TRAVEL
Part 6: How to “Blue” Your Business and Make More Green - Dive Academy Fiji by Gil Zeimer , ScubaStoryteller.com and Zeimer.com, San Rafael, CA
L ET’S SAY YOU WERE WORKING in corporate roles in international software and banking firms in Germany. But you and your best friend spend your free time dreaming about eventually designing and owning your own resort so that you can lead dives every day on one of the world’s most pristine reefs. Furthermore, once you attain that dream, how do you promote a private island dive shop and eco-resort in a remote corner of Fiji? How do you attract groups of yacht
vibrant white soft corals. Our proximity lets us dive it virtually any day, and sometimes at night, and when we time the tides correctly, the corals look like snow underwa- ter. As one of the most biodiverse underwater areas in the world, the Rainbow Reef is known for its abundance of soft corals, hard corals, and marine life, from tiny nudibranchs to pelagics, including occasional hammerheads, seasonal whales, and mantas.
owners, dive shops, and dive clubs, especially because this compound is 100% sustainable, with solar power and a desalination plant? How do you train local Fijians to dive? And how do you create a coral conserva- tion and restoration program?
Our knowledge of the reefs and most sites are essential because the soft corals only show their full colours when they feed in the current, and the fish are more active. Divers from all over the world fly to Taveuni Island, then take a boat over here to get wet along the Rainbow Reef and its Great White Wall. GIL: How are you different from the large resorts on Fiji? MW: We are located in the very heart of the Rainbow Reef, on the Vanua Levu side of the Somosomo
Solar-Powered Desalination Unit
We asked Marina Walser, the Co- Founder and Director of the Dive Academy Fiji and Viani Bay Resort on Vanua Levu, who lives on the world-renowned Rainbow Reef, fa- mous for its vibrant soft corals. GIL: Bula, Marina! What should the diving industry know about your resort and dive shop? MW: Vinaka, Gil! For 10 years now, we have offered a boat-access only experience for a maximum of 10 guests who stay in sustainably built oceanfront bures, cooled by ceiling fans and ocean breezes. All meals are included, featuring fresh, locally sourced artisanal Fijian cuisine. Divers and freedivers enjoy concierge service from an award-winning Five-Star PADI Eco Center, with groups of up to four divers per boat, returning to shore between dives. We’re also the only PADI Freediving Center at the Rainbow Reef. And we were just awarded a Bronze at the FETA Fiji Excellence in Tourism Awards as Dive Operator of the Year. GIL: Sounds heavenly. I’ve always heard about the leg- endary Great White Wall. How’s the diving there? MW: Wundebar! The GWW is the most famous of the 30 dive sites at the Rainbow Reef. You swim through a lava tube to a vertical drop-off at 22 meters that’s covered in
Strait, northeast of Fiji. Most of the dive sites are just 5 to 15 minutes from our beach, which gives us a high degree of flexibility in how we plan our dives around the six-hour tidal streams. All operators here work with tides and conditions—that’s essential on the Rainbow Reef. Our proximity simply allows us to adapt more easily and make real-time decisions without long boat rides shaping the schedule. On sites like the Great White Wall, that flexibility makes a noticeable difference. Guests typically fly into Taveuni or Savusavu, from where we arrange seamless taxi and boat transfers. Our yacht guests sail directly into Viani Bay. Our diving is intentionally small-scale and highly person- alized. We take a maximum of four divers per boat and operate a true concierge-style service: no carrying heavy gear, relaxed back-roll entries, and comfortable exits with our crew assisting you back on board. We return to shore between dives, so there’s no rushing and no crowding —
FORTY-FOUR | SCUBA DIVING INDUSTRY
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