Bula Bula!

Christi · June 29th, 2008, 04:54 AM

My heart is still on the Nai'a NAI'A Liveaboard Scuba Diving - Fiji and Beyond and I'm not all the way home yet! Fiji was absolutely amazing...the "best doive trip evah" (said in my best Aussie accent) The diving blew me away, but the crew of the Nai'a and the Nai'a itself have set the bar very high! I've never had a bad crew on a liveaboard, but this crew was truly something special! Saying goodbye to them was a very sad, sad event.

The diving, well...it was just phenomenal and lived up to (actually exceeded) my expectations for South Pacific diving! Mantas (a big show actually), hammerheads, reef sharks, macro galore (including an ornate ghost pipefish that I found on the last day), the most beautiful soft coral gardens imaginable, near perfect weather and diving conditions for the week and a fabulous group of dive buddies...including our new Aussie friends (Wozzygal & DP) and our new Colorado friend

We landed at LAX this afternoon and most are arriving home about now. I'm in Los Angeles at my sisters now and fly back to Cozumel tomorrow night on the red-eye. Fiji is 17 hours ahead of Los Angeles, so my body clock is a wreck right now. I slept for 5 hours when I got here and now here I am at midnight wide awake! My body thinks it's 5:00pm TOMORROW...haha!

Here are a few teaser photos for you

I really do hope to get a trip report and a slide show together for this trip since I actually got enough photos I'm proud enough of to fill a slide show

First priority will be actually getting home and catching up on sleep, work and e-mails...and then the slide show and trip report.

Camera set-up:
Canon Rebel XTi/400D in Seatool housing/flat port
Dual Ikelite DS-125 strobes (TTL)
Canon 60mm macro
Canon 18-55 kit lens

Cozoholic · June 29th, 2008, 02:48 PM

We're home ! We made our flight and got home at 2am this morning. I just woke up ~ its 5am Fiji time...GREAAAAATTTTTTTT TRIPPPPPPP !!!!!!

Sue Sue · June 29th, 2008, 03:54 PM

What Great news !!! Looking forward to all of the photos and wonderful stories once y'all get yourselves settled !! Sue Sue

parrotheaddiver · June 29th, 2008, 06:08 PM

I can only echo what Christi has said....it was awesome....best dive trip EVAH!!!!!!!

Thank you Christi for putting the trip together it was a trip of a lifetime...

catherine96821 · June 29th, 2008, 07:11 PM

Great shots!

Papa_Bear · June 29th, 2008, 07:29 PM

Bligh Water is so diverse it is amazing! It is my favorite dive destination anywhere! The Boat is one of the best and you can't beat Fijian hospitality, add great food, and 25 different Nudibranchs on my last trip and you have paradise!

jayjoans · June 29th, 2008, 08:12 PM

Bula Christi!

It has been a little slow around here since you left. Fiji rocks, huh? We LOVED the Bligh water, like swimming in a well lit, warm, amazing tropical fish store. Ever since our trip I've yet to wear a bathrobe, I'm all about a cheesy Sulu I bought there at a local store with "Bula Fiji" printed all over it.

See you in a couple of months if our flights actually happen.

diveborg · June 29th, 2008, 08:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by parrotheaddiver

I can only echo what Christi has said....it was awesome....best dive trip EVAH!!!!!!!

Thank you Christi for putting the trip together it was a trip of a lifetime...

And I agree with both Christi and Ann. Best. Trip. EVAH..

I hope Christi doesn't mind me sharing some of the photos I took on the trip.

The Goby and the shrimp live in the same hole. The shrimp does all the physical work and the goby provides "security services".

My favorite Anemone fish photo of a "pink anemone fish".

Cozdreamer · June 29th, 2008, 09:14 PM

Awesome pictures Christi and Diveborg. All I can say is more, more, more please when you get your body clocks back on normal.... I'm looking forward to details since I can't seem to even afford another Cozumel trip let alone going that far away..... Welcome Back home and back to the board I live through.

H20Bubbles · June 29th, 2008, 11:24 PM

Most definitely the "Best Doive Trip EVAH!!!!". All we can say is what an amazing two weeks.

Our flights from LA were delayed by an hour so it was nearly 3:30am by the time we walked in our front door. While it is good to be home, I have to admit that I have been sitting here all day going "Damn, they are just leaving for the breakfast, morning, lunch, and night dive."

Here are a couple of the highlights from my photos (and I will try and see if I can get the Manta and Hammerhead videos up).