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Diving Fiji
Close encounter with demons of the deep
Wish you were here
Hidden away in Fiji’s Yasawa Island group northeast of Nadi, a prehistoric submarine ritual is played out before a mesmerised Roderick Eime LIKE dog-fighting pilots from some science-fiction epic, the two creatures banked, dived and barrel-rolled in perfect unison, the slightly smaller of the two trailing behind, appearing to be lining up for an attack. But as the act played out in perfect slow-motion harmony, it was clear the two enormous underwater beasts were simply cavorting in an ancient ceremony only they understood. Manta rays are the largest of all the rays and, unlike the potentially deadly stingrays we are familiar with after the death of conservationist Steve Irwin,
SAIL AWAY: Captain Cook Cruises brigantine Ra Marama. these massive, yet gentle and placid plankton feeders just browse their way through the world’s oceans. Worshipped as mystical sea gods by some Pacific Islanders and as wanton demons by the Japanese, who believed the beast would envelop a man in its wings and crush him to death, giant manta rays can grow to 8m across and weigh as much as 2000kg. The two distinctive protrusions near the eyes (paps) spawned the other common name, devil fish. Anything
but evil, mantas are a gold-medal sighting for divers and snorkellers. Here on Drawaqa Island, not far from where Tom Hanks was marooned in Castaway, is Barefoot Lodge, a low-impact, no-electricity ‘‘resort’’ for those wanting to enjoy a true Gilliganesque ‘‘get away from it all’’ tropical island holiday. Families and couples of all ages from the US, Europe and Australia are drawn here for an authentic, if spartan, island experience. Barely
GENTLE GIANT: Manta rays can grow to 8m across.
100m from the bamboo breakfast bar is the northernmost tip of the tiny island, aptly dubbed Manta Ray Point. At the rise and fall of the tide, the resident population of manta rays, as
many as a dozen at a time, glide serenely along the narrow channel between Drawaqa and neighbouring Naviti Island. The rush of nutrientrich water creates a current of several
knots that makes swimming with the rays a near-Olympic task, so we are content drifting with them momentarily until the tender scoops us up and places us upstream again for
another pass. I hover transfixed above one of the larger rays, watching it glide effortlessly against the current, its span considerably wider than the limit of my outstretched arms.
From a depth of perhaps 3m, it suddenly angles sharply upward towards me. Is it asking me to dance? Is it moving to attack? Or am I just in its blindspot? I manage a metre of
Doing it
Getting there
Captain Cook Cruises (Fiji) sail to Barefoot Lodge on Drawaqa Island as part of their Yasawa Island Sailing Safaris. Choose from 3-day/2-night or 4-day/3-night packages starting at $FJ545 ($A315) a person twin share. Includes transfers, all food and activities on shore, including the manta ray swim. www.captaincook.com.au Ph: 9206 1100.
Pacific Blue offers direct daily flights from Sydney to Nadi with fares starting from $289 a person, one way on the net. For extra leg room, book the Blue Zone seating option for an additional $45 on top of your fare. Check out www.flypacificblue.com for current specials, bookings and all your travel needs.
reverse thrust to allow it some room, when it rolls onto its back and stares at me point blank, its gaping mouth teeming with tiny, bright yellow fish continually attending to the host’s dental hygiene. The urge to touch it is overwhelming, but the manta’s skin is covered by a thin protecting layer of mucus-like film and my skin would damage it, leaving the ray vulnerable to lesions and parasites. Instead we tango tantalisingly close for a few seconds. Then it swoops to the depths and slowly vanishes. ‘‘Hey man, let it go,’’ calls Brian, a Californian holidaying with his family. Snapping out of my trance, I look back to see I have floated nearly 50m from the group, now clambering elated into the dive tender, chattering madly about their own close encounter.
True, if left alone I would have followed it on its voyage to wherever it was heading, such was the hypnotic attraction of the legendary devil fish. But we must now go our separate ways. Later, after a bountiful lovo (earth oven) dinner of pork, chicken and walu (spanish mackerel), we sit on the beach, sipping cold beer and admiring the phosphorescence of the night sky away from the city. Past the faint silhouette of our transport, the 30m brigantine Ra Marama moored just off shore, a new moon casts a simmering glow on the calm waters. Beneath the surface, the misnamed devil fish are out there somewhere, patrolling the endless ocean on their quest for whatever it is they quest for. If only our own lives were that simple. The author was a guest of Captain Cook Cruises and Pacific Blue.