Losing Oneself At The Surface

We are going snorkeling!

This was quite the interesting 10 days; experiencing the reef from above! 

Ethan and Lee were the leaders of this bunch of mermaids and mermans. 

ALL IMAGES BY ETHAN DANIELS! ENJOY! 

Drone shot by Ethan: you can see Nai'a and one of our skiffs 

Sunny morning, dolphins came in to say hello, and off we went snorkeling on Vatu-i-Ra Island reef. Tons of endemic Fiji anemone fish, as well as a huge patch of rose tip anemone. 

Lemon peel angelfish, endemic bicolor rabbit fish, wrasse all around, even a juvenile yellow box fish. 

Juvenile lemon peel angelfish 

“The variety of coral and how healthy they are!”- Diane

Everybody! Ready your sunscreen; hoods or hats, and wetsuits; as the sun is beating down like a hammer. Beautiful, yet intense. 

Hawksbill turtle on the side of the wall looking for breakfast. 

Eagle ray flying out in the blue. 

Fijian mimic lemon peel tang 

Spiny lobster completely out on the top of the reef, waving its antennas to the snorkelers above.

Another crazy hard coral drone shot

Two tone dartfish, fire dartfish; all the blue palette surgeonfish and a bunch of sweetlips. 

Joetta got to enjoy a super small juvenile lemon peel angelfish; Ethan and Lynne spotted a yellow spotted scorpionfish inside a cauliflower coral; and Richard and Meagan were super excited about a mauve blue giant clam! 

Guard crabs and even a big spider crab. 

Right handed hermit crab 

So many white tips sharks… quite the size, some of us doubted if they were nurse sharks before we saw the white tips. 

Angry looking moray snarling at us from his cave. 

Vatu-i-Ra island drone shot

“Right here there is the most amazing blue staghorn coral I’ve ever seen!” - Tony

Yellow tinted leopard blenny teased Cynthia as he poked in and out of the coral, basically playing peek-a-boo. 

Very relaxed snorkeling session right off Namena Island. Juvenile sea cucumber mimicking a very poisonous nudibranch. 

“That was a good day! When you take a photo and then another and then another and don't stop.” - Rochelle

“That was my kind of snorkel!” - Tony after we finished a session in the clear dark blue water on the right, sloping reefs on the left. 

At least 4 big turtles swimming out into the blue; few white tip sharks strolling around; schools of black snappers; and so many anemonefish. And fish e v e r y w h e r e. 

Outside Makogai, some snorkelers got to interact with a huge octopus; Joetta and Bob got to see and meet Christmas worms for the first time; and they all enjoyed a school of particularly fun fish. 

Clare wanted to name them after her as they were so funky looking: silver in body, barely visible, yet zebra tails… unfortunately/fortunately we found them in the fish book: barred flagtail. 

Drone shot of Makogai

We got to witness oceanic triggerfish nesting and defending their nests. 

Some of the mermaids fell in love with the clown triggerfish. 

Others were jumping from pocillopora coral to the next, looking at the yellow spotted scorpionfish inside them, 

We had to shelter from the wind at the end of the charter. 

In the water, snorkelers watched swimming pipefish; sinularia soft coral all around and healthy staghorn coral; pajama cardinal fish; and so many shrimpgobies with their bulldozer shrimp. 

Pajama cardinal fish

Surprise! During the night snorkel two pick lazy stonefish! 

Endemic anemone fish 

"This has been the trip I've seen the most sharks." - DIane

The weather did not take away their smiles!

Vinaka vakalevu everyone!