I think it is really sort of difficult to classify the experience with the Pacific because of a few different things: cold water, local hospitality, island climate, accomodation quality, time of year, wildlife. A diver who is simply out of his/her element regarding the items listed in the preceeding sentence, in my opinion, cannot give a real valuation to a trip to an environment as it compares to a diving experience elsewhere in the Pacific or in the Caribbean/Atlantic; its apples and oranges as I see it.
Of course, everyone is entitled to their opinion, including me, and their rating of the time they had at any certain place should carry some weight but my point is that a divers dislike of certain aspects of a trip to a new place should in some sense be taken with a grain of salt. It would be terrible to rate a resort or ocean locale poorly due to unfamiliarity. If I dont like the cold water, OK, but I need to remember that the Pacific is...well...cold (colder than the Caribbean on any day), even during their summer months! Its just the way it is. Therefore, it has to be asked: is it a negative? Well, if someone desires to be a part of an experience with the abundance of life that calls the Peaceful Sea home, then you have to live with a wetsuit of at least 3 mil (4 to 7 mil is better). I thought it was important to make that distinction before moving on in my description of our time at Wananavu.
A description of the northwestern coast of Viti Levu in the winter season (September) and the daily trip out to the Bligh Waters absolutely would not be complete without some words on the boat ride out through those 'choppy' seas. As I write this, my brain struggles to think of an analogy fitting enough to give the reader some sense of what it was like. Ok here goes - lets say you have a metal lawn chair, like one found in someones back yard maybe, ok so if you were to stand up and hold the chair behind you then jump up as high as you can and instead of landing on your feet, land in a sitting position instead. The jarring SLAM of your bottom onto the metal seat will give you some idea of the experience. Of course, to get the full affect, imagine a slam like that every 2 - 9 seconds for the hour long trip each way. Yikes! My family really does those extreme adventure type vacations that most people probably arent into as much as I am.
One great benefit of a dive trip in cold water is ~usually~ a higher degree of underwater visibilty. I think we enjoyed this to some extent at least while trying to search out sleeping blacktip reef sharks sleeping on the sandy bottom of the ocean as we passed by them. We did manage to find more than a few during our hours amongst the fishies; I hope to post some video of that to my Facebook page one of these days.
I think in large degree, and I have probably said this before, the oceans topography out there was just as impressive as the vast quantity and vivid colors of its marine residents. The amount of caves, overhangs, gradual to sheer drops from the vibrant lively shallows down into the dreary grayscale largely lifeless depths of the abyss, random depressions and narrow tunnels in the ocean bottom or in the vertical face of the rock walls, the sandy 'rivers' that seem to be carved at random through the pastures of hard corals of all sorts of colors and textures, dotted with bright jello-soft anenomes in various shades and blendings of reds, oranges, greens and yellows all waving in the gentle back-and-forth ebb-and-flow of the oceans morning 'breeze'. Needless to say, I am and have forever been trapped, captivated and absolutely addicted to the awe that such sights inspire. I truly experience God, and the immense creative ability of Jesus Christ in the making of His planet, in almost no other way than being in the ocean or in nature of some kind.
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