Submerged

With only words.

Divers and snorkellers were excited to head off to Lava Flow for their first encounter with a living reef.

You can see how the lava flow has gone into the sea.

The volcano erupted in 1988 and destroyed the existing reef but the rich volcanic lava has ensured wonderful regeneration and growth. So yes it was pristine and eye popping but unlike many in the group armed with go pros and gadgets I have only my head and words to share the reef with you.

Clear blue green waters going down to a depth of about 17 metres. Corals of all shapes and sizes. A soft undulating one in a golden velvety sheen. A somber solid one but with specks of what looked like semi precious stones in bright orange, yellow and blue. Feather stars of differing colours, the most dramatic being the black ones like lace on a frock. Cabbages leather corals spread widely. Ones that passed for mazes. They might actually be called maze brain coral. Mushroom corals but these ones tinged in pink and purple.

The fish, so very many darting in and out of crevices and corals. Coloured in such astonishingly bright colours.

I stood, no floated over an extraordinary fish. Bulging white eyes. A little menacing. Swimming vertically. Doing dainty pirouettes with flimsy dorsal fins in full display chomping off bits of coral. I could hear the crunch as it came away. It then spat it out with feeling ! Possibly a titan triggerfish but who knows ! Pretty bullish in its behaviour. Would not want to get anywhere near its teeth.

Another marvel had a bright orange bit just where its tail began. They fanned out on the most perfect bow tie. So eye catching !

Our second underwater adventure was off the beach of Palua Molana. This was was early morning. The rays of sunlight penetrated deep into the water giving us the most stunning display of the purples, pinks and blues in the corals.

The standout for this one, was a long fish like a gar fish with streaks of colour swimming close to the surface. A small reef shark swam in front of me.

The locals found some coconut crabs the night before and they shared them with us. They are terrestrial crabs and can be 3 kilos in weight. They feed on fleshy fruits and nuts and can climb coconut trees but they don’t seem to eat them much.