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.

Fiji Phase 19- Week 1-2

Week 1

Arrival in Fiji on the 6th October went smoothly considering the size of the group, with only a little bit of baggage trouble. Though a handful had been staying in Nadi, most of us were not so fresh after two days of travelling.

Our first destination after arrival was Savusavu where we experienced our last days of luxury before heading to camp and also had a chance to shop for those few essentials we’d miss before heading out. The journey across to camp on the 8th involved around 3 hours in the back of a truck driving along bumpy dirt roads with only wooden benches for posterior support. A lucky few, myself included, rode in the trucks with the bags and had a slightly more pleasant experience.

Bumpy road journeys were soon forgotten as we boarded the boat for the first time to be ferried over to camp. It was a short trip in perfect weather which put everyone in high spirits when we arrived. Excitement wasn’t over however, as a short time after making camp a tsunami warning sent us all up the hill for safety. Thankfully no killer wave materialised and we soon made our way down.
By Saturday the 10th we were more settled into camp and ready to go to the village for the first time to meet our families, be ceremoniously welcomed to the island and take our first taste of Kava. The villagers were wonderfully welcoming and delighted in filling us with all kinds of tea and cake, something which they continued throughout Sunday after we’d been to church.

Those qualified divers among us have been diving regularly including one night dive which Colin said was “the best dive ever”. The rest of us learning to dive have now finished our theory work and the skills from the first two confined water dives.
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed myself so far and with the exception of some illness in camp, I think that everyone is happy and looking forward to the rest of their time in Fiji.

Sam


Week 2
October 12th; sun shining and a bit windy. Everyone passed their PADI Open Water theory test! Then the diving began for the new open water divers. However it didn’t last long due to windy weather. Spirits were lifted a couple of days later when the bug passed and the sun came out again!

On Thursday all volunteers became emergency first responders which prompted many ongoing jokes. We all still haven’t tired of saying “My name is ‘your name’, I’m a emergency first responder!! May I help you?” at even the most minor or ridiculous injury. For example when Vicky managed to get a coconut stuck on her finger!

Towards the end of the week half the open water divers passed the “open water diver test”. Everyone has taken to the Fijian way of life; on Fiji Time, spending time in our village at kinder and with our Fijian families and of course drinking Kava.

So far the days are flying by far too fast and no-one wants the experience to end. Lots of Love from Fiji.

Sîan & Vicky

Fiji- Phase 18- Week 6-7

Phase 18 Blog- Week 6

We started the week with another birthday, this time it was Kristy’s turn to celebrate her special day on the island. We were taught the survey on land on the volleyball court before being put into the ocean to practice surveys on the house reef. We were excited to be putting all are hard learnt science into practise by starting real surveys around Kubulau, after a few ropey attempts we all got into the swing of it pretty well. Debs, Karen and Rachel also went on a trip to help identify a stranded whale that had died further up the coast, it turned out to be a 16m male sperm whale! The smell was VERY pungent when they returned!
Measuring the 16m (52ft) Sperm Whale.

This week we were lucky enough to have our first two fundraisers. Our first was in the village of Natokalau; we had great food, lots of Kava and even enjoyed sober dancing. The money raised that evening went towards an anchor for the youth group’s boat. The second was in our home village of Navatu where we raised money for an upcoming wedding, with Debs, Karen Ben S and James putting in a truly amazing performance drinking Kava well after the others had left for bed!
Saturday was the day of camp clean and fun dives. We got to go to ‘Shark Attack’ (it’s just a name, HONEST!) where we had an awesome drift dive. The food that night was also awesome with beef burgers on the menu following fish and chips earlier in the week courtesy of Paul’s fishing skills- it was a good week for food where we were spoilt rotten! Saturday night we had a Leavers Ball for the six weekers leaving; Kristy, Amy, Ben S and Allyce.
After a Sunday spent in Navatu Monday morning came round all too quickly and it was time for the six weekers to start the journey home, which was emotional for everyone, especially as the rest of us followed Kristy’s goodbye treasure hunt she had set up before heading home. Luckily the week finished on a high note with the return of Gwyn our Medforce volunteer from his 10 day placement at the hospital in Savusavu. But even with his return camp still felt very empty =(

James and Will

Phase 18 Blog- Week 7

The week started with surveys but due to rough weather conditions dives were cancelled. This gave us time to relax in the sun and play some volleyball. Thursday and Friday we all went to the Kubalau 7’s Rugby Tournament, which was two exciting days watching rugby teams from all over Vanua Levu including our very own volunteer Ben playing for the Navatu 3rd team. There was a lot of nice food and of course Kava. A particular highlight was bread and jam. Lots of new friends were made, especially with the North Fijian army who friendly invited us to sit in their tent on day two. Sadly Navatu didn’t win but came second taking away $500, which was donated to the church.
Afternoon nap in the Fijian Army’s tent Navatu 1st’s vs. Natokalau in the semi final

Saturday was another amazing day. With the sea conditions still rough Paul took us down the Wainunu River and we visited a local village. As we were unannounced we took Kava for a Sevusevu and the villagers showed us to the hot fresh water pools then kindly invited us to stay for a Kava session. This included lots of Kava, music and sober dancing. We then went back to a nice spot along the river bank for lunch and swimming.
Farewell from the villagers as we set off for a picnic on the Wainunu River
Saturday night Jade made us chilli and garlic bread. What a treat! Then as always party night commenced with a pub quiz. Sunday we went to Navatu for church. In the afternoon there was Kava and cake to celebrate the rugby and Ben presented the prize money to the church. Monday morning was camp clean and then in the afternoon a fun dive at Lovers. That night the ration run returned with all our goodies which was the perfect end to a great week.

Dani

Fiji- Phase 18

Phase 18 Blog- Week 1

The phase started with a pretty cool beginning! 12 of us ended up meeting in Nadi airport and were disappointed when our flight to Labasa was cancelled due to the plane breaking. We were all tired and hungry and were pleased to hear the airline was giving us accommodation and food until the flight to Labasa the next day. The hotel was amazing with good food, air-conditioned rooms and a big pool. After a relaxing day and night at the hotel we were split up and put on three different flights to Labasa. The next morning we were met by the last member of the group- Brad. That day we went into Labasa to buy some much needed items- Bula dresses and pocket Sulu. That night we ate out at a restaurant in Labasa. The next morning we got up VERY early and did not have the best start to the morning with lamb sausages for breakfast! We all piled into the truck for the 5 hour journey to the nearest point on land to our camp. The journey was fairly eventful with a punctured tire and having to get out to push the truck out of the mud! We were met by Paul- Expedition Leader- who took us on a 5 minute boat journey to our island. As we drifted towards camp we were met by the friendly trainees Hayleigh and Josh who gave us a tour of camp. That evening was spent stargazing on the decking.
The next morning we enjoyed porridge for breakfast! Hayleigh and Josh showed us how to do all the camp jobs and we all worked together to make a sandy path to the toilet during a tropical rainstorm. In the afternoon we went for a snorkel and had a swim test. We also began reading our PADI manuals. Since it was a Saturday, the night was spent playing drinking games and lying on the decking! On Sunday we lazed about in the sun reading our dive manuals. On Monday we were joined by the three medics Alex, Gwyn and Sarah!

By Suz and Amy

Phase 18 Blog- Week 2

The week begun watching the very exciting PADI videos! The already qualified divers enjoyed diving on the house reef. On Tuesday we all went to the village of Navatu for our sevu sevu (welcoming ceremony). For most of us it was our first taste of Kava. This was the day that we met our Fijian families! By Wednesday we all had our completed our dive theory test! We all had a brilliant time in Navatu attending a birthday party. The women in the village prepared a feast of fresh fish, pork and many other traditional Fijian dishes. In the evening fun was had by all with Kava, singing and dancing! On Thursday and Friday the water was too choppy to complete our confined water dives. However, the qualified divers managed to fit in a few shore dives. We also had some lectures on fish anatomy, coral ecology and special species! Friday night was Steve’s last night so a few of us joined in with a goodbye Kava ceremony. On Saturday the water was finally calm and we started our confined water dives. Sadly we said goodbye to Steve. On Sunday we went to church for the first time. After church we all went back to our family’s houses for lunch and an afternoon nap!

Amy

Phase 18 Blog- Week 3

By week 3 everyone had completed their open water dives and we all started and finished the PADI advanced theory in one day! We started working on our advanced dives: boat, deep, drift, night and navigation dives and everybody did well! On Friday it was our first ladies night’ when the ladies from Navatu came to camp for an evening of fun. Many games were played including limbo, twister and musical statues. Everybody had fun and the ladies brought round some delicious cakes!
On Saturday we travelled by boat to the local school to watch the rugby. Some of us joined in with a friendly game of netball and football and Ben T and James were lucky enough to participate in a rugby game with the local team. On Saturday we had a pub quiz and played bure wars. We all dressed up in our bure’s colours and undertook challenges, it was a good night! On Sunday it was a trip round to the village for church lunch and a well needed nap.

Suz
Phase 18 Blog- Week 4

On the first day of week 4, Brad left us and we celebrated Jade’s birthday. We began our lectures studying fish and then invertebrates. We needed to learn some fish to species and others just to family. The 5th August was a MOMENTOUS occasion as Kristy and Vicky spotted a seahorse whilst washing up in the rock pools in front of camp. It’s the first time a volunteer has ever spotted one!
The week was filled with fish and invert point dives and snorkelling lessons. During our spare time, we would be revising. This week we also performed our size estimation dives. This is where volunteers have to estimate the size of many pieces of tubing suspended on ropes between 2 buoys located in the inner reef. This must be completed correctly 3 times with only 20% error in order to pass.
Friday nights dinner was AMAZING- Jade and Karen made beef burgers in fresh bread with fried eggs! This week also saw the beginning of salt water showers as we are out of fresh showering water! On the fun dive on Saturday the second boat had dolphins swimming alongside it which was incredible!
Saturdays night’s theme was ‘Superheroes’, costumes ranged from ‘Wonder Woman’ to ‘Wolverine’ and even saw the appearance of new superheroes such as ‘The Stranglers’. On Sunday, we visited a new village named Natokalau. It’s a beautiful village that practises Catholicism which meant the church service was short and sweet in a beautiful little church. A sevusevu was performed to welcome us to the village, so Kava was being drunk throughout the day. A great lunch was cooked for us including fresh fish, chips and tomato ketchup! On Monday there was the first sighting of the octopus in the inner reef by Allyce, James and Ben S. Today was also the day the staff went to the mainland and bought us back our ration items.

Kristy

Phase 18 Blog- Week 5

Another week rolls on with the return of Paul and a new arrival Rach! If only mozzie bites weren’t so itchy! Scratching = legs full of holes = no diving! This week also brought about the first two Namena days! Namena is a diving area about 40mins away from Nukubalavu (our camp), where everything is just more bigger and better! Forget spending dive after dive searching for big fish, in Namena you can’t avoid them. Half the group have also been lucky enough to see Humphead Wrasse! We also celebrated the 2nd birthday of the phase (Happy Birthday Hayls!), so we decided to head up the hill from camp and take in the view of the whole reef. Looking out from the top we could have easily been looking at a postcard the view was so amazing. Whilst most of us headed straight back down the hill, Will, James and Josh had other ideas and went for a trek through the jungle over the hills and found logs for the evening’s birthday fire. We finished the birthday celebrations on Saturday night with a super-awesome Nu rave party. BRING ON THE GLOW PAINT! A good night was had by all! The normal Sunday visit to the village was the perfect way to recover from the week- CAKE!

Will and James

Fiji- Phase 17

Phase 17
Week 7
3rd – 9th June

Week 7 began with bad weather, which led to postponed diving – gutting! Boat diving was also off as Nic the Nurse being taken to Savusavu Hospital with an infection to the leg. With this, the staff took the opportunity to teach everyone back at camp the Survey techniques used for monitoring the reefs of Kubulau. The following day, with the weather failing to improve, the staff decided to go get a ration run done. In a successful attempt to brighten spirits, an idea of buying a pig from the village and spit roasting it was put to the group, to which everyone (veggies not included!) jumped at! The pig was huge! It was brought to camp and everything was prepared here, just as the villagers themselves would do. Our homemade spit was impressive, and with much help from the boys from Navatu, we subsequently cooked and ate what was the nicest meal on camp by far!!
On Friday, we went to Raviravi village for our second Fundraiser. In the village we played Volleyball and touch Rugby with the villagers. It turns out we are not as good as we thought! The weekend began with a chilled out day for some, and the beginnings of a PADI Rescue Diver Course for others. After a wee rest, those not doing the Rescue Diver Course went on a shore dive.
On Sunday we went to Navatu village for church in the morning and spent time with our adopted families.
The week ended with a pickup in the weather, which whilst lifting spirits, held the promise of better things to come.

Richard & Ed

Phase 17
Week 8
10th – 16th June

Bula everyone, my name is Tomb! It’s my turn to do the blog for this phase and we’re on week 8!

On Wednesday morning a group of us decided to get up at 04:00 in the morning to see the Morning Star or ‘Volasiga’ as it’s known in Fijian (It’s also the name of one of the camp dogs). It was a cloudy night and all you could see was the moon and this huge star rising from the east. It was pretty magical.
It was also Emily’s birthday that day and we made her a card and a cake which we cooked in our concrete drum oven. Trainee was also chosen for Phase 18.
On the Thursday, we woke up to terrible weather and the water was too choppy to take the boat out so all the dives were cancelled. With nothing to do, we decided to play Assassins! This is where everyone writes down a place, a weapon and your name. You then put all these in separate cups and everyone pulls out a person they have to kill, a place where they must kill them and a weapon they must use to accomplish this task. Unfortunately somebody was ‘murdered’ in the first 10 minutes and for everyone else, paranoia just set in! The rest of the day was spent playing darts, Celebrity and just chilling out.
Friday we had a few drinks as the next day we were having a sleepover in another village called Nadivakarua. It was a pirate theme so everyone had stripy clothes, moustaches and bandannas. Mikey had a Fijian style wooden leg, it was awesome. Some went as ‘ladies’ of Tortuga. Lots of pictures were taken it was a mad night, I can’t remember much.
Saturday was an amazing day. First we went to the local school to watch a Rugby tournament between the men from different villages. We ate samosas & rotti parcels which were made by the ladies from all the villages and were soooo tasty. We also had a game of football against the Fijians to open up the days games. We won 3-0, no surprise there!!! But we were all knackered afterwards due to the heat and all being really unfit!! After the days games, we got a truck to Nadivakarua, an awesome village 20 minutes drive from the school. We all slept in this massive house which had a huge veranda, and a flushing toilet! Outside in the village, they had this huge concrete giraffe fountain. The food was so good; we had 2 types of fish, prawns, and really hot chillies. Then we all got on the Kava and had a jamming session with Tui Kubulau, dancing & singing passing the hours too quickly. It was such a laugh and a really good night that we’ll all remember.
On Sunday we had Church in the village and then went back to camp. The truck journey back was mad, riding at 40mph we were sliding everywhere in the wet mud, it was seriously bumpy!
On Monday, the 8 weekers who were leaving the next day said goodbye to their families then had kava back at camp listening to some Reggae music. Good times!
Tuesday the 8 weekers left, Michael, Nat & Miriam, we gave them leaving cards, all the girls cried! It’s okay because we had lentil burgers for dinner, which is the best dinner!!

Phase 17
Week 9
17th – 23rd June

So with surveys well under way, it was time to get as much completed as possible (weather permitting!). Coming into week nine we had half the surveys completed and it looked promising to get all the surveying finished. However, the weather was looking to take a massive turn for the worse come Friday and as such we all pulled together to make a huge push in making sure we could get as many survey boats out as possible while things were good. In a matter of 2 days we got 12 survey boats out. A record number of dives and an awesome effort by Vols & Staff combined. The days were long, tiring, and tough with tides and currents working against us, but let’s face it; we might as well be Superheroes, because we nailed it!
Although the surveying hasn’t been completed this phase, we got as much done as possible with only a few transects needing to be followed up next phase.
The remainder of the week was fitting in fun dives whenever the wind allowed us, trying out new sites such as Tables & Bowls; a site never dived before. It was abundant in Tabular corals that just engulfed the sea bed as well as having many a swim through. It was a sight to remember!
Friday night brought along our second ladies night of the phase. It was our time to say thank you for everything they have done, cook for them and play some party games. Sadly, our food never lives up to the food prepared by the ladies, but hey, we tried! The night was awesome, we danced, we laughed and we all parted with smiles on our faces!!
Saturday was Mr Rowes’ birthday. It was THE shit! The end
Sunday we were off to Navatu for our final church service. As always, the hospitality was second to none. However, due to a Kava ban by the Methodist church in Fiji, Sundays have been short as there are no grog sessions for the whole of June…..upsetting to say the least!!! We love the Grog!!

Josh, Hayleigh & Steve

Phase 17
Week 10
24th June – 1st July

Crazy weather in our last week wasn’t going to bring us down, so we decided to party like we were in primary school. Out popped the games. Doing fake subjects (Theatre) and working on kiddie camps came in handy and out popped out squirt, wink murder and Zip Zap Boing. Just goes to show that all you really need for a good time is good friends and a little imagination.
Thursday was a good day, with a busy and emotional weekend ahead; this was the last big night. Paul sorted us out with real meat, and the cooking operation started. Can anyone think of a better meal than steak, onion rings, jacket potatoes and beans all coated in butter. Real butter. Not bloody Marg. To top of the night we cracked a couple of bevies, and a cracking night ensued. Good music, good food and good company, it’s what dreams are made of. To know it’s your last night with the family that you have lived with for nigh on 3 months is emotional but it beats any night out down your local.
Saturday was our last visit to the school for some rugby. Another monster win for the Greenforce football side (2-1) and the biggest rugby tournament to date. More samosas, rotti parcels, and my first taste of wee wee. Delicious.
After getting camped packed up we made our way to Savusavu, a veritable haven of full English breakfasts, pizzas and most importantly cold beer. After working hard on our food babies we got on the ferry for our last move. Off the ferry and straight on to a bus and a 4 hour ride to Nadi. First port of call was the bar, closely followed by the pool. That night we hit up the hard rock café! Never has a humble burger tasted so sweet. By the time we had finished I don’t think there was a single person who could move for the ridiculous amount they had eaten. On one of the Numerous nights out, at the infamous Ed’s bar, a couple of early leavers got to meet the Samoan rugby team, and keyed off the night in style.
The last days were some of the most emotional we have ever encountered and possibly the saddest goodbyes we will ever have to say. But knowing to be so hard makes it all the more special, and is a credit to the friendships made. This experience has brought a random group of people, from all walks of life, together. And although the phase is over the friendships aren’t. Here’s to phase 17, Good times.

Josh

Fiji update

Phase 17: Week 1- 21^st April -28^th April 2009

Wednesday:
All the volunteers arrived at Nadi bay! We all got together and got to know each other by the pool. We did a brief intro on what the next few weeks had in store for them and Steve and I showed up in normal camp attire - Sulus. That night we all went and had a big meal at the Bounty Bar and filled the whole place!
Thursday:
After a heavy night at Eds bar I had to take the volunteers to buy there Bula shirts, Bula dresses, pocket sulus and other bits and bobs. That night we went to pizza king!
Friday/Saturday:
After a night on the ferry we arrived in Savu Savu where we then got our supplies of food. (That’s a lot of porridge!!) We then started the 3 hour truck journey leaving civilisation behind us. It was good fun! We got stuck in the mud numerous times and had to get out and push the truck but we finally got to Nukubalavu, our home for the rest of phase, only 5 hours after we set out!!
Sunday:

Sunday was our “spag out” day, we set up camp, sanding paths, setting up our bures and settling in, getting to know each other a little better!.
Monday:
The volunteers set off for our local village, Navatu, for our Sevu Sevu (asking permission to stay on their land, being accepted into the village and apologising for anything we may do in the next 10 weeks that offends them). The first test of being accepted into the village was experiencing grog (kava) for the first time!
Tuesday:
It was time for the volunteers to get wet! They had to swim 300 meters and tread water for a few minutes to pass the fitness test and they are now all set to start their Open Water course.

Love Always

Rosser the Trainee

Phase 17: Week 2- 29^th April – 5^th May 2009

Everyone is settled into camp life and so begins all the dive training. With Paul, Jade and our new Instructor Will.I.Am, the volunteers are put through their paces and introduced to the weird feeling of breathing underwater! The Instructors work extremely hard taking one group in after another to the point that they must have aged 50 years by the looks of their wrinkly skin!! Luckily though, we are situated right on the beach and all training diving is done from shore.

Saturday brought about my 24^th birthday. All the volunteers woke up at 06:00 to sand the path to my bure (I live on a hill and it was no easy task!). Buckets of sand falling to the ground 2ft from my face (I’m passed out! Beauty sleep is a necessity!). I then get woken by every one having written ‘Happy Birthday Steve’ in the sand with shells and singing Happy Birthday as I stumble down my nice new path. The staff pooled together and bought me a Guitar (I love it….and I love them!). Throughout the day, we all get a dive in and we prepare our costumes for the Adam & Eve/Back to Nature Party! Hundreds of Doughnut balls are made….some are stuffed full of chocolate (did I mention I love these people?!). Feeling fat…we party, and as the first proper Saturday night on camp, its loud, its crazy, it’s an absolute freefall but definitely a night to remember!

As always, hangovers are always best spent asking for forgiveness in church the next day! :-/ And once again we return to Namalata. Namalata seems to host the first church service of every month where several villages come together and spend time with each other. This always proves to be an awesome event; the food, the singing, the Kava. We are part of this community and it’s what we love about the place. However, the first service of the month is particularly long and the faces of some volunteers were begging for the end!!

Monday, we, as always, run a playschool for the kids in Navatu village. Thankfully, the kids are on a 2 week holiday from School (as usually they board throughout the week) and as such, playschool is heaving! The volunteers had their work cut out for them, but, with a few crayons, and an origami lesson, they’re rewarded with a shed load of cake!

All in all, it’s been a brilliant week for the volunteers to blend into life out here and they’ve all put so much effort in. There seems to be an awesome bond this phase between the volunteers and the community here!

Steve Fitzpatrick

Assistant Scientist

Phase 17: Week 3- 6^th May – 12^th May

The third week started with half the group attempting both deep and navigational dives for their advanced dive course. By the end of the week all divers had attained advanced open water status! YAY!
However, the single greatest achievement of the week, was the production of lentil burgers, by those on dinner duty (including me, cat) it was the greatest meal so far, although it took 3 hours to make!
Saturday was a day of rest and fun dives, followed by the weekly Saturday night booze fest. The theme was 60’s and 70’s with some of the team remembering these eras better than others (Pops).

Sunday, whilst normally a day of rest was spent celebrating mothers day with are adopted Fijian families. We dare you to eat as much tea and cake as we did. We attended 2 church services and were entertained by a Fijian rendition of what we think was the story of Moses. It was an excellent day all round. Monday morning half the group went to kinder whilst the other unlucky half had to clean camp, after this, fish lectures began, wish us luck in identifying fish that look EXACTLY the same.

Pops & Cat

Phase 17: Week 5- 20^th – 26^th May

• EFR course completed
• Fundraiser to Kiobo
• Met the Chief of Kubulau
• Thunder & rain on Friday/beautiful sunshine come Monday
• 1^st Namena trip
• Watched Twilight on movie night
• Palm tree fell down – Kodak moment for a Phase photo
• Fish Identification points

Another week gone & its hard to believe we’re nearly at the halfway point! Many of us have lovely tans to show for our month in the sun. Some of us do not!!

The weather has been funny this week; monsoon like rain drenched us on the way to a village fundraiser at Kiobo. However, by the end, it had redeemed itself with gorgeous sunshine come Sunday. The weather was so beautiful today (Monday) that the first lucky few divers got to take a trip out to Namena. They were all on such a high when the came back, telling tales of turtles, sharks and amazing water visibility that had the rest of us drooling. Hopefully the 2^nd visit will not be too far away!

Another high point of the week was our fundraiser in Kiobo on the Friday. Due to the weather it was not the outdoorsy event we had imagined, but sitting in a small room with a tin roof, drinking lots of Kava, eating cake and dancing was more fun than anyone could have hoped for! We’ve got some real movers and shakers amongst us it seems, and everyone was happy to see ‘THE GUNS’ make an appearance (Naka Sonic!) The chief of Kubulau joined us for the evening - now there’s a man who loves his music! He invited a few of us to sing along and (after an initial panic) much fun was had by all. Everyone agreed it was a great night!

Lily & Steph

Phase 17: Week 6- 27^th May – 2^nd June

This week has been an eventful one, filled with fish, coral and invertebrates revision and yet more size estimation dives!! The weekend started with a game of ‘Capture the Flag’, fortunately no major injuries, just a few cuts and bruises. Saturday night was the last night for the 6 weekers. We had ‘Bure wars’ with various games. “Good organised fun!” The first game was spin stick. This involved drinking beer from a snorkel, spinning around and running across the volleyball court whilst wearing fins.

However, ‘beer pong’ (played with beer caps) drew the biggest crowds, ending in a show down between Paul & Jade for the staff team, against George & Josh from the Chill Out Bure. It was a tense game but George & Josh won, putting the Chill Out Bure in the lead, with the Staff coming in a close second. Good effort guys.

The 6 weekers departed on Sunday morning. It was surreal to wave goodbye to them and it hasn’t properly sunk in that they’ve gone. They won’t be forgotten. The mood was picked up for Nurse Nic’s birthday. We made flap jacks, a rare treat and a better use for porridge oats!

We’ve started learning survey techniques, so it shouldn’t be long until we’re in the water. Everyone is now busy studying for fish tests. Hopefully we all pass this week. Wish us luck!

Annabelle & Hayleigh

Day 21-25 Nepal Annapurna Trek

So after our inspiring week staying with the families in Chitwan, the group split, with about half travelling back to Kathmandu to commence the Everest Trek; while the others travel to Pochura for the start of the Annapurna Trail. After a week of 100% Dhal Bhat, the Annapurna crew got stuck in to some overdue Western style eating and shopping, even managing to squeeze in a very English picnic in the middle of a road island. Very scenic indeed. Before leaving the comforts of tourist town, the group began to mentally prepare for the trekking ahead.The first day of trekking was relatively simple, in respect that the direction of travel wasn't continually upwards. Even the hot, midday sun was defeated with a 'mountain fresh' dip in the glacier river. After several hours walking we pulled up to the tea house where we would retire. After a sweat-busting shower, the group gathered to play cards. Next day was literally the stairway to heaven. With the direction up, up, up; the day was a definate thigh and bum muscle workout. General chat and singing did make the day pass. However the thought of bed and Nepalease tea more than spurred most on. Now at our highest altitude so far, the group manged to pull together for a 4am start, where we would travel up Poon Hill to get a spectacular, panoramic sunrise view of the Annapurna range. Unfortunately, the British weather crept in, but even with some cloud on the horizon, it was still well worth the extra effort. Little did we know it wasn't the early start that had this day marked; but the ongoing battle against the leeches. Though only several centimetres long, they proved more than mighty enough to make these hard-worn trekkers squirm!The group will contine for several more days in order to reach Annapurna Base Camp, and already we have seen numerous ecosystems and cultures of these mountainous regions. Who's to say what will await in the upcoming days?

Project Report Bahamas 1st Quarter 2009

Quarterly Report: 1st Quarter 2009. GMRS Phase 5, January – April.

Current Personnel:
Jason Kincaid – Station Manager and PADI Dive Instructor,
Kate Barley MSc – Chief Marine Scientist, Station Manager and PADI Dive Instructor,
Mark Tilley BSc – Assistant Marine Scientist, Paul Fuller – Trainee.
Volunteers: Stewart Morton, Katie Maurina, Liz Slaughter, Ross Collins, Nadina Hnatiw, Dean Gray, Sarah Perry, Mike England, Lisa Holton, Callum Brodie, Lucy Barber.

Update and Overview
This phase we have moved to a new location in Staniard Creek at Timothy Johnson’s property and bar (Colors). The start of the phase was full of dive training and building projects including the dive stand, compressor area and a brand new rock oven on the beach which has proven fantastic for bread making and dinners. The weather has been our nemesis this phase with prolonged periods of strong wind affecting our diving. We have however carried out many surveys with our volunteers on the reef after they learnt the fish to the satisfactory level. Three of our volunteers have also completed their PADI Rescue Diver courses at the end of the phase. Our last Sunday saw us carry out a daring forest fire back burn at Churches Blue hole, helping the BNT to protect the substantial wooden structure present at the site.

Sightings - On February 13th we were all lucky enough to swim with four Dolphins in the shallows not far from shore. The group was comprised of three adult dolphins and one juvenile (about 1m long!). During mangrove snorkels 6 large Spotted Eagle Rays
(Aetobatus narinari) were seen. Some of the volunteers were lucky enough to see two large Nurse Sharks (Ginglymostoma cirratum) on a fun dive at our dive site Kate-atori-em resting amongst the reef formations. The Blackear Wrasse (Halichoeres poeyi) and the Gray Triggerfish (Balistes capriscus) have been spotted in the shallow sea-grass in front of the station. Our trainee Paul Fuller also spotted a Silky Shark (Carcharinus falciformis) in deep water whilst snorkelling from the boat. The huge resident Loggerhead Turtle (Caretta caretta) at Amphitheatre was also observed by one lucky volunteer and our trainee.

Coral Reef Research

Number of REEF Surveys Completed
28
Hours underwater surveying REEF fish
18
Number of sites surveyed
4
Depth range (m)
5-20

After completing dive training, peak performance buoyancy and fish identification tests on land and in water our volunteers were ready to survey. This phase we managed to carry out 28 REEF fish surveys (11 last phase) for diversity and abundance at four different sites on the reef, despite the wind wreaking havoc with our schedules. The results of our surveys will be submitted on the REEF website in the near future very shortly.

Unfortunately due to the weather we were unable to complete any Reef Check surveys this phase despite training some of our volunteers. This was unfortunate but hopefully we will be able to carry out Reef Check surveys on our permanent monitoring sites next phase.

Community School Work
This phase we have been able to carry out a teaching program to three classes in Staniard creek primary school, on a Thursday afternoon. The enduring theme this phase has been symbiosis and helping out the environment so that it continues to provide for the inhabitants of Andros. Having lots of volunteers has meant that we were able to have lots of help in every class and the process has worked very well with a new topic every week for the children. We have covered the island itself in terms of defence from hurricanes and the ocean’s power. Jobs provided directly by the reef e.g. fishing (commercial and subsistence) or scuba diving guides were looked at as well as trying to push the prospect of working for the BNT in either the existing marine protected areas on the barrier reef or the west side national park. Food was a great topic with many of the kids knowing more than we did about the resources here! We were trying to explain the concept of responsible harvesting through the use of worksheets and activities. The new marine turtle legislation banning any capture or killing of turtles as well as outlawing the use of any turtle by-products (shells, meat, eggs e.t.c) from April 1st 2009 was discussed (with mixed attitudes !). Also looking at case studies of regions on a global scale which have not protected their natural resources was hoped to reinforce the ideas we had already covered in previous weeks. The kids and the volunteers as well as the staff enjoyed the process and we hope to have just as successful an experience next phase.

Staff Changeover
It is with regret that we have to announce the ending of a very successful relationship between Greenforce Bahamas and two of its long standing staff Kate Barley and Jason Kincaid. After a period of nearly two years training volunteers in diving and marine science as well as making their experience as good as it could possibly be they are moving on. The British Virgin Islands await them as dive instructors and I’m sure they will do just as well there also. Taking their place the new staff are Siobhan White BSc as Station Manager and PADI Dive Instructor, Ian Hamilton BSc as Assistant Marine Scientist and myself as Chief Marine Scientist (eek !). We aim to keep up the high standards that they have set for us in the future.

Acknowledgements
All the staff at Greenforce Bahamas would like to thank the volunteers of ‘Phase 5 GMRS’ for their help, enthusiasm, humour and work this phase, we couldn’t have done it without you (no honestly we couldn’t !). A big thanks to our trainee Paul Fuller for all of his help this phase, we will miss him and his camera but wish him all the best for the future. Well done to all of our divers who have passed Open Water and Advanced Open Water this phase we know Jason is a pain to work with but someone has to do it. Apologies about the wind – we will try and cut down on the beans next phase ! Thanks for your patience when the diving wasn’t on and we were finding alternatives. We hope you all enjoyed yourselves and wish you all the best in the future, be that travels, university, jobs or life. Thanks for a great phase.

Mark Tilley

Fiji Weeks 4 - 5

Imagine a tiny patch of sandy beach surrounded by crystal blue water, a mini paradise that can only be reached when the tide is low. The Sandspit is about a 30 minute walk around the island from camp. Its great for a girly sunbathe or a little game of football with the crystal clear water providing the chance to cool down with an all important snorkel although be wary of the tide as at high tide the sandspit disappears.

Shh....he’s coming....quickly, light the sparklers, aim the party poppers.......HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAUL!!!!! Saturday saw Paul's surprise party, he was oblivious to the planning, we had real chicken for dinner dipped in garlic butter! Yum! Chocolate cake and Mars bar doughnuts. It was sooooo good! The staff also had a little surprise for all of us.....Ice!....They made ice, they are gods! You have no idea how much you miss a cold drink, it was amazing! Then we partied the night away under the stars!

The past few days have been the best kind, lazy days involving lying out on the deck getting lost in a book or taking the raft out to the deep blue where you can dive off without fear of hitting your head with your mask and snorkel and see what's under the sea.

Church on Sunday was chilled out as usual, we got fed fresh fish and noodles then spent the afternoon with the villagers. It was an all round good day.

We had the inverts test this week, all about sea urchins, lobsters and anemones. With an afternoon of revision we all passed the test!

On a sad note Wednesday was Harriet and Chris’ last night, they were only here for 6 weeks, so we made them kava bowls out of coconuts as a farewell gift, which were signed by all. It’s a great group here and we’ve all bonded well so it was sad to see them go but no doubt we will all meet up again!

Nicola

Fiji Weeks 1-3

Week 1 – 21st to 28th Jan
By Harriet & Lily

19 volunteers arrived at Nadi Bay Hotel all very tired, sweaty & pasty, but very excited!

On arrival everyone jumped into the pool and enjoyed a nice shower. After a night of very little sleep we were put on a bus pilled high with everyone’s luggage and headed off for Lautoka. From there we bought our rations & Bula shirts for the lads & Bula dresses for the girls; all beautifully colourful & flowery! The next evening we boarded the 12hr night ferry from Lautoka to Savusavu. This provided chance to bond. A few brave volunteers even experimented with the local drink of choice; KAVA!!!

From Savusavu we got on 2 trucks and had a journey of a lifetime controlling flying mattresses and getting a bruised everything while taking in the amazing views offered by Venua Levu.

The final leg of our journey was a short but sweet boat journey to camp. The dawn of realisation occurred as we approached a small but unique Island, and this would be our home for the next 10 weeks. After setting up our beds and spending hours putting up our mosquito nets we settled down to our first meal on camp. Luckily this was made by staff members and was thus edible and enjoyable, a rarity......!

Saturday evening is where we let our hair down! Our first will be hard to beat but I’m sure we’ll give it a go! After around 3 hours of playing ‘I have never’ and drinking copious amounts of the local Bounty Rum, I feel it would be safe to say that everyone felt that they knew one another a little or in some cases A LOT better! Yes James we know everything!!

Sunday involved chilling out on the beach, with little activity from us volunteers for the rest of the day.

The following day was our first visit to the village of Navatu where we met our adopted families and had our welcoming Sevusevu ceremony aka. Grog time! This was a great way to meet the Fijians and get to know more about the Fijian way of life.

Tuesday was spent by the non-divers reading huge PADI books, and a lot of sunbathing for the already qualified divers. Fortunately everybody passed their theory and diving will commence on Wednesday.

Week 2 - 28th Jan to 4th Feb

By Rachel

Beginning of week 2 on camp and all the non divers have completed their Theory.
Big thanks to Paul & Jade!

So for this week it’s mainly completing the Open water dives, sunbathing & digging trenches.
This week saw the arrival of Steve back at camp, our Assistant Scientist, as Debs heads off to Nadi for a week.

Steve was welcomed home on Saturday night with a themed night giving the lads a chance to cross dress (to which they felt waaaay too comfortable doing!) A good night was had by everyone. The normal gossip proceeded the next morning as more couples have formed!

Sunday was the first Church of the month, which brought about 2 other villages to Navatu (Namalata & Raviravi). Unfortunately the heat proved too much for one of the volunteers, Lily, as she had to escape, running past the reverend & village chiefs, looking for ‘some fresh air’!! Luckily, 5 minutes prior, Steve had apologised to the congregation for any mistakes we may make over the next 10 weeks. Good timing really!

The weather so far has been awesome. We have all managed to complete our Open Water dives and are starting to do our PADI Advanced Knowledge reviews. Good times!

Week 3 - 4th to 11th Feb
By Imy

The first part of week three was spent focusing on getting the PADI Advance Open Water course completed which meant that whilst everyone was busy attempting to complete their knowledge reviews, the four already qualified divers had plenty of free time to top up their tans. Once the relevant knowledge reviews had been completed, the trainee divers had to complete five dives in order to qualify as Advanced. These were: Deep, Navigation, Boat, Drift & Night. Despite a few problems on the navigation, everyone managed to successfully complete the course meaning that everyone on camp is now Advanced and is able to dive to 30m!

Friday saw the first Ladies night of the phase and was our chance to give something back to our ‘Fijian mums’ who look after us sooo well in the village and ask for nothing in return. We spent the evening playing games with the ladies such as pass the parcel & bingo, as well as showing them some ‘traditional’ British dancing in the form of the YMCA! Of course it wouldn’t have been ladies night without cake, but luckily the ladies came prepared so we spent the first half an hour eating cake & drinking tea.

The next morning everyone got up at 6AM to say goodbye to Steve who had to go home earlier than expected. We all sat on the beach and took a group photo before the boat left camp.

That evening, Debs our Chief Scientist returned from Nadi. Steve sent some pizzas back which was such a nice change from camp food, even if Jon did manage to drop one of the Pizza’s, to which we still ate. The letters from home put everyone into a reflective mood, so our Saturday night was quieter than usual. Only a few games of ‘Ring of Fire’ and little gossip the following morning.

On Sunday, we went to a new village called Kiobo, where ewe met the Chief of Kubulau. Once again we were amazed by the warm welcome and wonderful standard of Fijian hospitality that we received. Church was outside this week, which was a nice change before having an amazing lunch and our much needed afternoon sleep. After waking, we drank Kava with the villagers and then left later that day to return home to camp, just before the rain.

Monday saw the start of our Science training. We’ve spent the past 3 days learning the difference between fish and how to identify them underwater.

Today (Wednesday) the sea was so still that Paul decided to reward us with all our hard work during the dive training by taking us to dive over at Namena, a protected site that plays host to a huge variety of fish and rated amongst one of the best reef sites in the world!
The dives at Namena were awesome, and we saw such an large array of marine life such as Big Sharks & Turtles of which has given us all the determination to learn our fish ASAP, and so we are going into week 4 frantically trying to learn fish using fish cards and points to help us. We hope that all this information stays!!

Bahamas Update by Sarah Perry

We started this week with our usual Saturday night party at Timmy’s bar, everyone seemed to have a good night, and there were a lot of laughs Sunday evening, we all went to Small Hope Bay for a gorgeous meal, courtesy of Stewart's parents. Everyone was loving not having to cook and having proper steak and crab instead of our ‘delicious’ turkey mince. It was a really nice, chilled out evening made even better by the fact we got to go in the hot tub under the stars and overlooking the beach. I don’t think anybody wanted to get out, the prospect of not having any more warm water for the rest of our time here was definitely on my mind and I’m sure it occurred to a few of the others as well!

Monday we all got on with fish I.D class, which we seem to be making some progress in, especially Mike who passed his fish test this week, which is ace! In the afternoon we got to get out and do some snorkelling in Stanyard Pass. Jason managed to get us two fish to cook for dinner, which we had a delicious paella, as he’d earned a forfeit for something and in return had to ‘make us all a treat!’

Tuesday we got on with more classes, it’s funny being in the Bahamas and seeing everyone wrapped up in hats and hoodies like we were back in England. In the evening a couple of the lads went night fishing in the creek but didn’t catch anything, I think next time the girls will go along to show them how its done!

By Wednesday the weather had picked up and it has been beautiful and hot since. We started diving on that day and by the weekend almost everyone has passed their PADI Open Water diving qualification, which we are all really pleased and excited about! We got to see some amazing fish and corals on the training dives, including seeing my first barracuda, which isn’t actually as scary as I thought it was going to be. Its an amazing feeling being 14m down under water, you feel so small looking up to see the boat above you but also feel really calm and content, it’s a surreal feeling and I cant wait to get back in the water to do more! Some of the volunteers saw two nurse sharks today which they were pretty hyped up about.

By far the highlight of this week has got to be when we got to swim with wild dolphins on Friday! IT WAS INCREDIBLE! The ocean was perfectly still and turquoise and we spotted some fins, never have I seen us all get ready and get in the water so fast. We must have been less than a metre away from them, that is an experience I will never forget.

So to end our week we’re having a Valentines party at Timmy’s, where we are having a three legged night and all dressing up as different things, me and Dean are going as wizards, so it should be another interesting night!