Magic Combo

This could have been the first trip in which the world really swung its head around and interjected… the World Cup… 

Just the passion through which Arnaldo brought it up to everyone and the fact that the crew were very aware of it as well, it felt like it was going LIVE!

Welcome on board everyone!
Real troopers, current riders, wave flow(ers); another 10-day charter aboard the Nai’a.

Hard corals ~ Ralph Ross Ramirez

Wintertime, so it's still chilly, yet we took advantage of the beautiful first day of diving to cover the full-blown reefs of Vuya. 

Soft corals ~ Ralph Ross Ramirez

Hard coral coverage all around; small fish in corals and beating off them like a heartbeat; hermit crabs; white pygmy pontohi sea horses; flabellinas; and cardinal, squirrel and soldier fishes galore. 

School of big eyed trevally ~ Ralph Ross Ramirez

How many things can go wrong when you use your safety sausage? Well… It has been proven lately (one time) that 2 out of 4 divers will unroll their spool as it drops to the deep. 

It is good fishing training though.

Big eyed nocturnal overlooked fish... Soldierfish! ~ Ralph Ross Ramirez

“We saw a pretty decent sized mackerel or barracuda.” “Yeah, when we saw it I thought… ummm... Dinner.” - That is Phil and Susan for you. Phil was also named the papaya thief and guests had to guard the daily fruit plates from him. 

Scale fin anthias ~ Ralph Ross Ramirez

Family of dogtooth tuna hunting scad plus sharks joining the party! And Maryanne found an octopus for them all! Even a baby moray eel peeking out next to a beautiful cowrie. 

And right at that sweet split point “So many fish!” - Maryanne

Juvenile clown triggerfish! ~ Ralph Ross Ramirez

Then… total mayhem...

Afternoon dive: a hunting scene not experienced every day. Mackerel scad flying through and around hunkered down divers while grey reef sharks, tunas, Spanish mackerel, and the occasional green jobfish hunted for their dinner. 

It was so mesmerizing!

Anthias and sea fans ~ Ralph Ross Ramirez

“One of the best dives!” 

Blue ribbon eel; "there were two of them but by the time I had the camera ready, the second was gone!"~ Ralph Ross Ramirez

Just to wake up the next morning and have a morning of chilling in the water in an ocean of fusiliers for some divers. 

Fiji clown blenny ~ Ralph Ross Ramirez

Other divers had the same kind of vibe plus a hammerhead shark coming around twice to check them out. 

Hard corals from the bottom ~ Ralph Ross Ramirez

Sweetlips, scrawled filefish, and schooling bannerfish. 

“The biggest moray eel I have seen yet here!” - Phil

Crinoids ~ Ralph Ross Ramirez

“We saw a razor peacock fish! No chance of taking its photo but it was so cute!” - Denise

Soft corals ~ Ralph Ross Ramirez

A flowing Nigali Passage, with the three species of barracudas schooling; big and small grey reefs; baby eagle ray from the beginning of the year made an appearance; and a massive school of red and black snappers! 

It also seems like its egg season; so many carpet anemones, hosting eggs and parents alike! 

Fiji scenery ~ Ralph Ross Ramirez

Female sharks patrolling the bleachers while divers just marveled in their presence: “I could have touched her.” - Brian. The closest you could get to grey reef sharks without feeding them. 

Gustav saw something underwater that really spooked and excited him during the night; “It was a combination of a whale shark print and a thresher shark!” We figured it was a big zebra/leopard shark! Lucky him! 

Hard coral and anthias & dascyllus ~ Ralph Ross Ramirez

Some manta action in the morning. Johnny came around and Snoot dove in to get a little clean up. Unfortunately, not enough footage to know who else was there, but they were chunky!

Sea snake, box fishies, hammer head shark in the blue and huge boulder corals. 

Whip coral ~ Ralph Ross Ramirez

With this windy winter, we brazed the waves to check another strip of the reef. 

We ended up diving Vanua Marau (happy place in Fijian); a beautiful hard coral sloping wall with turtles, so many different wrasses and butterfly fishes. And an exciting sighting of the fourspot butterflyfish in pairs. 

Even a big lovely chevron manta passed us in the deeps. 

Lovely sunny day. 

Autumn colors! ~ Ralph Ross Ramirez

So many fish, corals, and even high out of their minds, aka, unbothered turtles. 

Fusiliers! ~ Buck Domino Hallen

So many tired white tip sharks laying on the sea floor (must be the current.)

And gardens after gardens of hard coral plus huge widespread sea fans and drapey yellow soft corals in the deep. 

Crew photo! Thanks so much Denise! Big Mo couldn't be in it... as he was driving the boat... but a photo like this would be worth the risk, right? BULA!

“Every time I think the last dive cannot be beat, there we go. As we came to the top, it was just, pancake pancake pancake. And two turtles!” - last dive for Denise.

Vinaka vakalevu everyone!

We hope to "sea" you once more!