Marine team to the rescue....
Here we are setting halfway into our internship
and off onto week 7 as newly qualified Rescue Divers and couldn’t have asked
for a more perfect setting to practice our rescue scenarios and continue our
surveying! Jolene, Xavier, Martin,
and myself spend the better part of week 6 moving onto our Rescue Diver Course,
which turned out to be very physically demanding, but extremely rewarding.
After a thorough introduction to the course via
the PADI video and workbook (not the most exhilarating part of the course, but
extremely necessary nonetheless) we were ready to jump, dive, and stride into
the water for our practicals. Most
of our scenarios were carried out right in front of base and the rest on the
other side of Nanuya Lai Lai on the beautiful waters of Blue Lagoon. We each took our turns being victims
and rescue heroes, giving us a very good appreciation of the rigorous physical
demand it takes to tow, push, pull and de-kit a victim in the water at various depths,
on the surface, and onto a boat as well as land. Unfortunately, being a victim didn’t turn out to be just
lying on the water waiting to be rescued, as some of us found out. An unresponsive diver can be quite
heavy to pull onto a boat and therefore, all of us came out a little bruised
and scraped, but all worth it to know first hand how to potentially save a
fellow diver’s life.
During our non-course dives, we continued our
survey work at different sites and even helped survey a new location near
Nacula village, named Honeymoon reef.
As with every other pristine, blue water area anywhere on these islands
Honeymoon reef did not fail. It
was full of amazing and colorful marine life for our group to carry out our
Line Intercept Transects (method used for benthic life form over a certain
area) and Invertebrate Belt Transects (method used to keep track of
invertebrates over a certain area).
During our dive, and unbeknownst to us, a pod of eight dolphins had been
hovering above! They had scattered
as we ascended and loaded the boat, however, on the ride back to base they
decided to rejoin and circle around us, keeping us company and making it one of
the best moments I’ve had on these islands.
Furthermore, as we interns settle into different
and added responsibilities on base and in our individual work, we’ve been able
to appreciate the work that goes into maintaining such a unique remote living
area. As interns we have been in
charge of either First Aid, Water maintenance, Health and Safety, Fuel, and
Food Pantry. The roles all involve
maintaining the safety, supply, and materials in each to ensure that the daily
base necessities are met for the larger volunteer group. With the help of the staff we’ve all
risen to the challenges.
Topping our week off, we ended week 6 with a
group fun-dive on Friday to the Zoo, another nearby site full of walls and
tunnels of colorful reefs and great marine life. Though visibility was rather poor (and my fogging mask was
making the view even less than ideal) I still managed to see a Moray eel, and
also, my favorite, a group of eager and curious “marinees” (what we marine
divers call ourselves) in an underwater train line. Another amazing, productive and fun filled week in our
little corner of Fiji!
-Maria
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