Close Encounters with Tigers and Bulls

10th –13th August 2019

The island of Beqa is roughly twelve miles south of Viti Levu, the main island of Fiji. This lush and mountainous island is almost circular  in shape and it’s large lagoon is surrounded by thirty kilometers of reef.

There are two attractions which brought us here.  Beqa is a diver’s mecca and the Fire Walkers here are said to be the best in Fiji.

We dropped the hook just off the Beqa Lagoon Resort as both Liam and the Rewa crew were pretty keen to  get wet and mingle with those who live in the underwater world.
As luck would have it, that evening the resort was putting on a buffet dinner complete with a Fire Walking display with the walkers coming from the nearby village of Rookwa. Of course all the yachts anchored in the bay signed up. Along with the resort guests there was probably around fifty people in attendance.

Just to prove a point that the rocks were indeed hot, hot, hot, water was poured onto one of the rocks and it instantly turned  from liquid to steam.


Below are a few happy snaps from the show.This is one circus act that you definitely do not want to try at home.

The walkers getting the fire ready

Saying prayers before the show started

The audience included a local dog 

The show lasted about 30 minutes with the walkers dressed in grass skirts hanging down to their ankles. Personally we didn't think that was such a good idea given they would be trotting across red hot rocks. The fire had been stoked for a couple of hours and the embers were still glowing as the show started. There is quite a legend attached to the Fire Walkers of Beqa which, if interested, you can find  the story on the internet googling Rookwa Village Firewalking, “The story of fire walking in Fiji”.

These guys have very tough feet

Can you pick the odd ones out

Now onto the other main event.

In this world there are nurses, lemons tigers and bulls both on land and in the water and it’s the underwater ones that are of interest here.

As Liam is the more experienced diver in our family he can relay his story to you fist hand.
I have dived with lots of sharks during our years of cruising, though  they have mainly been reef sharks and generally not overly large. Mind you there was a  Great Hammerhead who happened along during a pass dive in Fakarava Tuomotus a few years back and that was pretty awesome. However, reef sharks can be aggressive and a 6 or 7 footer with attitude is a serious menace. Especially when you are spear fishing and have nailed a thrashing, bleeding fish. That gets their attention real fast.

This shark encounter was far more orchestrated. It wasn’t a cheap exercise  by any means but the value for money aspect was priceless.  Included in the cost, US$180 pp, were two dives, a light snack between dives and all your gear if need be. However in the interest of everyone’s safety you could not use your own regulator or tank. It was mandatory to use theirs.

Once the extremely comprehensive briefing was finished we all piled into the resort’s dive boat and off we sped across the lagoon to an area called The Cathedral.

Around a dozen or so divers dropped down fast to around 60 feet and lined up behind a man-made wall which was some 2 feet high with Go Pro’s at the ready.

We all knelt and just in front of us was a metal trunk full of large chunks of fish.

This was manned by two of our dive guides, one who would feed the sharks, the other armed with a lengthy pole to ward off any overly keen creatures. I’m sure you get my drift here. Behind us stood three more guides similarly armed. They certainly gave us an element of comfort.

The guides were always alert

It was hard to tell exactly but my best guess would be there were around 30-40 sharks cruising around us, and I mean close, like often less than 10 feet both in front and above us. It felt like we were in a huge aquarium but this time there were no glass walls separating humans from predators.

The gang was all there….bulls, nurses, lemons, reefs and the big kahuna of them all…tigers!

So the action went like this.

The diver in charge of feeding would take a chunk of fish from the bin, about twice the size of a loaf of bread, and the big male tiger, around 15 feet long, would cruise slowly by and have the fish chunk almost placed into it’s gaping mouth. Meanwhile the bulls and other sharks continuously circled our group. It was a beyond cool experience, believe me.

This tiger chopping down a chunk of tuna

At times the big tiger was so close as he passed by we could have easily tickled his tummy. The bulls were just plain uber menacing in appearance. They spooked us all. Man they are nasty looking fish, their vibe felt as though they would really enjoy eating us if the guides were not there to keep them at bay.

Nothing beats a good jab in the head to keep the Bulls away

Many times our minders would poke a passing shark, and I'm talking a hefty jab in the side that rippled the shark’s flank.

Once the tigers had had their fill our food handler took the last chunk of fish and swim quickly away from our group tossing it up for a free for all . It was a take no prisoners moment between the sharks and all the fish. Winner took it all with that last chunk and there was no backing down from those fast bulls.  With the dive and  shark interaction now over we shark struck divers slowly ascended back to the surface all the time under the watchful eyes of our guides.

What a fabulous morning it was indeed. The Tigers were  definitely the stars

So, if you are into spending a bit of quality underwater time with some of natures finest and most feared sharks, Beqa is definitely the place for you.

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Moalo,  Kadavu,Ono, Namari and Dravuni Islands

1st –10th August 2019

Our 120 mile sail to Moalo was uneventful. We were in loose company with two other boats but caught up with Rewa just before entering the tricky pass on the western side. Navionics, one of the navigation programs that we use was absolutely hopeless.  It’s a very good thing that we also use google maps overlaid on Open CPN, as well as a Chinese version called Ovitalmap which is just like google earth but uses different satellites for its geographical photography.


Arriving mid afternoon we had good light to enter the rather hairy S-shaped pass through the reef. Once inside we motored into the anchorage just off the  village. As the tide was at dead low we were not able to go in and do our Sevusevu as there was no way we could get the dinghy to the shore. We hoped the villagers realized that. 

Above & below villagers collecting seafood at low tide.

Later that evening around 8pm we had a knock on the hull, it was the police. The officer had been called to alert him that there were two yachts anchored in the bay and he’d driven from the other side of the island to check our papers were all in order, and to remind us to visit the village chief and present our Savusavu at 8am the following morning. The bush telegraph is alive and well in Fiji.

Following Rewa in to do our sevusevu ceromony

Next morning we did our duty and in we went. The tide was high so we made it to the seawall without a problem.

The village appeared less orderly than our visit to Susui. The buildings were not as neat and tidy and the yards rather unkempt  but the people were as friendly as ever.

 We met the chief after waiting over an hour. He was very old and frail and was still in bed so his daughter took us through the sevusevu ceremony. We had a quick walk through the village just to be polite and then the rain came down so we hightailed back home. 

The village fuel depot

Liam and Dave walking through the village

This chap was copping up kava root to store until it dried out

Fijians are always happy, these people were going out fishing

We left the anchorage that afternoon for another overnight passage this time to Kadavu, some 78 miles further west.

Along the way we passed many Chinese fishing trawlers as well as longline trawlers that, lucky for us, had flashing lights on the ends of there lines. Often the trawler is a mile or two away from the flashing light which makes it very difficult to know which side of the net to pass.
We arrived at Kavala bay  on Kadavu amidst torrential rain, and that’s how it stayed for the next two days. 

There are several islands that fall under the banner of Kadavu and they all are encompassed by the southern part of the Great Astrolabe Reef. We would be visiting three before we left the area.  Apparently the reef is a divers’ delight but we didn’t get to experience any of it due to the weather and strong eastly winds. We had good Digicel coverage so Liam was able to order a new motherboard for our quickly failing Mase generator.

Moving north we had an overnight stop at Nabouwalu bay, Ono island, where we were serenaded by a boat load of children on their way home from school. It was lovely to have them stop by and break into song. 

The children stopped by both Gwtw and also Rewa on their way home to the village.

The film crew arriving to sus out the island

We also stopped for a few nights at Namari Island where the filming of Swedish survivor series was about to start later in the week. 

We got to talk to the production crew who arrived en masse one afternoon, and having never watch any of the survivor series it was interesting to hear what the contestants have to do to win fishing hooks or tins of food etc..

The island was off limits to cruising boats for two months from the start of filming, so good thing we were there when we were.

Home sweet home for the survior contestemts

Above & below the the crew daytime accomodation & eating tents

Our final island in this group was Dravuni. A drop dead gorgeous island fronted by aqua waters a long stretch of white sand, and a regular stop on the P&O cruise ship circuit. This was a very prosperous village indeed. The ship comes once a month and the village is invaded by up to a thousand tourists looking for that “ special” island experience. And they have come to the right place.

View from the top of the island while looking for the chief

Our first task along with two other boats was to locate the Chief and engage in sevusevu, a tradition previously outlined and essential in all villages we visit.

 However, finding the Chief proved difficult, we were told he was working in his garden. 

So with what seemed pretty clear instructions  as in “just follow the track you’ll find him”, off we trekked only to take the wrong fork in the road, there had been no mention of a fork in the instructions, and we took the right hand track ending up at the highest point on the island. 

Nice view and excellent cell phone reception, but no garden and no Chief.

Finally we got to do our shortened version of sevusevu

After nearly three hours of walking in the heat in our sevusevu approved attire we did eventually locate him by taking the other fork in the trail and  then the eight of us and the chief, with a hoe slung over his shoulder, happily strolled back to the village for him to accept our offerings of kava.


Now this guy was poles apart from the other chiefs we’d met so far. 
He sure didn't beat around the bush, in fact the whole thing was done and dusted in no more than a record braking three minutes. 



No village headman to assist in the ceremony, no  hand clapping, just a “pass me the kava, ok the place is yours, have a nice stay”.

 You can tell when a village has the spoils of money on tap and the villagers of Dravuni are sorted, big time. They have an elaborate modular dock they assemble to accommodate the incoming launches from the mothership.

No beach landings or wet feet happening here, no way.

Nice soft grass where the tourists spend their time & wooden massage stalls

Along the foreshore were numerous wooden stalls that  when the ship is in sell anything from local crafts to full-on massages.






We are talking dozens of these enterprises. And the thing we all noticed instantly…beautiful, lush grass and soft underfoot. Can’t have those tourist tootsies stepping on stones.

Theses young girls are playing with phones and tablets

Also well manicured.and well defined pathways lined with borders of shells and plants. Another standout was the use of mobile phones and tablets.

Yes, these kids were into modern technology enjoying  games on their gizmos just like kids back home. In fact we  hardly saw any kids outdoors except  for some small boys tossing around a tennis ball, though we suspect we simply didn’t witness all the outdoor activities during our brief stay.





Most of the homes were modest and modern.

The one in this photo looked to be very upmarket with nice curtains and furniture as well as glass windows, something you don't see much of in the villages

As is often been the case, the women appeared to be the workers, busily weaving mats or baskets for the next load ship load of tourists. 

Very few men seem to be actively at work, though they no doubt fish quite often.

The island is very walkable and we had some exercise checking out the sights, ranging from the local cemetery to the veggie gardens and on to the windswept eastern side of the island. Pretty much every island in Fiji the village is  on the western side, away from the dominant trade winds.

These pigs are destined for the dinner table at some point

Kids just being kids, no Tablets or phones involved in this game

Sunset drinks on the beach with the Rewa crew

Crown of thorns starfish found while snorkeling

Rarely seen green corals

Graves covered with sarongs, some also had  plates and bowls

Above & below the village church

Walking through the veggie gardens

A local pulling down  a few papaya for us

From what I’ve written it may sound as if we didn’t enjoy this island very much but really we did. We just couldn’t get our heads around how vastly different this village was compared to others we’d visited.
Believe me, this is a  beautiful place and well worth spending time here. Just check the P&O schedule before you come!

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