July 4, 2013
The Great White Wall is a huge underwater wall, about 150 feet high and 200 feet long, that’s covered with soft white coral. Twice a month, the current is such that this coral opens up and blooms in an almost luminescent display of soft snowy whiteness. It’s one of the most famous dives in Fiji, made all the more special by the fact it’s only doable twice a month.
The thing is . . . it’s deep, about 90 feet, and generally for experienced divers only. I was a newly certified diver but had some experience diving at that depth many (many) years ago. Could I do the White Wall? Rich thought I was ready, and Helena, my instructor, gave me the go-ahead. It was exciting and intimidating at the same time.
Today Gato Go volunteered their boat for the outing. We had a big group this time, more than 20 people! A few had done this dive before and knew the route.
The dive starts about 40 feet down with a swim through a large tubular cave covered with sea fans and corals. This tunnel angles down, and by the time you emerge you’re 90 feet down alongside a wall that stretches above and below as far as you can see. This wall is covered in white soft coral that gets increasingly dense as you swim along its length.
After swimming alongside the wall, we ended up in about 60 feet of water in a fantastic area of purple soft corals, colorful fish, and arches we could swim through. Personally I thought this area was even more beautiful than the white wall.
Everyone came up excited about the dive and what they’d experienced. Rich later described the feeling as “compressed air therapy.” I realized then one of the benefits of diving is that the feel and sound of relaxed breathing, while floating and exploring a foreign world, can be a form of meditation. It’s natural to remain focused and in the moment, something that can be difficult for us ADD types to do on land. It made me sorry I didn’t get more into diving when I had the chance years ago, but I think something in me just wasn’t ready then. Now I was, and I was finding a lot to love about diving!
Below are pictures I pulled from our GoPro video of the dive. The quality of the pictures isn’t great, but I hope they convey the idea. The video is at the bottom. –Cyndi
(The videos we post on our website are now hosted on YouTube and that’s why the ads at the end of the videos. You can go to YouTube using the link on the bottom right of the player and see the video at higher resolution – or at least larger.)
