouragement whenever I felt like giving up. After breakfast at 10 o’ clock the group left for Bau Island all looking very beautiful and handsome in their Bula dresses and shirts to visit one of the Historical sites of Fiji. Access to Bau Island is deemed a privilege as nobody has a chance of visiting the island without an invitation. Bau Island is the home to Fiji’s chief and customary custodian of Leleuvia and surrounding waters, thus as a appreciation gesture the group went for a visit and the presentation of a “sevusevu” . Being fortunate enough to visit the island with the first expedition group, I opted to stay back with Ruth on Leleuvia going through the targeted species list of fish and invertebrates and snorkel point outs. Before we could realize the group were back on the island. The smiling and enchanted faces of Harry, Linda, Leah, Tamara and Peter as they approached and began relating their experiences of the day at once, assured me that they had had a wonderful day out on Bau, and I felt proud to belong to Fiji, with its rich cultural heritage, and the ability to share it with other people. In the evening we had lectures from Ruth on coral reefs and Benthic Invertebrates. The 5 types of reefs were discussed in detail, along with the Porifera, Cnidarians and Echnodermatas. The different types of sea urchins, the difference between Starfish and Brittle Stars and many more!!!!!!!!!These lectures are anything but boring as Ruth tries to mimick the specie or their behavior, where you begin to find it hard to keep a straight face. Thus with food for thoughts we head to the dining table for a bit of food for the stomach as the conch shell blows at 7.30. With coffee in hand, after dinner the group gets together as a Team with the staff and volunteers to go over the events of the day and plans for the next. CHORES!!Still needs to be done, it gives you a sense of responsibility and importance. Sweeping the sand out of the dive shack, putting all gears in their places making sure they are dry and properly kept, filling water in the drums to rinse dive gears after the next days dive.They may seem petty, but they are a lot of fun,it helps build a sense of part of a working group,it’s learning how to take care of your dive gear, which don’t come cheap. And there can be nothing more frustrating then coming back after a dive to find no water to rinse your gear. With the final chores done and shouts of “Moce Tadra” we all head back to our rooms.
08-04-09

At 7.00 my swim buddy is at the shore and I complete my first 400m swim without touching ground. Already in the water having their morning swim are Leah, Tamara, Asa and Muriel. I start to develop an easy and comfortable feeling in the water and my confidence increases, which are actually turning out to be more fun than I thought. Breakfast of toast, butter,jam and banana with fruit juices and coffee feel the best thing in the world after the swim. The PADI open water guys Peter, Kate, Georgie and Tom begin their skills training in confined waters, whereas other Open Water Certified Divers are taken for a tune up. I start to mentally prepare myself for the swim test with Tristan, swimming 400m and having a swim test of 400m somehow seem two different things and TESTS are meant to be scary, which I found out later in the afternoon that tests with Tristan are anything but scary. I had successfully completed 350m when it started raining and currents got stronger, for a moment I was reluctant to continue and felt panicky but with Tristan’s chant of “You can do it”, “You can do it” I passed my test. We also went through Shore Marshall and Boat Marshall training during the day. Shore Marshall’s duties included updating the dive board before each dive, being in touch with the Boat Marshall by phone on the status of the dive. One of the most crucial role is played by the Boat Marshall for safety reasons. The Boat Marshall is responsible for putting the extra kit, life jackets (enough for everyone on board), oxygen kits, protection materials, spare bottle of water, first aid, oars and GPS on the boat. Imagine reaching a dive site only to realize your Mask strap is broken or you don’t have enough weights!!They are also responsible for noting down all the important information about the divers and keeping in touch with the Shore Marshall on the status of the dive. Each volunteer is trained in both the duties.

Another Fish lecture by Tristan where he explains the different biology of fishes. From the bony fish such as the Emperor Angelfish to the rover predator such as the Trevally or Tuna to the Lie-In-Wait predators such as the Barracudas. We also look at surface oriented fish such as the flying fish to bottom rover fish such as the goatfish, bottom clingers the gobies to bottom hiders the blennies. From deep bodied fish such as Butterfly or Surgeonfish to Fish with scales such as the Parrot fish.

Relaxing on the sun lounges watching the Sunset on the West side of Leleuvia, chatting with Kate and Linda with Harry’s comments when he occasionally passes by compliments the ending of yet another comprehensive and exciting day.

At dinner table, Reef Fish Identification Book seems to be found with every plate as fish similarities and differences are discussed over dinner.
09-04-09

Passing my swim test has made me lazy or the sea is really a bit rough to swim!!I end up just having a huge breakfast. I bury myself in my Reef Fish Identification Book after breakfast for an hour. I am more of a giant clam and Cetacean person than a fish person, but slowly the different Damselfish, Butterflyfish, the colourful Anthias the pretty Angelfishes, Parrotfishes, Rabbitfishes and Pufferfish all start holding a fascination with the Groupers, Snappers and Sweetlips, the more I look at it. I am buddied with Ruth on my 1st dive of the expedition and on the 2nd dive of the day. As Ruth helps me kit up, she explains our recreational dive. I feel the same knot on my stomach which forms at unusual terms and then I realise I’m nervous and scared. As we finish our buddy check,on the boat and travelling towards our dive site, I can’t help feeling panicky and then I look up to see Howards encouraging smile, Ruth’s thumbs up and feel Duncan’s pat on the shoulder, I begin to relax. At the dive site on Asa, who is Boat Marshall for the day, on the count of 3 roll backwards. Ruth is by my side when I surface and after checking on all of us Howard, who is leading the dive, gives the signal to descend with our buddies. My breathing seems quiet heavy and I have problems equalizing. The maximum I’m able to go is till 6m and my 1st dive duration lasts for less than 10minutes before I surface and head back on the boat with Ruth. Well, it didn’t go to well but it was a start…

Back for lunch around 12.45, after lunch we headed back to the classroom for another lecture from Ruth on an “Introduction to Benthic Lifeforms”. We differentiated characteristics of algae and troll’s hair (cyanobacteria). If u wafted over it and it closed than it was a Tunicate and if it did not u knew you had just been in contact with a Sponge. The tentacles provided you with the conclusion on corallimorphs or zooanthids. Octocorals wafting in the wind were soft corals and the trees or fern under the sea were Gorgonians and Sea whips. Surrounded by anemone fish were anemones. Reef forming corals were the various types of hard corals. Something to look out for were Fire coral and the list went on.

Hooray!! Helpful Helen takes me for a dive tune up with Linda and Ruth at a sandy depth of 10m. We did Reg removal, mask clearing and mask removal under water. Saw Stunning sting rays and were surrounded by blue streak fusiliers.It felt so much better to be in the water again.

Feeling elated after a long day hit bed at 9.00pm.

I have been on Leleuvia now for just over 3 ½ months; they seemed to have just flown by. There have been there ups and downs, a lot of laughs, a few tears, and tons of hard work; but because of these, it makes you really glad to have that cold beer in hand sitting on the sand at the end of the day, with new friends and old, looking up at the stars as you sit/lie thinking (through all the aches) how lucky I (in fact we) are to be in such an idyllic setting…I’m still finding that I have to pinch myself, even now and then, to make sure this isn’t all some cruel joke or dream which I have forgotten to wake up from.

So just to introduce myself- I’m the Dive Instructor on the island, and I love my job. I don’t think I have, nor will, dive anywhere in the world more visually stimulating than here in Fiji. Although I tend to choose sites to teach my courses that have more sand then coral cover (for obvious reasons) these sites, I have found, should not be dismissed as being boring – there are acres of garden eels, tons of little gobies that live in holes in a beneficial partnership with shrimps that are blind and use the goby as a signal for when threats are present; manta shrimp the size of my fist and fore arm (no joke on this one); such things can be found on sites that don’t look so much, so just imagine what it’s like when you go to dive sites such as those on the outer reef…fish soup, that’s what! I have never seen so many sharks, turtles, snappers (of all different species and of such substantial size either), barracudas, sweetlips…basically there are just too many to mention. And that’s just the fish! The benthic life i.e. coral and inverts blow your mind too. Lets for an example say you stop in a spot and were to put a 1m2 Quadrat down, you would still be down there noting all that occurs within that Quadrat long after your dive time would allow – stunning!

So that’s the diving, the people here in Fiji and on our island in particular, are the friendliest I have ever encountered, and I’ve travelled quite a bit. It has got to the stage now that the island staff are considered family by all us BV staff and any volunteer that comes to the island and vice-versa. They are sharp witted and very inviting, especially when it comes to learning traditional Fijian dances or their language, which we get 2/3 members of the staff to do once a week every week each volunteer group comes, and they love it…that is the local staff and the volunteers.

See I have started to witter already. Right I will close now, hopefully I have been able to portray in this little snippet of a blog how great, wonderful, special this place called Leleuvia really is…and maybe even tempt a few of you readers out there to come join the fun some day?

Moce – until next time,

Helen

The island staff, our local family, are incredible.  Always happy and bright they do a great job of keeping things running smoothly despite our constant need for tea, absurd displays of “dancing” on Saturday nights, and general wild neediness – can I get a loofah and a strawberry daiquiri over here please?  They all seem to deal with us in a different way, whether it be Buna and Vika’s breathtaking smiles, Dav’s throwing coconuts on the cinema roof when we’re watching a scary movie, or Jone our Boat Driver mocking our feeble attempts at Fijian.

Writing this short blog entry is no real way to convey just how great a time everyone is having. In the last ten minutes we have come to 2 conclusions; 1) We wish we could be here for the next trip and 2) Its time for a swim.

Peace. Leah & Duncan

The Rap:

Hey kids, what’s the deal?

Do you know what’s up with your favourite meal?

Do you know where it’s from; do you know what it eats?

Well then listen up to our awesome beats!

We’re gonna play some games and we’re gonna have some fun

Maybe even learn about the reefs and the sun

Together we can snorkel and swim in the sea

Check out all the fish and where they like to be

We’ll walk on your trail and take trash that we find

Use it to make something one of a kind

We’re here to learn and teach some too

Come join our club and we’ll kick it with you!

A week later we had the opportunity to go back to Moturiki and plant indigenous trees with Club Qio. We brought over three different kinds of trees donated by the Ministry of Fisheries and Forests and got to work. One of the highlights of the day had to be watching the guys gardening in skirts (okay, technically sulus, but still breezier than their average shorts). Of the three species we took, we planted the one that would end up being the smallest throughout the school yard and surrounding hill. We’re hoping to get back to the school to plant the remaining two bigger species along the students’ nature trail. Some of the volunteers experienced a bit of culture shock when the kids started hacking away at dead branches with machetes, but we all got the chance to talk some more with the students and learn about their lives. The kids who weren’t planting were in the school yard jump roping, playing volleyball and taking pictures with us. There was also a group of 7, 8 and 9 year old boys playing rugby nearby. It was especially exciting for me, as I had heard loads about rugby from all of the UK volunteers, but had yet to actually witness a real life game.  We all watched as the boys tackled each other and took each other down… they were tough! We ended the day with a trip to Eleanor’s house (she’s a staff member on Leleuvia, but lives on Moturiki during the week so her children can go to school), where she treated us to huge mugs of hot chocolate, cake, and fried Cassava sprinkled with sugar. Needless to say, we ended up having to roll ourselves back to the boat J \Katie

After more than a week on Leleuvia we were a bit excited to leave the island to visit a local community. Those of us who had passed our fish and benthic tests got to go with Howard to Daku village on Motoriki Island for a sevusevu. The purpose was to introduce Kalisi, a guest researcher from the University of Hawaii, to the village elders; she will be staying with them for a week to assess algae and herbivorous fish in the village Tambu (marine protected area).  We all dressed up in our bula dresses again and I think they appreciated it. (It’s hard to know when you don’t understand what they say about you but they smiled and what we had translated was that we looked nice.) The sevusevu itself was without Kava this time because the village has a banned kava drinking the last two weeks of each month. (Apparently the guys were more interested in drinking kava than in girls so the numbers of kids on the island were dropping.) Leaving the island we had to walk around to the next village; it started off as a nice walk along the beach but soon became more adventures as we waded through a flooded piece of the trail and carefully moved through the muddy and slippery reef flat. But we all got back safely and could wave to the cruise ship in the distance.

It’s not all party-party though – there is always work to be done and we had spent Saturday afternoon working on general maintenance of the island. Some of the crew walked the perimeter doing a litter pick – three tyres and a fridge have washed up over the last week along with the usual plastic bottles and other detritus that comes with the storms – while others raked the fallen leaves and coconuts or cleaned the dive shack. Sirelli, the big kahuna on the island, found a beaten up old wind surfer somewhere, so a few people renovated that with high hopes of getting it out on the water today, although there has not been much sign of that so far. Working through the heat of the afternoon is tough, but when you are on a tiny island in the middle of the South pacific with blue skies and bluer sea all around you it is hard to feel badly done by. (I can just imagine the tears of sympathy you are shedding for us as I write).

We have also made inroads into mapping the coast line of Leleuvia this week. Working in teams of five, one person swims out fifty metres from shore holding a tape measure, another holds the end at the tide line, then two people swim out on either side of the tape looking for marine life – bottom dwelling invertebrates as well as schools of fish, eels and the like. The fifth person follows behind making a note of the substrate – coral, algae, sand and so on. We then move ten metres round and do it again, while the shore-bound team member writes up what has been recorded on our dive slates. We hope that by the time we leave we will have competed a circuit of the island and managed to paint up a board with a large map to help future visitors to the island. When we have completed the map of Leleuvia the plan is, I believe, for later sets of volunteers to complete maps of neighbouring Caqalai and other nearby islands, to give the Department of Fisheries a strong indication of what sorts of creatures can be found in and around this area.

Part of the fun of being on the first expedition to Fiji is helping the BV staff to work out the best way to schedule the day and to build up the lists and photo bank of species of fish to be monitored. We have recently changed the pattern of diving from half the group going out in the morning and half in the afternoon to both dives leaving early. The first bunch are on the new boat (which Tristan picked up from Suva last week, along with a brand new 60hp outboard) at 7:30, returning around 9. The second set then leave around 9:45 and return in time for lunch, leaving the afternoons free for lectures, first aid training, studying fish books or other productive work, such as studying the insides of your eyelids from the comfort of a hammock.

Everyone is, for the most part, one big happy family now, although we all need a bit of “me time” every now and again. For me, it was Wednesday evening of this week when I wandered alone to sunset beach and sat for an hour or so watching the sky change from light blue to dark and the clouds reflecting the light of the setting sun, changing slowly from light yellow right through the spectrum to a dusky orange, then to rich vermillion, cherry and ruby reds before finally it was night and the brilliant half-moon cast shadows on the beach as I walked slowly back to join the rest of the crew, who had been sitting at the bar drinking fruit smoothies before dinner. As I sat alone, sipping a chilled beer and taking far too many photographs, my thoughts turned to home and my beautiful wife, who I miss terribly. We have not been apart for so long since we were married and it is difficult for both of us, but particularly, I think, for her as she is still going through the day to day routine of working in England in a cold and icy March, while my biggest worry is whether I will be able to get someone to rub some after-sun on my back.

So, speaking of the team, here is a brief run through of who’s who in the zoo. There are four full time BV staff. Howard, the project director, is a very cool bloke with a wicked sense of humour who delights in winding up the younger and more gullible members of the team. He doesn’t need any excuse to whip his shirt off to show off his pecs, abs and bingo wings. Ruthless Ruth was, I thought, the sanest member of the team. She also has a nice way of keeping a straight face while telling outrageous lies to the easily convinced. Flame-haired vixen Helen leaves everyone with eyes wide and mouths agape when she shakes her booty on the dance floor, but less from looks of admiration than looks of sheer terror. Tristan, the bronzed Adonis, curly-haired blonde, former crocodile wrestler and spider wrangler has the muscles of a young Sly Stallone and the hair of Marilyn Monroe. He looks a little too comfortable in a skirt for my liking, but he is a proper Aussie bloke who is a big fan of AC/DC, shooting pool and drinking beer, which is alright by me.

Of the island staff, there is Lena the matriarch who cooks, cleans, washes and keeps us all in line. Under her there is Buna and Vuta, two lovely Fijian ladies who dish up the food and, unbelievably, make our beds and change our sheets for us – this is a luxury we weren’t expecting – and Lele who also cooks, tends bar and occasionally pole dances whenever someone plays the Black Eyed Peas on their iPod speakers. Unfortunately Lele is a man. Jone is the boat driver – captain cool who says very little but always has a wry grin – and Gordy is the general maintenance man who keeps the generator running and sometimes spears fish for dinner. Gody’s wife is Elenor who, we have just learned, is a trained masseuse so she is helping to get the knots and strains out of our aching muscles, although I have yet to partake due to my severe sunburn. Do not go snorkeling without a t-shirt or rash vest on out here, you will fry. Gordy and Elenor live with their two children Meimei, a very cute two year old girl and Miri a very happy and innocent mischievous eight year old and her friend Bruce, an eight year old semi-adopted son (they look after him and help with his school work during the week) who all depart on a boat to school each morning. It’s not a bad life out here, where the biggest danger is getting bopped on the bonce by a falling coconut (there are a few stingey, bitey things around, but so long as you keep your eyes peeled for cone shells as you wade into the shallows it is not a problem, and most things are fairly benign).

On the way home they were joined by another pod of spinner dolphins that rode the bow wave for most of the journey. A few of the team slid into the sea, fully clothed, to swim with them, but the animals stayed just out of reach. They returned dripping wet but happy.

That night Craig and I discovered that while we may have the most picturesque home on the island it is also the least water tight (especially as we had left both windows open). The ends of our mattresses were sodden, but being blokes we just flipped them over and slept on them regardless, knowing that the sun would dry them out in quick time the next day.

On Wednesday our work began in earnest. Each of the volunteers was assigned to a team with ‘housekeeping’ responsibilities. Four of us are responsible for cleaning the dive shop every day, four others keep the classroom clean and are required to log data regarding the marine life seen on each dive, while the remainder of the group are in charge of climatology readings – checking the rain gauge and thermometer, estimating cloud cover, wind speed and direction and the state of the water surface four times a day. Each team will rotate weekly so that everybody gets a go at each duty.

Before the excitement of the visit to Bao Island we had begun our fish spotting training via lectures and snorkeling trips onto the reef to see the way each species moves (when we can find them). The format is that one of the marine biologists – usually Tristan or Ruth, as Helen is busy training the Open Water divers – will run through the list of targeted fisheries or invertebrate species that we need to monitor, using a laptop and a projector in the classroom. For each fish species we are shown a photograph – some their own, others from reference works – and run through the distinguishing characteristics such as body shape, markings and the typical environment in which they are found. On our first foray around the island tragedy struck – I had taken my camera out of its underwater housing as it was low tide, but as I pulled it from my pocket to photograph a swimming eel I managed to drop it into a rockpool and killed it. I think I had managed to take four shots with it and it was doubly galling as this was the replacement for the last camera that had been killed in similar watery circumstances. My pleasure at being given a guided tour by someone with such depth of knowledge and enthusiasm for his subject was replaced with annoyance at yet another example of my own unthinking idiocy. I should be used to it by now. Ho hum. Thanks, however, to the generosity of Alison I am using her spare camera so now all I need to do is train the flaming fish to sit still while I take their portraits. So far I’ve taken about fifty shots of the space in the ocean where a fish used to be and maybe three decent ones of slow moving butterfly fish.

We are starting to get into a routine of island life now. Each evening we are briefed on the following day’s activities and divided into relevant groups – either student or qualified divers, or all of us in the classroom studying fish, corals or invertebrates. Lectures take place at different times each day and are interspersed with diving or snorkeling. One person is designated as boat marshal for the day and one as shore marshal, keeping in contact by mobile phone and ensuring the safety of everyone in the water. Divers must assemble at the dive shop half an hour before any scheduled dive, to give us time to kit up, check our tanks, regs and gauges, load up the boat and get under way. We are not quite operating as a well oiled machine yet – someone always forgets something and has to scoot back to their bure for water or sunscreen or a dive knife, so the best we have managed so far is a mere twenty minute delay from the planned departure time. We will get slicker as we get more familiar with everything I am sure.

The diving itself is awesome – and I mean that not in the way our American compatriots describe everything from the blood red sunsets to a cold beer, but in the literal sense of inspiring awe. Table corals six metres in diameter teeming with life, walls and drop offs where turtles and sharks loom out of the blue, parrot fishes and wrasses fighting the unceasing battle for survival while thirty or more species of butterfly fish flitter in and out of the fingers of the fire corals and anemone clown fish give you the skunk eye as you drift by.

Once again I am sitting on my home made armchair writing this on my day off while recovering from a very minor hangover, brought on as a result of last night’s party held to celebrate both the passing of the Open Water dive training by all four candidates and the fact that it was Saturday night. I would go into forensic detail about the whole thing, particularly Scott, the physics student’s, pole dancing, but I’m sure you don’t want to hear about that. (It fills me with horror every time I think about it). The good times were tempered, however, by the sad news that one of our crew was to leave us the following day due to a family emergency back home. We are all hoping that she will be able to rejoin us before the end of our expedition and since she left this afternoon there is a very subdued atmosphere across the island.

I have just heard the conch shell being blown, which means it is time for lunch. Tune in next time for another exciting episode of Survivor, Fiji…

Monday was the big day – we were off to meet Ratu Apenisa, the gentleman most likely to  succeed as the next High Chief of all the islands. Everyone met for breakfast dressed in their finery. The shirts and dresses looked like an explosion in a flower shop. Craig and I practiced getting down, sitting cross legged and standing up in our formal sulus, which are akin to lightweight kilts and could lead to all sorts of embarrassment if not done correctly. Then we were into the boats once more, driven by Gordi and Davs with a representative from Moturiki island who had agreed to come with us to conduct the ritual of sevu sevu – the kava ceremony – we would be undertaking to give homage to the Chief.

On arrival in Bau Island we processed in single file from the dock, across the ‘village green’ towards a large ceremonial hall. On entry we crouched low, assumed our cross legged position and shuffled into line, creating a circle around the kava bowl, all of us facing Ratu Apenisa who sat below a photograph of his great-great-grandfather, who was the chief who accepted Christianity in the islands and ceded Fiji to Great Britain in the 1870s. The ritual and ceremony was conducted in Fijian, so of course none of us fully understood what was happening, but after Ratu Apenisa had drunk a coconut shell full of kava he casually tossed it back to the master of ceremonies. This was repeated by his right hand men and then each of us in turn was passed a shell full of the spicy liquid. We had, fortunately, been briefed on what do, so we followed the protocol by clapping once, saying “Bula” then drinking it down in one. After handing back the coconut shell we clapped three times before it was the next person’s turn. Kava is a very mild narcotic made from the roots of a particular pepper plant. It has been compared to drinking a muddy puddle, but I found the distinctive spiciness strangely pleasant, leaving the inside of mouth tingling gently. Finally, each of us went in turn and, shuffling on hands and knees we touched the kava bowl then went over to Ratu and shook his hand. He very graciously told each of us to stand up, rather than crawl, as he knew it was an unfamiliar action for us. Eventually the ceremony was drawn to a close by the kava master who drew a circle in the air three times around the bowl. Then Ratu spoke. “Right”, he said, “while these fellas mix us up some more grog does anybody have any questions?” and with that everyone visibly relaxed.

Ratu then told us a little of the history of Fiji and Bau island in particular. Bau was traditionally the home of the most fearsome cannibalistic warriors in Fiji and he recounted gruesome tales of beheadings and honour killings. The large tree in the middle of the village green, he said, was used as a larder – captured enemies would be killed and then hung by their feet from the branches until they were ready to eat. Of course, this was all long ago and as we followed Ratu around the island he showed us the killing stone where the ‘prizes’ had their heads smashed in and it now rests in the island’s Methodist church and is used as the baptismal font. We continued the tour (with everyone always walking behind Ratu and never entering or leaving a building before him) taking in the school, where the children were let out of class early to stare and giggle at the funny foreigners while we took their photos and laughed along with them. Finally we were taken back to Ratu’s house and introduced to his mother. “Come on in”, he said “Oh, and by the way, the Oscars are on telly if anyone wants to watch it”. That is possibly the most surreal thing that has ever happened to me – standing chatting to the future High Chief of all of Fiji while we watch Jessica Biel sashay down the red carpet in LA on his large flat- screen TV.

Everyone was in high spirits as we boarded the boats home with Davs in particular laughing loudly as he revved the boat engine to send us crashing through the swell and soaking everyone on board. “Is that the best you can do?” shouted Ny-Ann “Come on, give it more power!” and we laughed like happy idiots as another wave came over the transom.

It is very difficult to describe the beauty of the island of Leleuvia as we approached. The water around it is fifty shades of blue, a fringe of white sand gives way to palms and fruit trees in the centre and as we got nearer we could look over the side to see multi-coloured corals and fish. Helen, the dive instructor and a marine biologist and Ruth, marine biologist and dive master, as well as the staff of the small backpacker hostel on the island were waiting on the beach to welcome us and garland our necks with flowers, while others strummed guitars and sang a welcoming song while we all stepped down from the boats chattering and jumping with excitement. Howard was clearly emotional at seeing two years of effort coalesce into this defining moment and was unable to speak due to the lump in his throat.

When he had recovered his composure we were given a guided tour of the facilities – it did not take long. There is a shower and toilet block, supplied by huge rainwater tanks. Rainwater is also filtered for drinking. At low tide there are reef flats that stretch half a mile or more and the accommodation is made up of wooden shacks or traditional thatched palm bures. People were divvied up and told who they would be bunking with for the next few weeks. Alex and Emily, the English gap year students are in with Breanna, an Australian backpacker. Alison, a retired Scottish teacher is sharing with Ny-Ann, a Filipino/Chinese/Spanish/American girl from San Francisco. Britt and Angus have a roommate called Scott, a Texan student who plans to study astrophysics when he gets home. Jo, a costume designer for films and TV is sharing with Jen who does something in marketing back in the real world, and I’m in with Craig. The team spent the afternoon and evening unpacking and exploring or getting a cold drink or two at the little bar, with most of the team heading off to bed fairly early as we had to be up at the crack of dawn.

The following morning began with a 400 metre swim before breakfast for everyone – one of the required tests for fitness to dive. I’m happy to say that everyone managed it with ease, although a number of folk had had misgivings about it – particularly the Americans in the party who are not familiar with metres as a unit of length. The PADI Open Water training began in earnest immediately after breakfast for the four non-qualified divers while some of us went with Tristan, resident expert on sea snakes, invertebrates and all sorts of creepy crawlies for a walk in the shallows around the island. Within five minutes we found our first sea snake, resting quietly on the foreshore. Craig the herpetologist was in raptures, stroking its strangely flattened tail (not recommended for non-professionals) while the snake languidly waved its head to taste us on the breeze. Mimic eels, morays, chitons, sea cucumbers and sponges were spotted as we completed a circuit of the island at a leisurely pace. Lectures on the ecosystem of coral reefs and classifications of marine invertebrates took place later on. Fascinating stuff. (No, really, it is!)

After a couple of days everyone is finding that time is playing tricks on us. In many ways it feels as though we have been here for weeks, and in others it feels like no time at all. I guess that is what is meant by “Fiji Time”.  The pace of life is slow – it has to be in this glorious heat.

Today is a rest day and I am currently sitting outside my bure on our home made armchair fashioned from scrap wood and plastic drain pipes, I am looking out past a couple of palm trees at the flat sea lapping the sand. Angus and Breanna have just paddled past in a couple of canoes and a coconut is bobbing gently in the surf. To my right a couple of hammocks (an essential study aid) are strung from trees. I can hear a hammer banging away on the other side of the island, where the new dive shop is being constructed and a couple of birds are squawking to each other in the bushes behind me. Other than that the only sound is the gentle surf and the tapping on my keyboard and the phrase that keeps running round my head is the first piece of Fijian I learned: Seqa na leqa. No worries.