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Jean-Michel CousteauFiji Islands ResortBLISSFUL AQUATIC
INDULGENCETEXT AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY JACK AND SUE DRAFAHL
W e have known Jean-Michel Cou-steau for more than 20 years
andconsider him one of the foremost ex-perts on the underwater
world. Yearsago, when he decided to add Fiji as aProject Ocean
Search location, we bom-barded him with questions. We had notyet
been to Fiji and wanted to learn ev-erything we could so we'd be
ready. Notlong after that, we participated in a'FijiProject Ocean
Search and worked withJean-Michel in the making of his CD-ROM,
Cities Under the Sea. Now Fiji islike a home away from home for us
aswe travel its islands for SKIN DIVER.
Jean-Michel, in conjunction with PostRanch Inn, Big Sur,
California, has devel-oped the Jean-Michel Cousteau FijiIslands
Resort. This piece of paradise isin Savusavu, on Fiji's second
largest is-land, Vanua Levu. Fiji, just northeast ofAustralia, is a
group of more than 300 is-lands where the friendliest people
onearth live. To get to the Fiji Islands Resort,you fly via Air
Pacific to Nadi InternationalAirport on Viti Levu. There you will
be met
by a smiling representative of the resort,who will help you
transfer to a smallerplane that will take you onto Savusavu.When
you arrive there, you and your lug-gage will be quickly transferred
to the ho-tel. Your vacation home will be one of 20thatched roof
bures (Fijian cottages) in a17 acre coconut grove. The
landscapingensures privacy, yet all of the bures arewithin a short
walking distance of themain bure, bar, dining room, dive shopand
freshwater pool.
The resort is on a finger of land pro-truding from Savusavu,
providing swim-mers and snorkelers unlimited access tolong beaches.
There is a 100 foot longdock that allows easy water access.
Thefully equipped dive shop has plenty ofrental gear available in
case you forgotsomething or just wanted to travel light.The dive
shop offers a variety of technicaldive courses: TDI certifications
in nitrox,advanced wreck, rebreather and techni-cian/ blender; and
PADI certifications intwo EANx specialties.
(Continued on Page 28)
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*WYNDHAM WAY means luxury all-inclusiveresort teamed up with a
State-of -the-Art diveoperation to offer the ideal Dive Resort
option
in St. Lucia at an unbeatable price.
ST LUC1AB Call (8OO) 327-8ISOUNDERSEA ADVENTURESI Toll Free—U.S.
and CanadaLocal (954) 462-3400 • Fax (954) 462-4100
http://www.nealwatson.com/stlucia.htmA Neal Watson's Undersea
Adventures Affiliate E-mail: [email protected]
circle 1306 on Reader Service Card
Xanadu UnderseaAdventures offers up to4 dives daily
includingnight dives, wrecks,hand feeding sharks,walls, instruction
&rental. Enjoy ourprivate beacn, pool,tennis. We're minutesfrom
golf, casino &
800-327-8150f^ XATVADIJ •rV UNDERSEA ADVENTURES •
KREEPORT, GRAND BAHAMAA Neal Watson s Undersea Adventure
Affiliate
BEACH RESORT AND MARINA
(954)462-3400(954) 462-4100 (Fax)
(242)352-3811
• P.O. Box 21766,Ft. Lauderdale,
FL 33335http://www.nealwatson.com/xanadu.htm
www.Bahamasvg.com/xanadudive.html • or e-mail: nealwatsonffl
aol.com
:-
JEAN-MICHEL COUSTEAUFIJI ISLANDS RESORT(Continued from Page
6)
L'Aventure Jean-Michel Cousteau of-fers diving on some of Fiji's
finest sites.The largest of the resort's two boats is acustom built
37 footer powered by two330 horsepower engines. It carries 12divers
and offers individual compartmentsfor dive gear. The other boat, a
23 footer,can accommodate 1 0 divers and twocrew members. The
three, five and sevenday packages include two morning
dives;afternoon or night dives are offered if thereare enough
guests interested.
Underwater photography services atthe resort include E-6
processing, lightboxes, camera rentals, courses andspace on the
dive boats dedicated tophoto equipment.
Vanua Levu
We have loggedmore than 250dives with the FijiIslands Resortand
find it one ofthe most fascinat-ing areas in Fiji be-cause it
offers suchunderwater variety. Whatkind of diving do you like? No
matter whatyour answer, this resort should be able tofill your
requests. You can find most ev-erything from deep walls with 200
footplus visibility to muck diving with smallcritters most people
have never seen.There are currents, no currents, small ani-mals,
big animals, canyons, walls andbommies. The sites are in three
basic ar-eas, Savusavu Bay, outside SavusavuBay and Namena
Island.
We love macro photography and havefound more types of
nudibranchs inSavusavu Bay than any other place inFiji. The dive
spot closest to the resort isSpit Rock. This bommie is a
favoritewith snorkelers as it is only a short swimfrom shore and
offers calm conditions.The rock is home to several
nudibranchs,clownfish, lionfish and some very orga-nized cleaner
fish.
Another favorite is Mystery Reef. Inthe middle of the bay, it
has excellent vis-ibility. At the top center of the reef areseveral
large hard corals that slope downto a vast garden of soft corals
that re-
28 SKIN DIVER OCTOBER 1997circle 187 on Reader Service Card
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semble gray, leafless dwarf trees about afoot high. Thousands of
small crittershide under these corals, providing under-water
photographers with a treasuretrove of subjects.
On the outside of Savusavu Bay thereis a heavy concentration of
soft corals,seafans, large animals and schools of fishat depths
ranging from 15 to 120 feet.The shallow portion of each dive is on
thesteep edge of the reef, offering lots ofcracks and crevices. The
sites usuallydrop to another ledge at 40 to 100 feet,then drop even
deeper.
Canyons is typical of one of thesedives and has fields of hard
corals formingswim-throughs for both sharks anddivers. Jackson's is
loaded with giganticseafans down to 90 feet, with soft coralgardens
at the 40 to 60 foot level. One ofour favorites is Hole in the
Wall. The divebegins with an impressive swim along a
Above: L'Aventure, the resort's speedyand roomy 37 foot dive
boat. Below: Jean-Michel Cousteau is the developer of thisslice of
paradise on Vanua Levu Island.
huge, deep walland finisheswith a quick tripthrough a holethat
opens toan even deeperwall. Along thiswall you will of-ten see
manyschools of col-orful fish and,
TM T R A V E LA G L A N C EThe Fiji Islands Resort isbest known
for:
• Friendly, welcomingpeople
• Privacy and personalservice
• Proximity to some ofFiji's best and mostdiverse dive sites
• Incredible soft coralson occasion,even larger animals.
Namena Island offers the best divingavailable from Jean-Michel
Cousteau FijiIslands Resort. It is one of the best dive ar-eas in
the world. It's hard to describe thewonderful visibility, the
abundance of ani-mals, the vastness and the color foundhere. The
resort makes regular trips toNamena about two to three times a
week.
More than 100 Black Tips, Caribbean Reef, Bull, Hammerhead and
Lemon sharksswirl before you as they feectaAt^alker's venture to
(Air superb dive sites includingSpiral Cavern Reef, Pirates (a
lhedrul and mysterious Spanish Cannon Reef, all just10 minutes from
our dock. Night dives, wreck dives, twilight dives and a
thrillingfloat dive are also available.
All dive packages include ourshark dive and warm buoyancycontrol
work-shop. Stay four ormore nights and get your open \qualifying
dives, or an upgrade to PAD!Advanced Open Water Diver, absolutely
free!
3 Days/2 Nights
$360 pp• Deluxe Aii -cuml i t ionrd Room• Room '1 axes &
diatiiilies•SDlves Daily '• Complimentary Arrival and
Departure Dives pending FlightSchedules and Safety
• Breakfast/Dinner Daily
waLKERS cav
Toll Free US800-513-5257
In Ft. Lauderdale 954-462-3400
MOTEL AND MARINAABaCO. BanaMase-mail: [email protected]
internet: http://www.nealwatson.com/vvalker8.htin •
http://www.walkerscay.comCA ADVENTURES AFFILIATE
arete 1331 on Reader Service Card
8. MOREwith Nassau Scuba CentreOur friendly and professional
staff willtreat you to a variety of dramatic walland wreck diving,
high voltage shark
feeds and beautiful coral gardensfrom our spacious custom dive
boats.
Packages include four boat dives per dayin a relaxing out-island
atmosphere.
ASSAUENTRE
A NeaJ Watsoft Uttdetse^AdY^ntures Affiliate- • • - —
Call for our variety of all inclusiveDive, Hotel and Air
Packages
888-962-7728US Fax: (954) 462-4100
Ph: (242) 362-1964Fax:(242)362-1198
http://www.nealwatson.com/nAssau.htmhttp://www.nassau-scuba-centre.com
e-mail: [email protected]:
[email protected]
P.O. Box 21766Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33335
circle M7 on Reader Service Card SKIN DIVER OCTOBER 1997 29
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JEAN-MICHEL COUSTEAUFIJI ISLANDS RESORT
The circular reef that surrounds the islandcreates a habitat for
sharks, schools ofBarracuda, rays, schools of parrotfish, oc-topus,
nudibranchs, leaffish—you get theidea. If there is an animal that
lives in Fiji,you'll probably see it here at Namena.There are
one-half dozen sites here and allare spectacular.
FIJI BOUND
Flights to Fiji are available throughAir Pacific and Qantas. The
nonstop AirPacific flight from Los Angeles to Fiji'sInternational
Airport in Nadi takes ap-proximately 10 hours. The outer islandsare
reached via either Air Fiji or Sun-flower Airlines.
Air Pacific(800)227-4446
Qantas Airlines(800) 227-4500
Air Fiji(800) 677-4277 (U.S.)Sunflower Airlines(888) DIVE FIJI
(U.S.)
fers Hobie Cats, kayaking, tennis, volley-ball, snorkeling,
village visits and somevery interesting hiking expeditions into
therain forest and mangroves. The resorteven offers Fijian craft
classes for children.
Jean-Michel Cousteau says that "Fiji isone of the few places
left where one canexperience intact tropical forests, healthyreefs
and a living culture of proud, indige-nous people." Come experience
Fiji tothe fullest at Jean-Michel Cousteau FijiIslands Resort.
For more information, contact (800)246-3454, (415) 788-5794 or
fax (415)788-0150. You can send e-mail to [email protected] or visit
the Web site athttp://www.jmcfir.com.
Believe it or not, not everyone loves div-ing as much as we do,
thus the resort of-
O O O O O O O O O C LDive NotesSHERWOOD'S OASIS REGULATOR
COM-
BATS DRY MOUTH: The new Oasis regu-lator from Sherwood Scuba
offersunique features to keep a diver's mouthcool and comfortable.
Two special sec-ond stage moisture fins condense andreturn exhaled
moisture. An exclusive,baffled exhaust tee breaks up bubbles,makes
them small and moves them outof your line of vision. The unique
Wis-dom mouthpiece offers a natural fit and
helps reduce jaw fatigue. The regulatoris designed to provide
consistent airpressure even at low tank pressures.
The high performance Oasis regulator isdesigned to meet all
European EN250standards, including cold water perfor-mance
tests.
Sherwood, a manufacturer of gas con-trol equipment since 1923,
has been mak-ing high performance scuba gear for morethan 30 years.
It is a business unit of theTaylor-Wharton Gas Equipment Divisionof
Harsco Corporation, an industrial prod-ucts and services
conglomerate withmore than 175 major facilities in 30 coun-tries,
including the U.S.
For more information on Oasis andWisdom from Sherwood Scuba,
write to2111 Liberty Drive, Niagara Falls, NY14304-3744; phone
(716) 283-2270 orfax (716) 283-2356.
In a Fiji Forbes Laucala v/ortd, you get toexperience paradise
without a limitation in sight!
fittnt Forbes Masazine's Laucala (La-tha-la) Island, you are
treated to
a world of space and choices beyond compare. All wrapped
in the friendly and warm Fijian hospitality that itself knows no
bounds.
Our ful I service dive operation wi II cater to your every need.
. .there are no
time tables or schedules. You decide ^^^^^^^^^^^^a
when and we'll take you to over thirty
world class dive sites nearby our spectac-
ular island located in the Northern Group
of the Fiji Islands. Ifyou don't want to dive,
youcan fish, windsurf, snorkel, play tennis a do nothing at all.
Anytime.
your accommodations, a private bure, is located on the beach and
features
all the modern comforts and conveniences you will need. Our
staff will
prepare your meals, make up your bure and cater to your special
requests.
FORBESM A G A Z I N E ' SF I J I I S L A N D
1 800-FORBES-5Outside U.S. Phone (719) 379-3263 or fax (719)
379-3266
Address: P.O. Box 1 49, Ft. Garland, CO 81 1 33
30 SKIN DIVER OCTOBER 1997
