Tag Archives: snorkeling

Yadua and Yadua Taba

Yadua was one of our stops during our multiple day passage across Fiji.  It was such a lovely island that I decided it needed its own post.  Yadua and Yadua Taba are located in the Bligh Waters situated between Viti Levu and Vanua Levu.  It can be a treacherous  journey getting through the Bligh waters as they seas can zip between these islands which strong currents.  But in the right conditions, Yadua can be idealic.  The smaller yellow mass is Yadua Taba.

We arrived late in the afternoon, dropped the hook and watched the gorgeous sunset behind the boat.  The next day we spent exploring this amazing spot on land and sea.  We are still experiencing the effects of the Super Blue Moon with excecssive high and low tides.  So, we wait until mid-tide to get to shore.  

High tide covers the beach in water and low tide doesn’t allow us to get the dinghy over the coral reef that lines the beach front.

There are 4 beaches in this bay along with a bazillion palm trees, some hills, and beautiful rock cliffs.

Expedition on Shore

We start out by exploring the beautiful sandy beaches inside this bay.  The sand is soft and the beaches are clean.

But we want to see more so we decide to try to climb the hill to see the beaches on the east side.  Of course we don’t find a trail to go up and over….(lower photo).  We utilize tree roots to climb the rock face, then avoid slipping as we walk the ridge before we make a new trail to the other side.  Seriously there has to be an easier way!

But the beaches on the other side are magnificent!

On the way back we see what looks like a “trail” up the hill.  We decide that it can’t be more difficult than the one we came in on so we take it.  And guess what?  It is an actual trail that leads us directly to the other side.  Jimeny Cricket!

Yadua Taba

Yadua Taba is a much smaller island located on the SW corner of Yadua.  It is forbidden to go ashore on this little island and its surrounding reefs are wildlife sancutuary for one of the rarest and most beautiful lizzarsd called the Crested Iguana.

We took the dinghy over to the island with the hopes of seeing them sunning themselves on a log or the beach but they were very shy and hid well from us.

Yadua Taba is special for another reason in that it contains tropical dry forest vegetation, one of the most (if not the most) endangered vegetation types in the world!

We had to continue on with our journey across Fiji as we need to make tracks to Musket Cove.

Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind actual live events.  This blog post occured in early October 2023.  In our last blog post we traverse across Fiji.

Snorkeling the Chimneys at Namena

The small island of Namena is the largest no-take reserve in Fiji.  Established in 1997, Namena is both a marine and bird preseve.  It is slowly coming back to its former glory after the 2016 cyclone devasted the island. Prior to the cyclone, this area boasted over 1,000 fish species, over 600 pairs of red-footed boobies and a major nesting ground for the critically endangered hawksbill sea turtle.

To access Namena you have to enter through one of few passes.  These passes were much easier to navigate than the passes of the Tuamotus in French Polynesia.  Near the island of Namena is one mooring.  We originally tried to anchor near the island but discovered too many bommies.  So, we checked out the mooring and determined it was safe to hold our home.  

The mooring is right in front of a small beach.  Perfect location to watch all of the nesting birds return home from a day of hunting.

Nesting birds are all over the island.  We saw lots of boobies!

We went ashore and found a trail that led us to the other side of the island.  Super pretty beaches.

Best Diving / Snorkeling in Fiji

Namena is the home of some of the best diving in Fiji.  They have many dive sites inside and outside the reef.  The most famous are the chimneys, teutons, mushroom, and grand central station pass.

We don’t have a compressor so we have to be selective about where we dive until we can find a place to refill our tanks.  We decided to snorkel the sites prior to getting all of our gear out.

The Chimneys

The Chimneys consist of two sheer towers about 10 meters in diamer and 25 meters tall.  The stretch majestically from the sea bed to the sun barely below the water’s surface.  My awesome GoPro doesn’t do well far away so I tried to take photos of one of the chimneys in sections.

The water was a bit silty or murky but it very well could have been the tide.  Both chimneys were teaming with little fish.  They stayed together in their schools and created these amazing blocks of color.

Blooming coral created small bursts of color on the top and on the sides of the chimneys.

Teutons and Mushroom Sites

My favorite sites were the Teutons and the Mushooms as there seemed to be even more schools of fish.  

Even the fish were getting into the Barbie craze…a pink comet trail of fish zoomed past me.

It was a strange feeling of being the new kid at school.  I stood out like a sore thumb in a sea of beauty.

Some fish were curious and came up to see me, but most fled at first site of my bubbles.

And then I found a large, beautiful soft coral with 4 nemos!

I simply love this coral and wish I had nemo protecting me!

Look at all of that stunning color! The best aquarium ever.

Namena Resort

Unfortunately, the Nemena Resort was destroyed in 2016 cyclone.  They have a great website that states they are rebuilding, but it sure does not look like it from where we stand.  It looks like there are people living in the houses up on the hill, but not much is going on.

We cetainly enjoyed our time in Namena.  It is amazing to see the underwater world and the land bounce back from the 2016 cyclone.  Nature is spell bounding and endures.

This blog post occured in mid-August.  Our blogs run 10-12 weeks behind actual live events.  Did you see the new Nawi Marina in Savusavu in our last blog?

Sunken Treasures

I am ashamed to admit this but I have never snorkeled the sunken treasures site located less than 5 minutes from our Tahiti anchorage.  You are probably thinking, WTF?  Yes, we have anchored in the same spot in Tahiti for 3 years at least 2 dozen times!  Yet, I have never been to this super cool spot!

We gather our friends Thomas and Marika (from “Scooter”) and we make the short trek to the snorkel spot.  Directly under the dinghy is the first of two sunken ships.   I jump in to see the shell of a rather large ship.  The smaller of the two ships is located 30 meters away near the airplane.

Strategically placed together are the Cessna 172 airplane and the smaller ship.  The two ships did not prove to be very interesting as they had no coral growth or wildlife on or around them.

Matt decides he wants to fly the plane so he snorkels down 10m (30’+) while Thomas goes down with my GoPro. 

Matt has to wiggle into the cockpit, but manages to give us a thumbs up.

The plane proves to be far more interesting to shoot from all different angles.  If you look closely, you will see that the tires are still on the plane!

Rumor has it that on April 16, 1995, following an emergency landing, this plane sank near the runway of the Tahiti airport.  Now it remains at the site of the Aquarium with two other boats and a work station in 10 meters of water.

Working Remote?

Next to the plane is the strangest thing….a small desk with a lamp, adding machine, pencil cup and an apple computer (complete with keyboard).  We’ve been saying that internet is hard to find in French Polynesia – but this shows we exhausted all possibilities!

Just because it is such a cool shot, here is a single photo of Matt at the desk after he pounded it when he realized he had no connectivity.

We also had lots of super curious fish coming to check us out.

And we found a beautiful heart made of coral because we love Tahiti.

We say farewell to Fakarava after some fabulous shark dives.  Events from this blog post occurred toward the end of March 2022.  Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind actual events.