Fit for a King - Week 6

March 15, 2005

More surveying and more snorkel surveys! Spotted a few more White Tips and managed a very brief glimpse of a Green Turtle whilst snorkeling so no complaints really.
Wednesday was a very important day for me: my birthday! Miz baked me a lovely chocolate and banana cake, the whole group had signed a card for me and we were allowed to watch a movie in the evening. I picked Finding Nemo; it seemed appropriate.
Friday was an important day for Raviniake and Coral Cay Conservation. We had a visit from Prince Charles. He wanted to come out and see what we do and how we live at Raviniake. It was quite a big deal for CCC as he normally doesn't endorse specific companies but he asked to come and see us so it was good publicity. Apparently it was all over the Fijian news.
He arrived on Taivovo, the fastest boat in the Mamanucas, and was transferred to a glass bottomed boat to watch a survey in action. He was then taken on a tour of Raviniake which ended on the beach where the survey team he had been watching were dekitting and myself and three others were getting kitted up ready to go on a survey.
We then had a group photo, me in scuba gear, and gave him a traditional Raviniake send off. This basically involves spelling his name cheerleader/YMCA style. Yes, we cheered Royalty, we may never return to Britain!
Saturday was my last day at Raviniake and I got to do one last recreational dive at a great site called Plantation Pinnacles. I even managed to see one last bit of mega-fauna, a 6ft Gray Reef Shark which swam about 1m in front of me! A nice way to finish.
Six weeks had disappeared far too quickly but I had an absolutely fantastic time, my enjoyment increased all the more when I heard that while I enjoyed glorious sunshine every day the UK was covered in snow!
HA!