News from the NAI'A Family in Fiji
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NAI'A Fine in Fiji
Bula
We still have islands bathed in sunshine, stunning coral reefs and the laughter of our crew - the only thing missing in Fiji is you!
Our borders remain closed as the covid crisis continues much longer than we had hoped but, like our neighbours in the South Pacific, Fiji took early and effective action to keep covid out. Our first wave at the end of March consisted of 18 cases, all related to returning residents. There were no new cases until July when repatriation flights brought in 15 new cases from overseas, all of which were caught and dealt with at quarantine. Covid never escaped out into the public. So for everyone whose job is unrelated to tourism, life continues as normal. Unfortunately, nearly half the county’s income is from tourism so the sooner our borders open to international travel, the better!
Your generous donations to the “Feed our Families” fund set up by our friends at SeaSave.org totalled over $30,000 and that money continues to feed the crew and their families. If you haven’t seen it, check out this thank-you video made by the crew.
Happily, Alexx has managed to organize some short domestic charters, a rare opportunity for Fiji locals and expats to see the awesome diving that Fiji is famous for and provide a few weeks of full pay for the crew. One of the charters focused on adventure so we purchased a bunch of kayaks and SUPs (Stand Up Paddleboards) that were left over from the Fiji Eco Challenge to host our own NAI’A Challenge, the most arduous aspect being getting back to where you started without having to be picked up by the skiff. Everyone loved the mix of snorkelling, diving, paddling and hiking so we will include some adventure charters in the schedule in the future.
We also hosted a reef survey team led by the Wildlife Conservation Society who returned to previous survey sites to monitor the fish and corals. They reported healthy coral recruitment and growth since their last surveys in the area. We always rave about the health and resilience of our reefs here in Fiji, but it is fantastic to have this confirmed by the experts! The waters here are truly special.
In addition we used this down time to work on NAI’A. Last week we completed refurbishing the dive deck and are looking forward to christening it this coming weekend when we have a local charter out into Northern Lau.
We miss our global NAI’A family and we hope you are all safe and healthy during this difficult time. We are truly looking forward to welcoming you back on board in the future to create more beautiful memories and share incredible experiences. Until then – keep safe and dream of Fiji.
Best fishes, Rob Barrel and the NAI'A Family
