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“New Year News” from Uepi Island Resort
Jan 2011

I am sitting here at Uepi on the northern edge of influence of tropical cyclone Yasi. The cyclone centre is way south-east of us, poised to punish the central Queensland coast. The cyclone is a monster. From time to time the wind picks up from the south-west, blows a bit then falls away. Yesterday a windy influence from the north had seas rising with a noticeable swell coming down the Uepi passage. But periods of relative calm were common. Unlike the past few days the sun is mainly hidden and the sky is white or grey. Whilst we all like to dream of calm, clear, sunny days, the magic of wind and rain and waves and clouds is just as overwhelming. The tides add even more to the mix. About 0530 this morning a substantial blow came & we thought “this is it” as the Coconut trees bent over, but no, after half an hour it was as calm as a millpond. A huge advantage we enjoy at Uepi is that our topographical layout means we can dive in almost any weather. In fact any weather if you are ultra keen. The closest dives we have, straight of the front of the Dive Shop, such as the BOTCH (Bottom Of The Channel), Shark Bombie or Inside Point are all really good dives. So as cyclones rage in the Coral Sa south of us and the winds rotate around the compass rose we are able to get in for a dive. Other nearby dives such as Uepi Point, Inside Inside, Fan City and more are also often available in rough weather. Recently we navigated and marked a shallow canoe passage out of Landoro Passage so in rougher E – NE weather we are now able to sneak around to Landoro Gardens and Elbow or even ROMA.

A few days ago I dived Point to Point. On entry the sun was bright, the water clear and the vista of corals with fish schools and sharks streaming all amongst some of the best underwater topography was stunning. I had left my macro lens on the 7D and was blaming myself for not swapping to wide –angle, the constant dilemma of an underwater photographer.
The far side of the channel is well exposed to the sun and the visibility is usually very good once you get into greater depths, great for blue backgrounds with surprising coral and fish colour for deep water. On this day the fin across the channel to Uepi Point was against a gentle current with both sides of the channel visible from either side. Below the amphitheatre could be seen in its magnificent entirety. Sometimes after a hard fin across the channel Uepi Point is a welcome refuge as divers hide from the current, get their breathing rate down to something reasonable and clear their head a little. On this day we were able to proceed directly to the outer face of Uepi Point to be greeted by another clear and blue water heaven.

With current pushing gently up the reef-face the myriads of fish were hanging suspended. I noticed a number of big Square-tailed Coral Trout in the gutters and more later in the sand patches. This reminded me that the “Punjara” spawning aggregations were about to happen. Over the next few months as the moon periodically wanes to nothing, Punjara will come from great distances to aggregate. As night falls and the current runs out the males will entice the females to rush to the surface and together create a cloud of eggs and semen which is quickly swept safely away in the current. These early males were keen to claim a patch of reef to own and defend. Real Estate is “position, position, position”, even for a Coral Trout.
The many fans along the reef face were glittering actively with masses of small fish, anthias and glass-fish predominant amongst them. Some larger fish such as Sweetlips, Rock Cod and Coral Cod sat quietly amongst the fan bases, watching carefully. Above in the mid water various Trevally and Snapper dominated the sky.

This was typical Uepi Point with a nice incoming current. Drifting through the wider gutter led to the longer sand patch. Here masses of Garden Eels swayed in the current. The ever inquisitive Butterfly Fish, Midnight Snapper & Yellow-spotted Trevally almost obscuring the view as the drift took hold of us. Stir the sand and there is a flurry of culinary interest. At the base of an isolated bombie a large Tawny Nurse Shark tried to sleep away the day, head shoved under a coral plate, not posing for photos. The variety of small territorial fish on Uepi Point & passage means that a macro-lens set-up is always busy. On this occasion these fish were very cooperative holding poses whilst I approached close enough for full frame shots with a 60mm lens.

Uepi Point

Armed with a wide-angle setup we returned to Uepi Point the next day. The tides were to and fro-ing, not sure which way to flow, the sun less bright. Amazing how a site will change from one day to the next. Despite lesser conditions there was even more activity on the face. I had only just cleared the bubbles from the housing and checked settings to look up and see a Hawksbill Turtle quietly swimming past Jill. I held my breath and waited. I need not have bothered, holding my breath that is. I took shots as it approached directly to me and bumped into my lens. Even then it totally ignored me, my camera and my exhaust bubbles and drifted off as if I did not exist. I am not sure what chemicals are in the orange sponge these turtles eat but someone should find out! Shortly after a Manta Ray soared effortlessly overhead. Jill spotted a Hammerhead down below. Big schools of juvenile Rainbow Runner together with large Anthias were feeding en-mass at about 10 metres depth and ten to twenty metres out from the reef edge. A half dozen Giant Trevally were stalking them, along with small groups of Snapper and Red Bass. This situation potentially provided great opportunities for dramatic photos. In my mind I pictured images of GTs swimming or bursting through exploding schools of smaller fish. But it soon became all too obvious why these fish enrol in school. Many magic glimpses of fish choreographed as one, presenting a slideshow of ‘stills” depicting colour and parodoxical movement, were available, but impossible to capture. It was amazing how fleeting these set pieces were, just as you recognised it the whole scene dissolved, faded, disappeared. Only to be replaced quickly by another illusion. It must be frustrating to be a predator chasing shadows.

Hammerhead sightings have been a bit scarce in 2011, but some Hammers have recently been inquisitive. Most have arisen from the depths below Elbow, had a look then headed back down. Col from our Australian office looked up from his camera to have a medium sized Hammer right in his face. Even though years ago Col had snorkelled down and videoed a female Orca with a Hammerhead in its mouth, a baby Orca alongside, and a very curious large male checking him out, he was still a bit lit up when he was back on the boat. Enthused by this Jill and I returned a day or so later and Jill enticed a large single Hammer followed by a similarly sized pair up from the deep. The pair took some time to checkout the scene and did the sweep-up-the-wall manoeuvre which is a popular move with hammerheads. As is often the case when the Hammerheads show so do the Eagle Rays.

Having been hammered by a storm last year General Store is definitely coming back, with good reviews by divers. Coral recovery is now good. This dive begins with a short swim-through to get people in the groove, then a stroll along a nice wall looking for any bigger animal that swims by, a dip into the deeper reaches of a small point which projects into a nice current, especially to view some big fans, than an ascending traverse back and forth across the colourful face of the Point, until its time to head off into the hard-coral gardens and winding gutters before a short fin back along a wall to a bombie on top of the Point. The diversity that can be seen in these changing environments is comprehensive, from large to tiny, camouflaged to boldly displayed, shy to aggressive. Hence the name “General Store” - a bit of everything.

Clam mantle

In this season we have seen what is established behaviour. The Cuttlefish have been mating and laying eggs, the Octopus have been courting and mating, the guests have been eating, diving and sleeping. The balmy weather tends to slow people down a bit. But we have had some very water logged people who just spend every moment soaking up the saltwater.

Our staff have constructed a comprehensive “Bamboo Band” with drums and other innovative extras. The other evening they were playing passionately on the end of Tavaurina Jetty when the local Dugongs decided to listen in from about 10 meters away. They are quite often in the bay munching on sea-grass roots, will sneak up on people but hate being sneaked up on themselves.

Our challenging commitment to the Marovo Community comes to a head in New Year when the Uepi Island Scholarship Scheme has to deal with all the scholarship selections and renewals. From a very modest beginning some years ago, in memory of Annie Gilbert, it has grown to support more and more students in their school education. This year has been overwhelming for us, emotionally and resource wise, as so many Marovo parents have sought support to pay their children’s school fees. Its hard to reject a Marovo widow, mother to 4 kids, who paddles for hours to request support even though we are stretched to the limit. We are hoping that the kind and generous people who have supported us in past years will do it again and that a few more might join them. Those who unite with us can be absolutely sure that their support will produce an exceedingly worthwhile outcome. Some might question the educating of kids in a country where the generation of jobs and opportunities has not kept pace with population increase, but the correct view is that only education will produce the knowledge and understanding that will enable the society to modify their outlooks and subsequently actions to move the country forward. Without such changes the future will be bleak. Most encouragingly these new outlooks are evident in the kids being educated today. Time will tell. Good news is a recent Uepi guest has begun to communicate with a fledgling Secondary School to look for ways to help. Other guests are shipping a considerable amount of specifically selected materials to a local Primary School.

The Seghe Hospital also continues to receive support. In February Uepi & Marovo Lagoon Sustainable Timber (MLST) have laid the foundations for a new Staff Ablutions block and walled an extension to the existing Doctors House. In the coming month a new large water tank will be completed, an EU support project will be inspected prior to approval, and Rotary Australia are sending a multi-disciplinary team to assist in several areas.

A fantastic start to the year, we hope yours was too.
Join us when you can.
Leana Via from Team Uepi

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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.