Fiji Sun

Savusavu Secrets: Diving, Learning

- MARAIA VULA Feedback: maraia.vula@fijisun.com.fj Savusavu diving

“There’s no virus under the water – just peace and beauty!” ndy Frazer at Jean Michel Cousteau Diving in Savusavu knows that diving has a special magic.

Diving delivers both the adrenaline of encounteri­ng an entirely different universe, and at the same time the tranquilit­y of being suspended in an other-wordly calm and silence.

The Jean Michel Cousteau Diving operation in Savusavu has been celebratin­g the glories of the ocean for over 20 years.

It was Jean Michel who first described Fiji as the soft coral capital of the world, a title that has been enthusiast­ically embraced by Fiji divers.

“All our staff are locals from Savusavu, and they have grown up diving these waters,” says Mr Frazer.

“They know where and when to find the best marine life.

“We’ve got a map of our dive sites up on our website – but there are a whole lot more that we keep to ourselves so we can just show our guests.

“And every so often we find a new site and quietly mark it up.”

ASavusavu diving

The diving in Savusavu is glorious: almost 400 species of soft and hard corals and around 1200 species of fish make up some of the world’s most spectacula­r and colorful reefs.

The dive sites include spectacula­r wall dives, canyons, swim-throughs, and frequent shark encounters plus thousands of other marine creatures: Hawksbill turtles, nudibranch­s, rays, black-banded sea snakes, squid, Christmas tree worms, sea cucumbers, crinoids, lion fish, and migrating humpback whales and spinner dolphins.

There are over 300 types of hard coral species (by comparison, Hawaii has 10 types), and of course above. the famed soft

Delliverin­g great experience

corals mentioned

Like all operators in the tourism sector, Mr Frazer has been looking to deliver great experience­s at a price that locals can afford, and has come up with some tremendous options – including a weekend PADI certificat­ion course.

“PADI certificat­ion is often done over a fairly leisurely five days – and we’re certainly doing that course.

“But if you’re prepared to work hard at the book learning and theory, we can get you through the pool teaching and then into the open water over a long weekend.

“We can set you up to complete the theory before you arrive on Friday afternoon to be ready to start a full weekend of pool and open water dives on Saturday and Sunday, as well as your Padi Open Water theory exam.

“You will then be able to relax on Monday morning before flying back home on Monday afternoon.”

PADI course and regular diving

If that all sounds a bit hectic, there are also five days options for both the PADI course and for regular diving.

You might be thinking; “What if I don’t want to commit to a full course before I’ve tried it?”

We are sure you’ll catch the bug but there is also the option of a Discover Scuba Dive certificat­ion which is just one morning of your vacation, which consists of one skill session pool and a shallow open water dive.

With the DSD you are able to dive with one of our qualified instructor­s for the remainder of the weekend.

This can be extended to a later date if you wanted..

Tel: Andy at Jean-Michel Cousteau Diving : 890 2490 or andy@jeanmichel­cousteaudi­ving. com. full course at a

The dive sites include spectacula­r wall dives, canyons, swim-throughs, and frequent shark encounters plus thousands of other marine creatures.

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 ??  ?? The diving in Savusavu is glorious: almost 400 species of soft and hard corals and around 1200 species of fish make up some of the world’s most spectacula­r and colorful reefs.
The diving in Savusavu is glorious: almost 400 species of soft and hard corals and around 1200 species of fish make up some of the world’s most spectacula­r and colorful reefs.
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