Yes, we did it! Yes, we’re okay! And yes, it was worth it! Prior to leaving for our honeymoon, Rick had learned of a company that features a shark feeding dive off the Coral Coast only a half hour from where we were staying. The dive has the potential of exposing you to eight different species of shark, including Bull Sharks and, on occasion, Tiger Sharks. Given Rick’s obsession of this fine tuned hunter, this was a must do. Sorry moms.
The smell of chum on board the boat was overwhelming - at least six large garbage cans full strapped to the top of the boat. The company acquires its chum from local seafood factories. Not only does this relationship lower the expense of having to buy chum but it has the added benefit of recycling the fish waste back into the food chain rather than leaving it to rot in a dump. As soon as we arrived at the dive site, the boat was surrounded by Remora Fish, more commonly known as Sucker Fish. More than we’ve ever seen. If you aren’t sure what Sucker Fish are, they can be found stuck to the sides of sharks, whales and other large sea creatures including, as we later learned, the garbage cans used to carry the chum to the ocean floor.
Immediately upon arriving to the dive site, the fish feeders started throwing chum in the water. During the brief, we learned that it was Tiger season but Tiger Sharks usually only make an appearance once a week. We suited up and in we went. The chum had already attracted more large fish species than we could count. Before we were even placed into position at the underwater ‘arena,’ Tawny Nurse Sharks were busy trying to break into the garbage can of chum. This is when Amanda fell in love with a 350 pound, 6 foot Grouper! Unreal! Rick thought it was rock until its enormous mouth opened for a fish head – the same fish heads being fed to the sharks. When he pointed it out to Amanda, he could actually hear her gasp, “Oh my god!” As soon as the feeders released the chum, sharks and fish of all species swarmed. It wasn’t five minutes before a 16 foot Tiger Shark made her appearance. The fish paid no mind but the Bull Sharks exited and hung to the perimeter while the Tiger was feeding. What was even more impressive than seeing these beautiful creatures in the wild was the way the ‘shark whisperer’ handled the Tiger - like any person with their beloved dog. Directing it by grabbing its nose, kissing it, rubbing its back – it was beautiful. The feeding continued after we began our ascent. Best – safety – stop – EVER!
The second dive was similar to the first but at a different arena and the Tiger did not join us for this feeding. Needless to say, the Bull Sharks were much more visible this time. It was so incredible to see masses of sharks altogether like this. Not one here and there, but upwards of thirty to forty sharks at any given moment, and thousands of fish in all shapes and sizes – including, of course, Amanda’s favorite, the grouper. Again, the feeding continued after we began our ascent, and again – best – safety – stop – EVER!
During the debrief, the crew shared with us their familiarity with the sea life in this area. They actually know the sharks by name - referring to all of them as females. One of the Tigers, Lady Joyce, is named after one of our fellow divers on board. She is an 88 year old woman from New Zealand or Australia (not sure which) who dives with them three times a week for three months a year. She began diving at the ripe age of 76. This particular Tiger Shark made her first appearance in Beqa while Joyce was diving so the crew deemed it Lady Joyce. You know you’re something special when locals on a foreign island name a Tiger Shark after you!
After the dive, we both crashed - slight suspicion that Amanda was dehydrated. But maybe it was just all the excitement! Went to dinner at Sazanami, a Hibachi Restaurant at the resort – except they don’t call it hibachi here, they call it teppanyaki. Rick made an 8:30 reservation so by mid-meal, we were the only ones in the restaurant. The manager of the restaurant introduced himself while we were enjoying tempura bananas covered in almonds and the most decadent mango sorbet known to man. He, along with the entire staff, sang us the Fijian farewell song Isa Lei. It was so touching. The song was composed by native Fijians and can be sung to represent love, loss, joy, sorrow, celebration - any number of emotions. For us it was a warm farewell. Absolutely amazing. Amanda later learned that Rick had set this up while making the reservation – sneaky, sneaky!
Walked home along the beach. Found an empty hammock and laughed ourselves to tears trying to get into it. Wish we could have slept there all night. After climbing our way out, Rick noticed our frog from last night’s international frog race! Well, we can’t confirm that it was actually Black Stallion but we’re choosing to believe it was! So, we were able to get Amanda’s winning frog picture after all! Frogs are so, so cool. We’ve equated them to sea turtles on the coolness scale – right up there with sharks, owls, and giraffes.
Our flight back home doesn’t leave until 10pm tomorrow night so we decided to pack in the AM. Off to bed it was, feeling more than satisfied with a honeymoon that was just so perfectly us.
Aqua-Trek Beqa Shark Dive
Fiji Shark Marine Reserve
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