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DIVE UEPI
July / August 2008

Following the month of June when the giant mantas began feeding in the lagoon just a long snorkel away from the mainhouse deck & our hammerhead friends were putting in regular appearances at The Elbow, Jill, son Jason & myself departed for a winter visit to Tibet, China & North Vietnam to catch up with eldest son Wesley & see a bit of that part of the world. Leaving behind the magnificent Marovo Lagoon with its warm clear water & teeming marine life was a bit of a strain, but one cannot live on Marovo alone.

We half imagined that the manta & hammer sightings might ease off but on our return we found that Ian & Gayle, Carol & Neil & the Uepi Staff, and of course our guests, had enjoyed a buffet of manta, hammers, fish & invertebrates. With stronger incoming tides the schools of fish concentrated on the Points adding to the feast. Many of the divers were Australian & they left no doubt they appreciated the warm air & water, both about 28C, with even those from Queensland joining in.

In the meantime we were experiencing the very different environment & culture of China. On one restaurant menu they had odd seafood items including Mandarin Fish!!!

Not until we arrived in Tibet did we see blue sky & breathe fresh air. Vastly different to the Solomons in many ways, Tibet has strong similarities with a great environment & authentic culture. And like the Solomons the Tibetan people were warm, shy & friendly. Somehow the vista of sunrise on the Himalayas with Chomolangma (Everest) nested amongst numerous other peaks reminded me of the underwater topography of the dropoffs along the Marovo toba.

By the time we arrived at Halong Bay on the coast near Hanoi we were really hanging out for serious immersion in the ocean. But the water quality was a bit suspect so we settled for some great kayaking thru caves which tunnelled thru limestone hills, thereby joining up beautiful bays enclosed by high limestone cliffs with healthy rich vegetation. The spectacular limestone cliffs reminded us of our Bapita area which is a top dive & kayak area for us. One lunchtime was spent at a floating village & we had a very nice meal prepared for us, but on the adjacent deck were net ponds containing one of my favourite fish, Brown marbled grouper (Epinephelus fuscoguttatus). These aggregate & spawn at Uepi & were active just as we departed. Even more disturbing was a pond of cuttlefish. A third pond held mantis shrimps which are in great supply it seems. It was a stark reminder of the times we have had to fend off the live-fish trade (usually illegal) in their attempts to harvest Marovo.

When we returned to Uepi we found it in drought, four weeks with no rain. Since then the storms have gathered & amidst great displays of thunder & lightening the tanks have been refilled.
Catching a cold in Australia I had to wait some days before getting wet. Whilst waiting I endured the constant diver talk as they chatted about new pygmy seahorse finds, rays, turtles, giant trevally, dolphins, nudibranchs & all the other creatures. In the last week of August the wind had picked up & was ruling out some of the dive sites, but the beauty of Uepi is that we can always find dive sites even in bad weather.

So for the divers yesterday a "squadron of pygmy manta rays", a teeming school of sharks, pygmy seahorses, dolphin gymnastics from the spinners, a cruising hammer, along with all the normal array.
When the wind has been up we have been training with our Slingshot kite rigs. Not so much the riding but the deployment & retrieval. With very limited beach launching sites we need to be proficient in launching from boats. So if you are interested in kiting whilst at Uepi let us know on info@uepi.com.

Uepi & Marovo Lagoon Sustainable Timbers have been contributing to a VSAT broadband internet station at the local Patakae Secondary School. We can happily report that the facility is up & running. One facet is the extension of the facility to others in the community such as Clinics & villages. A relay has been installed on Tao Marovo (the big hill on Marovo Island) & this will beam signals to a variety of sites. Uepi is committed to helping this extension so if any past Uepi guest would like more information or would consider contributing then please contact info@uepi.com

Leana via, Grant, Jill & Uepi Staff

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We sincerely wish to thank the following people for use of their photographs in our website:

Peter Lange, Peter Pinnock, Oceania Films/Matt Guest, Eric Cheng, Fred Bavendam, Andy Belcher, Manuela Kirschner, Louise Murray, Roberto Rinaldi, Mark Strickland/Oceanic Impressions, Jill Kelly, Grant Kelly, Wes Kelly and Jason Kelly.