Sam Snaaps

The cheetah, one of natures most exquisitely designed hunters is known for its speed and agility while hunting gazelle and impala, while employing tactics of stealth when approaching their prey. Pilot whales have difficulty hunting gazelle and impalas, as they lack the appropriate camouflage for the savannah, and perhaps more importantly, they lack legs. Nevertheless, their usual prey of squid and pelagic fish stand almost no chance in escaping these powerfully quick cetaceans, once they have been echolocated in the dark depths of the ocean. These two animals from opposite habitats have many more similarities than many people might first think!

Nervous build-up.

Since the first day that I arrived, the team at KoroSun Dive had been eagerly anticipating the arrival of a team of divers, photographers, and videographers from PADI. This event also served as a personal milestone for me to look forward to while I settled back into life in Fiji, as I sometimes told myself “keep going till PADI arrive!” when I was feeling homesick, as I knew that this week would give me an injection of positivity.

It was almost impossible to form any expectations on how the 4 days of diving with this team would unfold, as I didn’t know exactly what their objectives were, what their methods would be, or even what kind of people they were! I based my expectation on my experience with a media shoot I helped on, in Plymouth where we did some filming with a different media creator (who I shan’t name in case they ever offer me a job…). That time, their team had created a plan based on maximum efficiency, and so left with their footage as quickly as they arrived, and didn’t spare a minute to get to know us, or let us get to know them. I hoped that this time would be different.

My other experience from Plymouth taught me that the majority of divers in similar positions, are older men who clearly spent more time at sea than on land. It was a breath of fresh air when I first met the PADI team, who were lead by enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and motivated women.

Last minute substitution.

One of the models had some sinus issues on the first dive, and so decided to stay out of the shoot for the rest of the day, and to my surprise, the team asked me if I would fill in! I had so many different emotions flooding my body, firstly I felt the pressure. I was about to be in front of the camera, promoting Fiji, PADI, and Scubapro, all of which are enormous organisations! Then the pressure was diluted by motivation, and I felt galvanized into being able to show off my talent underwater!

Listening to the leaders of the project and the photographers discuss their plan for the shoot, I was hyper-focused on taking in all of their instructions. I wanted to avoid being the ugly duckling on the shoot at all costs. Thankfully the beauty of the reefs did all the work for me and the first day was a success!

The second day was even more fantastic than the first. The team had a clear idea of where to get the shots they wanted, and we had overcome the teething issues of the first day. We saw Dungeons and Dragons – a site with the most incredible caverns and swim-throughs, at its very best, and then struck gold (or all the other beautiful colours that were on the reef) at Turtle Alley with more incredible shooting!

Safety stops are often the most beautiful parts of a dive, as at 5m, light intensity is at its highest. The coral, which gain 80% of their energy from photosynthesis can take advantage of this, and we can see them at Dungeons and Dragons! The anemones (right) at Turtle Alley are one of the most eye-catching sights on a coral reef.

My job as a model was to follow the instructions of the photographers. On land this can be simple, as you can talk, and discuss exactly what to do in the moment. However if you try and do this underwater, words turn into bubbles very quickly, and I haven’t done my Duolingo lessons in bubblish yet. We did our best to interpret the hand signals, being instructed to do different movements, start swimming here, finish there, look at the camera, don’t look at the camera etc… It was very complicated! As time went on, I got used to my body position in the water, relative to my buddy, and to the camera as well, and found success!

The beginning of a freediving shoot, the photographers captured the divers entering Turtle Alley.

Exploring Namena.

The highlight of the week, I think for most of us was our trip to Namena. I have written about Namena previously on this blog, but every time I return I am lost for words at how beautiful it is, both underwater and topside. I was so apprehensive about this trip. As the pinnacle of Fiji diving, there was so much pressure on getting this right, from the weather being good enough to go, to arriving with the right tidal currents, that hopefully bring the fish and productivity with them.

Certainly one of the most picturesque islands I’ve had the pleasure of visiting. Unspoiled is the right adjective.

The surface conditions were beyond ideal, and the flat sea gave us optimism for interesting sightings en route. We were blessed with nothing less. As we passed a strange shape on the surface that was hard to define in the glare of the bright sun, I pointed out what I realised was a group of 4 or 5 fins breaking the water surface. At that point I knew immediately we were in luck, as I had seen this before, on the same journey 5 years before. Pilot Whales! Not just the 4-5 that I first saw, but easily in excess of 30! They shared the water with many dolphins, and as we later found out, some silky sharks!

We took great care to approach slowly, quietly, and giving the animals lots of space, but if we could get a camera in the water this would be an amazing opportunity for some incredible footage. At first I stayed on the boat to allow the pros the best chance at a good photo of them, so I took out my analogue camera and used almost an entire roll of film on them! Gradually more and more people got into the water to have a look, we were so lucky as we saw whales swimming below the surface, some even right below the boat, so majestic and graceful. There were also several large silky sharks swimming around, I just didn’t know where to look!

Two separate parts of a large pod, we kept our distance as to not disturb them resting at the surface. Also an attention seeking brown boobie, likely scavenging off the loose bits of whale dinner.

I felt really calm sharing the water with the sharks. Their behavior was interesting; territorial almost, but not aggressive. Any time the boat became stationary 2 or 3 sharks found it immediately and stayed close. They acted like moths to a bright light, but in a far more intelligent way. They knew to get close, but avoided contact, and they approached many of us snorkelers without threatening us. Perhaps they are used to scraps of fish being thrown over by fishing boats? Nevertheless, I knew I was in their home, and we gave them the respect and space they deserved.

Those were not the only sharks we encountered that day. Grand Central Station clearly had an arrival from sharksville as the number of grey reefs we saw swimming up and down the walls was so encouraging. It always bring a tear to my eye to see that these, my favorite animals, are still thriving in places.

My anxiety about the diving not living up to expectation was quelled when my head dipped below water, and I immediately saw a shark following 2 large tuna. What more could you ask for? We only saw 3 more things that dive: fish, fish, and more fish. Tornados of trevally, shining like silver knives in the sun, sharks on patrol for any that are sick or injured, barracuda built like torpedoes, and malevolent-looking tuna which make the scuba cylinders on our backs look like small pringles cans. I’m so glad such talented professionals got to capture these scenes, because if more people can see such beautiful images, we might have a shot of saving these reefs.

One of the sharkiest of sharks… Grey reef sharks grow to roughly 2m in length and can be distinguished from black-tip sharks as they have no colouration on their dorsal fin.

True kindness

I couldn’t be more thrilled with how this experience unfolded, as I learned so much from a group of inspiring, intelligent, and passionate people. What pleased me more than I ever expected was the generosity of this PADI team. They worked incredibly hard and could have thanked us for helping as models and moved onward with their trip, but instead they went above and beyond to cater for Gina, Lai (Savusavu’s best boat captain), Colin, and I. I am so thrilled for Gina and Lai, as the leaders of the group have generously helped to take their diving careers to the next step, and they really deserve it.

They took us out for a meal, and provided us with lunch every day, even though they were under no obligation to spend their free time with us. We even had a spontaneous ‘shaka’ lesson from Scott, the surfer (a seasoned expert in the shakas, as demonstrated below) which was hilariously memorable. They also offered to provide us with photos and videos that they captured, which in my opinion is the most handsome of payments.

The final celebration meal, and the final display of shakas with PADI.

Changing minds.

Before this trip, my relationship with PADI was simply transactional. I pay them my membership fee and they let me teach courses. But now that I have met real people, who represent this organisation with such high standards of professionalism, as well as strong humility, I really feel that they have changed my perspective on their values for the better, and I am proud to try and continue their hard work. This team was nothing short of a credit to PADI, and it was an honor to dive with them.

I feel more inspired and driven than ever, and I will do my best to push forward, using this momentum to follow my love for conservation. I’m so excited to bring everyone along on this journey with me, and continue to write and document this process!

Coming up, I will hopefully have more opportunities to take my camera diving to restock my collection of images, as Gina will able to take some diving work off my hands. Otherwise, the magical images we get from this shoot will have to do. 😉