Fiji-Phase 19- Week 7

After weeks of training and studying we have finally started our surveying. Our first day began disastrously loosing equipment (but at least we were on time!). The staff generously gave us a second chance and after some practice we are now the best surveyors in Fiji!

This week has been a good week for wildlife with sightings of spinner dolphins, at which everyone on the boat chaotically belly flopped into the water. We also had our first boat trip to The Namena Marine Reserve. This site is teeming with amazing wildlife and scenery. Divers reported seeing numerous species of sharks, schools of barracudas, Napoleon Wrasse and various other super sized fish.

Saturday night brought the usual fun and games but was a bit over cast by the anticipation of Anna, Gemma and Jade’s departure (and of course the puppies!) departure. Luckily Karen was there to brighten the mood (shlimmy schlom!). Even though we felt a little worse for wear on Sunday morning with Vicky’s pancake breakfast lining our tummies we enthusiastically embraced a wet boat trip to the catholic village of Natokalau. Apparently Vicky is a confirmed catholic….. We were delighted to find a flushing toilet, short church service and a lovely buffet lunch. The village was beautiful and the locals were as friendly and hospitable as always.

On Monday morning there was a tearful farewell to Gemma, Jade and Anna as they set sail for civilisation a sad atmosphere set over camp but the arrival of post the next day brought much excitement (especially to Caroline who now has a very well stocked ration box!). Now that we are in our last couple of weeks we are trying to savour every minute and embrace the corned beef. But next week we look forward to more surveying, amazing new dive sites and the return of Jade and the puppies also congratulations to Ben and Eleanor who will be spending 10 more weeks in paradise as the trainees for next phase Whoop! Whoop!

Lots of love from the most amazing girls on camp Iselin and Lucy xxx

Fiji- Phase 19- Week 6

Week 6 of our Fijian adventure has been strongly science orientated and great leaps forward have been made. We started the week with fish and invertebrate point dives, courtesy of Debs & Karen, where a big moray eel and a lionfish were spotted. By Thursday we were taking and mostly passing the invertebrates’ test, after some last minute cramming of lobsters, clams and nudibranchs. We moved onto coral (fire coral burns, don’t touch it!) and finally survey techniques, now practice surveys are practically ready to give way to real ones and the important work begins. Everyone is ready and raring to go surveying new and exciting sites. One of which, Gangster’s Paradise, we visited for our fun dive on Saturday, littered with fantastic coral formations and swim-through opportunities. The joint winner of spot of the week occurred on the return journey when Theresa saw a school of dolphins off the port side, Paul wheeled the boat around and we ended up with twenty spinner dolphins dancing around the bow of the boat, a magical moment for all. Sharing the limelight this week was Ben’s sighting of a 3m long Grey Reef Shark on a snorkel to the outer reef, which swam past us only 6m away, my reaction was simply ‘wow!’ That trip was topped off by getting a ride home in a boat from the Chief of Kubulau district’s brother. Other great underwater sights this week have included an octopus, a painted lobster, a lionfish and both green and hawksbill turtles.

On the human side of things this has been a week of parties with the Nu-rave party on Saturday night (most of the glow in the dark paint came off before church the next day) and birthdays for both Gemma & Eleanor. We celebrated Gemma’s with deep fried Mars bar doughnuts and a hand-painted card made by Hayleigh and Jade. For Eleanor’s 18th her mum in the village sent a flower decorated cake and she finished the day off with a girly sleepover (the guys slept outside, because we are manly). On the subject of food this has been another stellar week, I remain amazed by the dishes people can create from noodles and corned beef. Meal of the week was won by Swedish meatballs and spaghetti, although I must apologise as the identities of the chefs have escaped me. Bread creativity has peaked this week with a garlic flatbread and Siân’s onion and herb focaccia. Eleanor’s pineapple fritters were a mid-afternoon treat on Tuesday, our thanks to her mum for the pancake batter. Paul’s return from Savusavu on Saturday morning brought further merriment, as he brought not only fresh vegetable rations but also our personal rations (many bags of cookies, chocolate, coke the little and sometimes not-so-little luxuries we crave) and the gifts of sugar, flour and the like we brought for our village families who take care of us so well.

We were back in Navatu this Sunday for church and lunch, as ever we were glad to be back in our own village, where the great food & better company makes the day fly by. This is especially true when the early high tide meant we had to rush back if we wanted to remain dry (Helen G got back to the very last corner, within sight of camp). The new oven on camp (Paul got bored and 15 minutes later had decapitated the old one with a hammer and chisel) was thoroughly tested on Monday to create a taste of England in the form of fish and chips, although you would struggle to find Pacific Walu baked with lime leaves and garlic butter in any local chippy back home.

A sad moment this week was Ben & Adam’s discovery of dead hawksbill turtle in the shallows, although this was tempered by the sheer fascination of being able to examine such a fantastic creature up close. Walks up the hill behind camp have been the order of the week, with many people undertaking the actually quite easy climb to the utterly breath taking views one way along the main land towards Savusavu and the other out to sea with the reef laid out in front of you in all it’s glory every contour visible beneath the low tide. All made even more spectacular by the continued improvement in the weather, summer is defiantly here, the winds have dropped and the blazing sunshine has been the order of the week.

Finally our congratulation to our most injury prone volunteer Colin who is back in the water after dislocating his shoulder although on his first time back in the water he managed to swim into a jellyfish. Song of the week goes to Ryan’s rendition of ‘I believe I can fly’ which helped his quiz team the Power Rangers to victory on Thursday. We will give Rob the last word with his quote ‘I’m not scared of Triggerfish, I’m just ready to fight them’ (it was in fact 2 inches long).

Adam

Fiji Phase 19- Week 4-5

Wednesday saw the start of fish points with a house reef snorkel, and also a jubilant Theresa and Ciaran as they passed their open water dives. A few of us headed off to the outer reef, enjoying some duck diving into the many holes and crevices making up the reef, a Hawksbill turtle came along for company. Thursday was the start of size estimations measuring sticks underwater with a 20% margin of error; some took to it better than others.

Saturday was Colin’s birthday which was a great end to the week considering a hammock incident. Halloween was also a highlight complete with a staff Addams Family, scary spice, Harry Potter, pirate, skeleton, failed surgery patient and many more. After a Sunday in Navatu, Monday saw the entrance of bad weather and a very strong drift dive at Lovers.

Ellen sadly left on Thursday, but Thursday also saw our first fundraiser in Namalata where there was a flushing toilet! The Kava was broken out early, as was the guitars, leading to a very fun afternoon all for a good cause.


Friday meant ladies night and Guy Fawkes. The ladies from the village arrived with cake in hand and we put on the tea, we partied the night away with games including pass the parcel, bingo, a lot of dancing, limbo and musical statues. Our effigy was burnt and the Fireworks came out and it was a great show that the whole island could hear! The highlight of the night was when the ladies broke the bench next to the volleyball court, maybe it should be ‘eat less’ from now on.

Saturday saw some amazing dives at Ariels; Sam spotted 5 sharks along with some turtles. Sunday lead us to Raviravi for church and Kava. Ciaran’s birthday treat came in the form of the opportunity to serve the Kava and he rose to the challenge on his special day.

Chris

Bahamas- October 09 Weeks 1-3

Week 1

From my point of view this was the beginning of paradise. We arrived at the Greenforce camp with a lot of nerves due to the fact that this was a completely new experience for all of us as well as not knowing anyone else.

For the first few days on camp we learnt about the rules and regulations and adjusted our bodies to the heat and time difference, which is bliss!

Once we got comfortable to our surroundings we began diving. Half of the group already had some sort of diving qualification. So in week 1 we did check dives just to refresh our memories and our basic diving skills. The others began their open water training.

Learning how to cook good bread for lunch was a great way for the group to work together and tasted amazing. Overall week one was exciting and interesting as we got to know the other volunteers that were with us. We also got to know the three leaders of the camp and slowly eased our way into camp life.


Week 2

All the guys that started their open water qualification managed to complete it all with flying colours. We also learnt about the marine life in the Bahamas and the fish that are a part of that ecosystem which was very interesting.

When the weather is bad for diving we usually venture out. On a couple of days the wind picked up so we went up north to Morgan’s Bluff. Here we were given an insight into the history of Andros. We also went to a blue hole called Captain Bills where every volunteer loved jumping off the five meter diving platform which was fun!

Throughout the week we were lucky enough to get to swim with dolphins sharks and rays which were amazing. Some of the group started their advanced open water course this week. On Thursday we went to a local school and taught them about basic marine life. We were teaching children between 6 and 10 years old which many of you may know can be terror but sweet at the same time.

Despite the weather we did manage to get a lot of dives in. On the weekend we managed to try a new sport called free diving. This is diving without a tank and only holding your breath, which the whole team did well and continued practising through the day.

Week3

At the beginning of week three we went on a military base called AUTEC. Here our leader gave a presentation on the marine ecosystem of the Bahamas to the school children. We also had lunch and dinner there which was amazing as food on camp is very basic.

The weather for the next few days did not look good so our leader decided to start our EFR course. It was a very interesting course and we often had a laugh doing it. We also went to the famous Androsia shop on the island and many of us bought wild clothes for the fun nights.

Mid week we saw dolphins on a snorkel on the shore just off camp. It was exciting and many of us swam with them again which is an experience of a life time especially being so close to camp. We managed to get some dives in and these were very exciting too as we got to see a couple of nurse sharks.

Everyone did more fish revising and the rest of the group managed to complete their Advanced Open Water course. Now everyone is comfortable in the water and can’t wait to do more diving and surveying.

Adrian Williams

Bahamas- October 09

A Day in the Life of a GMRS Volunteer


Settling into life on camp has been easy for everyone on our phase, certainly for me at least. We have a pretty solid routine here. On weekdays we’re up at 8, just a shade after sunrise (unless you are the unlucky one making porridge, then it is half 7).

Straight after breakky, weather permitting we can get some diving in. I don’t worry too much about the weather though, I’ve logged 28 dives in a month and my tan is looking (in the words of our Scotsman Laurie) “Braw”!

By lunchtime everyone is ready to eat a horse – we don’t have a horse, so noodles will have to do! That is, unless it’s Wednesday, when we have a treat – Pizza. We make it from scratch; in fact, we make bread 3 times a week if you include the pizza base.

After lunch we squeeze in some more diving, unless it’s Thursday, then we go to the local primary school, and try to teach the kids about marine life. I say try because sometimes they can be quite a handful, but you can’t fault their enthusiasm!

In between the diving, cooking and eating, we learn about the fish of the reef. For me there is not much more satisfying than seeing a fish and actually knowing what it is. It’s only been a month but I know my Grunts from my Snappers, Wrasses from Blennies, Groupers from Parrots and many more.

Come evening time, we always cook up a feast. Everyone puts a lot of effort into dinner, which is a moral booster. It’s amazing how much variety we’ve thought up considering the basic foods; it’s even better if we’ve speared a Lionfish and can have a little starter (the Lionfish taste superb).

The action doesn’t stop after dinner, there is always something going on. I love going with the staff down to the dock to see if we can spot some Lemon Sharks in the Creek.

At the end of a long day, I crawl into my mosquito net and sleep like a baby – got it all to do again tomorrow!

Alex Sapple

Fiji- Phase 19- Week 3

Bula all!

This week has been a great week for creativity in the kitchen- highlights including Charlotte’s meal of the week corned beef meatballs (genius considering corned beef is a cow in a blender), Anna’s birthday meal of chips, baked beans and chocolate cake and pizza with REAL CHEESE!!
So the week started off on Tuesday with an adventure to the sand spit, which is a 40 min walk round from camp. The weather was beautiful and some amazing photos were taken jumping in the air. We slept out on the deck and stayed up till 12 to celebrate Anna’s 23rd birthday.

Our great newbie (Ciaran) arrived on Wednesday morning and saw straight through our rumours of Hayliegh previously being a man and 3am rat patrols. In the evening we celebrated Anna’s birthday by playing old school party games- twister being a lot of fun.
Thursday- we’re qualified divers yay! We finished our PADI open water with dives at lovers. The almighty blue bure won the weekly quiz- which was slightly easier than the previous week’s medical round.

On Saturday everyone went on an amazing dive to Ariels- highlights included seeing a loggerhead turtle and a white tip reef shark. Saturday night was party night and the theme was Rubik cube which involved many clothing changes throughout the evening with the aim of becoming one colour. Much fun was had by all- you gotta love the bounty!
Sunday- feeling slightly worse for wear we set off in the boat to the village of Kiobo, where we went to church, ate Fijian food and had our afternoon siesta. The rest of the afternoon was dominated by a long kava session in which we were lucky enough to be serenaded by Tui Kubulau who sang many songs from his days at Castaway Resort.

On Monday we pressed on with our Advanced PADI course, which included us doing a navigation dive off the shore and a night dive. There was also a trip to kindergarten in the morning in our village Navatu and we taught the kids the Hokey Kokey.
Tuesday; another section of our advanced was completed the deep dive going to 25m which was amazing.

Lots of love,
Anna and Charlotte
Peace out!

Phase 18 Report- Fiji

Nukubalavu, Kubulau

Phase 18

Staff:
Paul Hinchliffe – Expedition Leader; Dive Instructor
Jade Chittenden – Dive Instructor
Deborah Blaik – Chief Scientist
Karen Smith – Assistant Scientist
Hayleigh Kelway – Trainee
Josh Rowe – Trainee
Rachael Harrison – Medic
Paula Veileqe– Divemaster

Volunteers:
Will Lake, James Fluker, Emily Jenkinson, Ben Thyer, Amy Darby, Ben Swatton, Chloe Whitfield, Meilyr “Gywn” Dixey, Alex Gilby, Sarah Drake, Brad Rogers, Vicky Sinclair, Dani Hayes, Suzanne Roach, Holly Truszkowska, Kristy Foale, Allyce Miller.

Village Life
Our first trip to the Navatu this phase was for Kaya’s 1st birthday party, we were lucky to spend this time in the village celebrating.
Most of our Sundays were spent in Navatu with our families, we did however visit Natokalau and Kiobo for church.
We attended fundraisers in Navatu, Natokalau and also Kilaka, a village we hadn’t visited in over 2 years. Kilaka is the furthest village from us in the district so on this trip we spent the night in the village. On all three occasions there was plenty of food, kava and dancing!

Our village of Navatu held a rugby sevens tournament at Kubulau District School, there were teams from not only our own district but the whole of Vanua Levu. It was a brilliant two day event, the biggest the district has seen in years, the ladies from our village put in a lot of effort cooking for the hundreds of people who came to watch. Sadly Navatu didn’t win but we did manage to come in second place.

For the first time since Greenforce has been in Kubulau we visited the village Cogea in the nearby district of Wainunu, the village is situated up the Wainunu river. As we were unannounced we took kava for a sevusevu and the villagers showed us the hot springs. They then kindly invited us to stay for a kava session with lots of kava, music and dancing, which is generally the theme of most parties here.
The last village event we attended was Paula’s sister wedding in Raviravi. It was very interesting experience to witness a traditional Fijian wedding, but sad to see Siliva leaving our village.
Navatu rugby team
Sightings:
We had a lot of amazing sightings this phase from tiny little seahorses to massive rays.
On a few occasions dolphins were spotted, we even got up close when they swam by the bow of the boat. There were also 2 sightings of a giant reef ray, which had a 2m wingspan and a manta ray breaching on the horizon.
This was also the first phase this year where multiple octopus were found on our own house reef.
Sadly a sperm whale beached itself further up the coast by Kilaka, a couple of the staff then had the opportunity to photograph and help to measure the whale, for WCS. It was 16m in length and by the time we arrived the locals were already removing the prized teeth.
On a positive note at the very end of phase on the way to Namena a couple of Humpback whales were spotted in the distance. One was also spotted migrating through the channel right outside of camp as it breached totally out of the water – Amazing!
On top of all this during the phase we also were lucky enough to see Giant Moray eels, the endangered Humphead wrasse and a few different species of sharks, including a 10ft Zebra shark, which has never been seen before by anyone here at Greenforce.
Beached Sperm Whale

Training and Surveying:
The dive training this phase went really well, a couple of days of bad weather meant that the confined water dives took a few more days than expected but we caught up and everyone was certified during week three.
The science training went smoothly and for the first time we managed to get the 6 weekers in for a few survey dives before they had to leave camp. The science training was the same as last phase with fish species and families being learnt along with invertebrates and coral lifeforms.

With a small number of volunteers this phase everyone got to survey almost every site (including the staff). We managed to collect all the data for both Reef Check and FLMMA and had it sent off before phase had even ended.

This phase started with 17 volunteers but by the end there was only 6 left so the last couple of weeks on camp were rather quiet but no less eventful, everyone made some brilliant friends and they will all miss the Fijian way of life.