DIVE 2000 TAHITI DIVE HOLIDAY AUGUST 2006, Kevin Deacon

DOLPHIN DIVING: Our two Zodiac inflatables skimmed across the calm surface of Rangiroa Lagoon, coconut trees formed a thin line of green like an accidental paint splash on a canvas of improbable blues. The atoll lagoon was pure aqua, the deep channel of Tiputa Pass and waters beyond were sapphire and the sky was royal, only an occasional small cloud provided a relief of pure white. Our Tahitian boatmen expertly guided the Zodiacs through the pass as wild dolphins danced among the waves.

On cue our intrepid 11 plunged into the blue abyss just off the fringing reef, descended to 18 meters and joined the dolphins. To be precise, the dolphins joined us, no less than a dozen including some mothers and babies frolicked among our group, dolphin squeaks merging with our squeals of delight as we spun, twirled and danced with these superior masters of this aquatic world.

As the visibility was never less than 50 meters the effect was suspension in the centre of a 300 meter sphere, dolphin would appear from inky blue below, from the powder blue distance beside and occasionally from silver blue above as they exited and re-entered from water and air. Our group was entranced. This event occurred every time we dived this site, in total 5 dives!

Descending deeper to the fringing reef we drifted along the drop off at 30 meters while below, just off the reef wall at 40 meters, several hundred Grey Reef Sharks cruised lazily in the gentle current that gradually drew us into the pass. Nearing the mouth of the pass the depth shallowed to 18 meters, the current increased and we embraced the sensation of flying effortlessly though the shafts of sunlight like a squadron of pilots returning to base. A Great Hammerhead shark appeared from the coral floor below to inspect this strange group, outnumbered it quickly retreated.

Back on the surface, drifting gently inside the lagoon atoll we realised we had travelled several kilometres. The excitement among the group was infectious, no one could stop talking, no one wanted to get out of the water, and no one wanted the holiday to end.

MANTA SNORKELING

So what do you do between dives to rival experiences like this, you go manta snorkelling. The calm, clear waters of the lagoon are a haven for manta rays. A short Zodiac cruise over to Tiputa Island never failed to provide Manta encounters. Slipping quietly into the water in the path of feeding mantas provided our group with close up and personal experiences with these gentle giants that will live in their minds for ever. Despite years of diving, some of our group had never seen a Manta Ray, now they were losing count of how many they had seen.

DIVING WITH LEGENDS

Our hosts for the trip were Yves Lefevre and his lovely wife Sandra, owners of Raie Manta Club, Rangiroa’s original dive operator. Yves is one of the worlds leading underwater cameramen and photographers, if you have seen the IMAX documentary, Sharks in 3D, (much of which was filmed in Rangiroa) you will have seen some of his remarkable photography. In fact Yves interrupted his latest project shooting Humpback Whales at Rurutu Island south of Tahiti to catch up with Cherie and me again and host our group. In future you will see his production Whales and Dolphin in IMAX 3D. We had lots to talk about as we had crossed paths a number of times during filming and photographic expeditions and we both share a friendship and professional working relationship with Jean Michele Cousteau who narrated Imax Sharks in 3D.

Now you need to know that the men in our dive team were outnumbered by the women and we all know about female divers and underwater navigation! But on this trip no lady diver ever lost her way. Perhaps it was the rapt attention they gave to Yves during the dive briefings (you can’t beat a firm body and a French accent), perhaps it was because they followed him everywhere, or possibly it’s just because the current always took them the right direction anyway!

SILVERTIP SHARKS

Another glorious day in paradise and Yves is surrounded by his diving entourage, the ladies in rapt attention, describing the activity for this morning. It is a pleasure listening to his briefing, I can still hear his voice in my head now “We are going out of Avatoru Pass, we will descend onto the reef, we will feed the Silvertip sharks just a little bit, the Silvertip sharks will be all around us, they will come very close, do not pat them”. Looking at our group I detect no fear, only excitement and the girls would follow him into a pack of tiger sharks anyway!

A short ride in our speedy red zodiacs has us on the reef and immediately several Silvertip sharks and a couple of Grey Reef sharks turn up. Silvertips are the largest of the reef shark family; they can attain 3 meters length and are the dominant sharks in any group. They are not often seen by divers and they are becoming rarer. I have previously taken my dive groups to other locations were they can be encountered reliably, Valerie’s Reef, Kavieng PNG and Burma Banks off Myanmar. Tragically, at both locations the sharks have been fished out and turned into shark fin soup!  Fortunately, Yves and his companions have been instrumental in getting Rangiroa's sharks protected.

These Silvertips are very beautiful sharks, the queens of the reef, and not too big as none of them were more than two meters. As the odour trail from Yves little bag of fish drifts away into the current it is soon detected by more sharks. Within minutes we have about 6 Silvertips and about the same number of Grey reef sharks. They circle the group and then take turns to swim among us, at no time do we feel threatened or in any danger. The sharks know the routine, they are only interested in some fish and it’s a pleasure to have them among us. It gets a lot more exciting when they decide to steal the fish from Yves, especially for me because I was going in for a close up shot just at that moment and Yves path of retreat happened to be across my head. I thought his fins were for finning, not for running on top of my head!

FISH, TURTLES AND OTHER FRIENDS.

Our dives at Bora Bora and Rangiroa provided encounters with Eagle Rays, Black Tip Reef sharks and the rare Lemon Sharks unique to French Polynesia. We also had many encounters with Green and Hawksbill turtles. The Hawksbills would happily chew up the sponges and reef right in front of us showing absolutely no fear. Big schools of barracuda and Horse Eye Jacks prevailed on the reefs. At one point the ocean was completely obscured as a massive school of jacks presented a living wall in our path which then engulfed us in a huge circle. Then part of the school formed a circle above us and brilliant sunshine sparkled on thousands of silver scales, I captured that moment in my minds eye and with my camera.

BUNGALOS and BARS.

Our accommodation was in lovely cabins surrounded by tropical gardens and close to the lagoon at both spectacular Bora Bora and Rangiroa. The resurant and bar was on the waters edge and we never tired of breakfast overlooking the water or drinks at sunset. Our duty free booze was readily consumed, appetites were stimulated and we were most appreciated by the owners of a  nearby resurant that became our favourite place to dine. In fact they even offered to open on their one night off just for us. On our final night they shouted cognac or our choice of drinks all round before bidding us adieu.

QUEST FOR THE BLACK PEARL

French Polynesia is the home of the black pearl, our ladies were determined to have one if not more. This was not a problem as there were thousands on offer. What woman could resist tray after tray of perfect pearls. There is no happier being on the planet than a woman shopping and in all of the South Pacific there is no better place to put a smile on the face of your lover than Rangiroa!

DANCING DOLPHINS

Our last evening in Rangiroa I took Cherie to a special place I had discovered on my last visit. On a pure white beach at the entrance to Tiputa Pass dolphins come to play in the waves at sunset. We sat on the sand with a bottle of chilled Moet Chandon, toasted the sunset and applauded as up to a dozen dolphins took to the sky in an aerial display of acrobatics. For the dolphins it was a celebration of life. For us It was a celebration of our 10 ^th wedding anniversary.

RETUNING TO TAHITI & HUMPBACK WHALES

None of us wanted to come home, this has been one of the best trips we have ever done, we have promised to return. Winter 2008 will find us and our intrepid explorers returning to Tahiti for more adventures in paradise. Why not plan on joining us. We have an additional treat for you! Yves has promised to show us his Humpback whales and calves that winter over every year at Rurutu Island. He is there with them again right now, filming them for IMAX, I wish I was there!

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