Ii
ANASTASIA H
INTOANK
“,
-
ean-Michel Cousteau was
lust seven years old when
his famous ocean-explorer
father Jacques threw him over
the side of his boat wearing his
new invention, scuba gear.
Seventy years on end the
oceanographic explorer,
producer and author is
still dising.
I was lucky enough to be
onboard as he and his
partner Nancy Man
explored a dive spot
Golden Nuggets off
the shore of Savusavu
Bay on Fiji’s second
largest island, Vanua
Levu The couple, who
live in Calilorrria, try to
make a trip twice a year
to the luxury resort, to
which he licensed his P
name more than
20 years ago.
It surprised me to
hear that only 30% of the Visitors
to Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort
go diving. Its onsite five-star
PAD! dive facility, founded by
the man himself, can get you
certified in three days. There are
20 dive sites within 20 minutes
of the resort And 45 minutes’
drive away is Namena, a marine
reserve named one of the top
10 dive sites in the world.
My own father, a diver,
inspired my love of the sea and
a volume of the Ocean World of
Jacques Cousteau was a regular
bedtime story. To be carryng
out my first open-water dive
with the person who’s been
doing it longer than anyone
else is the world was beyond
my wildest dreamt.
My dive instructor, Danny
Koyamaibula, issued calm words
so get me over my brief panic
at the surface (brought on by
excitement, I’m sure!) and
eventually down to 15 metres.
Jean-Michel told me diving
is the closest we’ll ever get to
being an astronaut and on a
planet that’s made up of more
than 70% water, there’s still so
much we don’t know For me,
the beautiful bright coral, lion
fish, groupers and anemone
were all new, ror Jean-Michel,
it was a black stick-like creature
which he’d never seen before.
Meeting explorer
Jeare-Mldi. who started
scuba dMng when he
was only a few years
J
—
older then Anastasia’s
aces Jeene.esa.t),
was me honour.
,
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Returning for lunch, we
ordered fresh sushi. In order to
carry the Cousteau name, I h e
resort must adhere to strict
environmental regulations —so
every fish that goes through the
restaurant has been caught with
a line. It’s an eco ethos that’s
everywhere, from the coffee
served to the coat hangers in
the resort’s 25 bures. There’s
even an on-site marine biologist
Johnny SingS who gives
talks and takes guests on boat
trips and hikes between managing
his conservation projects.
Guests are also encouraged
to explore the local harbourside
town of Savusavu and the resort
offers trips out to the local
markets. Children at the retort
can visit a local primary school
on Friday afternoons, where
they are matched up wth a
student their own age and take
part in cultural and sports
activities. The resort hopes
the unique experience will
foster penpal friendships, and
they send all the letters on
behalf of the local kids.
It’s an experience my son
James (5) would have loved, but
unfortunately, our flights back
fell on that day. Instead, he’d
had a ball at the resort’s Bula
Club with his nanny Evelyn.
All children from two months
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to six years get their own
nanny while older children are
assigned buddies between
830am and 9pm every day. Top
of James’ list during his trip was
the snorkelling, kite-flying and
coconut drinking what I loved
more was while having fun, he
was also learning about the
culture, the land and the ocean
without a gadget in sight.
For Jean-Michel, that’s the
key to it all, because it’s up to
the nest generation to take
care of tins water planet.
•
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