Fiji Shark Diving -- June 2011

by Miguel Garrido

DUH DUN DUH DUN… DUH DUN DUH DUN… DUH DUN DUH DUN…

SHHAAAAAARKKKKS!!!

Real sharks. Not those Hollywood robotic sharks that are “man-eaters”. We’re talking about real-life sharks, the ones that are in fact hunted for their fins and “eaten-by-man”. The playful, peaceful, predators of the sea. Don’t get me wrong when it comes down to it, a shark is a shark. We have to respect them and they are not to be taken lightly, but we also have to remember that we are not part of the food chain.

Fourteen of our lucky adrenaline seeking divers have just returned from Beqa Lagoon in Fiji, having had the pleasure of interacting with these spectacular creatures. And after a week of fun in the sun, the only downside was that we had to come home.

From the moment we stepped off the plane the Fijian people made us feel more than welcome with their traditional greeting, “BULA!” being shouted as we drove past. The diving was equally as welcoming with water temperatures of up to 29°C and extremely playful sharks that may well have also being shouting “BULA!” as they put on a spectacular show for us. At any one time there were over 30 sharks in the water of varying species including bull sharks, grey nurse sharks, lemon sharks, black tip sharks, white tip sharks, oceanic silver tip sharks, and nurse sharks. Every dive was filled with excitement and the local shark feeders were kind enough to grab us all individually, use us as “shark bait,” and bring us up close and personal within the feeding, amongst all the shark action.

We went for the sharks and were taken aback with the beauty of Fiji. The reef dives were visually stunning, adorned with every colour of the rainbow, soft corals, hard corals, swimming sea stars, feather stars, nudis, lionfish, scorpionfish, moray eels, and the occasional hawksbill turtle. We also took an afternoon to visit the rainforest and keeping the adrenalin levels high, went zip-lining through tree tops, between the forest, and over the rivers of the stunning Fijian environment.

A few kava shells later, some Vonu towers, a looming ash cloud, and we were back at Brisbane before we could say “VINAKA”. An amazing time was had by all and we enjoyed the group and the benefits that come with group bookings. Some more so than others who shared their overweight (30kg!) baggage amongst the group. We are all now counting the days till our next overseas adventure, and with so much variety in 2012, we just need to choose what we want to see.

Shotgun Club Social Day -- Saturday 5th June 2011

by Miguel Garrido

It was the brisk morning of June the 5th. A brave (and very attractive) group of divers set out to lay it all on the line, to risk all for their country, to stare danger in the eye, to face 25 heavily armed and dangerous clay pigeons being launched out of high-speed-launching-thingy at command by simply yelling the word “PULL”.

The shotgun club social day has quickly become one of the more popular events of the year, and for good reason. Who doesn’t enjoy the satisfaction of clay pigeons (which look very much like terracotta garden decorations) shattering into tiny pieces all by the squeeze of a trigger. We had a total of 18 trigger-happy divers join us in the ultimate stress-relief day and after 25 rounds each, they were all still itching, to put it simply, “SHOOT STUFF.”

More specifically, the general consensus being was “to shoot Mig.” So by popular demand we have organised a Paintball Skirmish Day for the August Social Club event on Sunday the 21^st.

Everyone had an amazing time and we were all pleasantly surprised at how easy it was… with a little coaching from some Olympic shooters. Congratulations to Saille Clougher who won an Apeks regulator bag for obliterating 18 out of the 25 targets on the day.

Bring on PAINTBALL!!!