After four days and nights with our host families in the village of Nativi, we took a four-hour bus ride to the city of Nadi. Needless to say, we were pleased to get back to civilization with warm showers and air conditioning. After settling into our hotel, several of us ventured into town and did some souvenir shopping. There were some good deals to be had, and half of the fun was watching the haggling between our students and the local vendors. While I think we lost the tug-of-war on the price front, we all were able to get ‘discounts’ from the starting prices.
We woke up early the next morning and made our way down to the Yasawa Ferry Terminal, where we boarded a huge (and bright yellow) passenger catamaran that made its way along the rather scenic chain of offshore islands called the Yasawa Islands. After several stops, we reached out destination of Nacula around 1:30 PM. After so much travel over the past few days the students and chaperones were completely satisfied to sit on the beach, go for a snorkel out the front of our hostel, or lounge around and read and take catnaps. The beach chairs and hammocks proved to be quite popular as rest was the objective for the afternoon.
The next morning, we took a small boat ride about 10 minutes out from our island to a dive site where reef sharks do quite a bit of feeding. With a lot of gusto, we all entered the water in full scuba gear and descended about 20 meters to the bottom. While the reef itself was relatively unspectacular, the feeding of the sharks proved to be incredible. We saw several species including lemon sharks as well as white- and black-tipped reef sharks. A large moray eel also presented itself, and we watched as our dive master fed and petted the eel that seemed to know we were coming. We were placed in a row and our dive master proceeded to feed the sharks with chum. It was interesting to see the pecking order of the sharks. Clearly, the bigger the shark, the greater right-of-way it was given. Hundreds of fishes joined in the feeding, and we were treated to quite a show. We stayed down for about 35 minutes, and all of us surfaced unscathed.
Later that afternoon, we decided to explore a local cave on a nearby island. We had no idea what we would see, but the adventure proved to be well worth the 25-minute boat ride. The cave was a large, open shaft in the volcanic rock (basalt). The cave was just in from the shore, but, because the tide enters from underground, the bottom of the cave actually was a large pool of water. Once inside the cave, we jumped into the water and did some underwater exploring. Until our guide told us, we had no idea that there were adjoining caves that you could not see from the first cave as the entrance required you to go underwater, below the rocks, and to swim 2 to 3 meters before rising into the next room. All of our students were up for the challenge, and our guides led the way. The second cave proved to be more fascinating than the first cave, as it was not sunlit and the acoustics in the enclosed area were phenomenal. Ms. Eddy would have been in heaven (if she were brave enough for the journey). After exploring the second cave for a few minutes in groups of 10, we all came back to the original cave and dove some more. A few adventurous types climbed the walls of the cave in order to make short leaps into the water from various ledges. The caves proved to be a big hit; we were glad we went.
As evening approached, we gathered for some lessons on coral reefs, geology, and fishes presented by several students including Katie, Matt, Lilli, Eric, and of course, our very own Dr. Haney. After dinner, several students went out snorkeling with Dr. Haney in the dark. They spotted some stingrays, pufferfish, and other marine organisms that tend to be less active during daylight hours. There was a lot of raving about the nighttime snorkel, as it is an entirely different feeling to be in the water when you can see only what your dive light illuminates.
About 10 of us woke up about 5 AM the next morning to do a sunrise hike up the hill behind our hostel. The hike was moderately rigorous on its own, but especially so in the early-morning darkness. After about a 45-minute trek, we were greeted by a beautiful sunrise. While it was mostly cloudy, the light shining through the clouds, coupled with the half dozen islands and the blue and green hues of the ocean, were well worth the effort. We hiked down in about 30 minutes and enjoyed the views of the coral that you cannot fully appreciate unless you get the perspective of looking down from above.
As we were making our way back into the hostel area, the rain began. A few students, led by Kristen and Shannon, decided to jump in the ocean while it was pouring rain. That led to others jumping in and going for a morning swim out to the buoys about 500 meters off shore. With the rain coming down and the stillness provided by the consistent downpour, there was a calmness that I will never forget. To top things off, a spectacular rainbow presented itself as if to say, ‘welcome to paradise.’
During the course of the day there was a lot of snorkeling, exploring, reading, and relaxing going on. It was good to see all of the students bonding and connecting with one another as if they had known each other for years. It is amazing what can happen when a group of students share an experience much bigger than any one individual.
As day 11 approached, we were all excited to continue exploring. Some dives were planned for the morning and for mid-day. It was another spectacular dive with visibility at 80+ feet and a reef with an enormous variety of corals and fishes. We saw reef sharks, trumpetfish, triggerfish, angelfish, damselfish, clownfish, butterflyfish, and many more that I won’t bother to name right now for sake of space. Both of the groups that went out came back to our resort raving about the dive, as it was one of the best of the trip. That is saying quite a lot after seeing the sharks and other reefs. The rest of the day was spent snorkeling and exploring the island. A few brave souls ventured into the water, once again, for a night snorkel led by our fearless leader, Dr. Haney. They saw some pufferfish, bioluminescence (flashes of light produced by small organisms when the water is disturbed), and stingrays, basketstars (which unfurl only at night), and sea urchins, to name a few.
Day 12 brought the science and math teachers’ infamous 2nd Annual Scavenger Challenge. As I had never experienced the scavenger hunt myself, I had no idea what to expect. Let’s just say the hunt lasted over 5 hours, and the scope of what was being hunted was like nothing I had ever seen. Of the 32 tasks, here are some sample problems for your enjoyment:
1. Dress up a group member in only organic materials to make the most menacing sea creature costume.
2. Find the density of a designated coconut.
3. Select a single hermit crab to enter into and win a race with hermit crabs from the other the other two teams.
4. As a team, present a 4-minute lesson on tides to the chaperones, who will judge the lesson and award points.
5. Spell the full names of as many elements as possible using the letters from the following words: bula, Craig, Liz, Todd, Gordon, Simon, Dan
6. Estimate the total land acreage of all of the islands in the Nacula District and convert your estimate to square kilometers
7. Calculate the approximate tension in each rope of the hammock when Simon, our guide, is sitting in it. Show your work.
8. A boat leaves Oarsman’s Bay at 9 AM, traveling north at 20 mph. A second boat leaves the Bay at 10 AM, traveling east at 30 mph but breaks down for 20 min., before continuing on its way. Determine the exact time, to the nearest minute, when the boats are 200 kilometers apart.
9. Find a pure element or isolate one from a compound nearby.
10. Using improvised tools, construct and equilateral triangle that is 5 feet per side.
11. Capture a living banded grunter fish, and present it in a container of sea water.
As you can see, the questions covered a broad spectrum, and I’m glad the students were here to answer the questions, as I would have been lost on a few of them. There were 32 questions in total and it took the chaperones a couple of hours to tally the results; doing so required judging digital photos, videos and written responses. In the end the team led by Alaina, Eric, Jeremy, Emily, Ava, and Lily came out on top. Their Chaperones (Mr. McNeill, Ms. Orr, Dr. Haney) served them their dinner. In addition to being served dinner at a private, beachside table, the winning team was to be serenaded by the rest of the group. Because we could not identify and agree upon a common song, eventually we decided to each sing our own song of choice, all at the same time. It was an auditory mess, exactly as intended, and we hope the winning team enjoyed it.
The last full day and night at Oarsman Bay was spent lounging, snorkeling, dancing (to the same music that was being played over and over, and over) and generally having a good time. I’m always impressed with the number of books our students read, and I can say that this trip was no different. The range of reading was enormous, and our students were engaged at all times with the island, the reef, their friends, or their books. As the day turned into night, our hosts, Craig and Simon, put together a phenomenal slide show of the entire trip. It was great to see the photos and have a moment to reflect on everything. We proceeded down to the beach where the Oarsman resort put together a fantastic bonfire, and we had some time reflect and share our experiences with each other. Craig and Simon, our hosts from Global Works, did a fantastic job of framing a great conversation. Once again, I was left inspired by what our students got out of their experience the last two weeks. Students talked about being grateful, being in the moment, appreciating the simple joy in people’s lives, the value of hard work, the sense of completion, the beauty of Fiji. We could not help but come to the conclusion that material things don’t define happiness, and, ultimately, that we appreciate each other and what each of us brings to the group that makes us better as a whole than any one individual.
We all have appreciated our time in Fiji. We are heading off to the mainland today via ferry, and we’ll spend time at the airport enjoying our last moments. This trip has truly given our students the opportunity to engage in a global experience that would be hard to match. We are coming home transformed and better off for the time we spent in this beautiful space, inhabited by the friendliest, most giving people on our planet.
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