In March 2010 Jon Clark and Hilary Maud Hickmott and I travelled to Shark Reef Marine Reserve in Beqa Passage on the Fijian island of Viti Levu. Shark Reef Marine Reserve is a world famous shark feeding location which promised our first encounter with bull sharks - Shark Reef and Beqa Adventure Divers (BAD) were not about to disappoint us. Shark Reef is in fact a small reef on the fringing reef in Beqa Passage where in 1998, the abundance of sharks led to organised shark feed diving. Four years later The Shark Reef Marine Reserve was declared, this being a no-take zone with the local population from the Wainiyabia and Galoa villages becoming actively involved in and receiving the financial benefits of the popular shark feeding development. Numerous village projects and scholarships became funded by compulsory levies paid by every diver on every shark feed dive and some of the village youth learnt to dive and became part of the shark feeding team.

Jon and Hilary Maud had made the short flight from the UK to Fiji whereas I had endured a massive 4 hour flight from Sydney. After meeting up we set off on a liveaboard trip with Island Dancer II, then checked into the Lagoon Resort in Pacific Harbour on Viti Levu. An unfortunate choice as the hotel was clearly in financial difficulties and indeed subsequently closed! But far more importantly, our choice of diving and dive centre was spot on. On our very first dive with Beqa Adventure Divers we were treated to 6 or 7 three metre long Bull Sharks cruising around at 30 metres. Seeing any significant marine life underwater for the first time is a great experience and the three of were suitably excited by our first Bull Shark encounters. And later in the dive we saw Grey Reef and Whitetip Reef Sharks in shallower waters. In all we were to enjoy 12 dives on this fabulous dive site also seeing a Tiger Shark (the one dive I took my 60mm macro lens!) and a Tawny Nurse Shark and snappers and trevallies attracted by the shark feeding.

Shark Reef Marine Reserve is home to over 450 fish species and Jon and Hilary Maud and I dived four other dive sites, Carpet Cove, E.T., Rusi’s Pinnacle and Fantasy, in the hope of seeing some of them and were rewarded with such interesting marine life as Ribbon Eels, Red Fire Gobies, Bubble Coral Shrimp and Longnose Hawkfish.

Jonathan … opps Jon does not want anyone to know his real name. Jon clearly relished finally diving with an attentive buddy i.e. me and together we occasionally even caught sight of his nominal buddy, Hilary Maud, far far far away in the distance.

Unfortunately a Category 4 Hurricane Tomas developed north of Fiji and began tracking south causing us to abruptly end our diving trip and flee westwards across Viti Levu to safety. A dramatic end to an exciting diving adventure.