So…finally…the entire reason for this incredible journey: babale! (Fijian for dolphin!)

Moon Reef sits 7.3km off the eastern coast of Viti Levu and is home to a very unique Spinner dolphin pod.

Every day the dolphins do the same thing: around 4-5pm they leave the reef, swimming to deep passages to forage during the night, and then return to the reef between 6-8am to rest. They never stay in the reef overnight, as then they would miss their only meal. The reef is shaped like a moon with only two points of entry/exit, making it a safe and calm place for this pod of +/- 50 dolphins to recuperate from their journey and enjoy their food-coma.

Most dolphin pods migrate between cold foraging waters and warm nursery grounds, or follow the migration of their prey species. The site-fidelity of this group is exceptionally uncommon. The plus side of this being that this predictable behavior is very helpful when it comes to research. On the flip side, it also makes them a prime target for harmful tourism practices.

Research on these dolphins occurs only three times a year and is carried out exclusively by volunteers. There is a Master’s student and Postdoc from University of South Pacific who conduct long-term analysis of the data, but the heavy lifting is 100% volunteer-run. The goal is to create a baseline of data from which changes in health and behavior due to the impact of tourism can be monitored. In another years’ time, the data will be ready to be presented to the village Elders and the Whale and Dolphin Conservation.

The research focuses on three main elements: acoustics, behavior scan sampling, and photo-identification.

Acoustics – Used to quantitatively assess behavior, we deployed two hydrophones to listen to and record the communication and echolocation between the dolphins.

Meli, the “skipper” lives in Silana and was the best boat driver I have ever seen! One day he was sitting next to me in the boat and was curious about what we were doing. He started contributing to data collection and eventually put the headphones on, hearing the dolphins for the very first time! Even though he lives just a few miles away, and makes two trips out to the reef every day, he had no idea that dolphins communicate with each other and what their “chatter” actually sounded like. It was so touching to see the surprise in his eyes and the smile on his normally very stoic face when he heard the pod for the first time.

Later that day, I heard our Country Director explaining to Meli that dolphins are mammals, breathe air, give birth to live young, etc. Meli knew absolutely nothing about the organisms that he is ultimately responsible for preserving. This is what our work is all about. Not only did employing him as the skipper provide valuable financial support for his family and village, but his knowledge of Moon Reef and its dolphins grew every single day. He will become a valuable asset for Moon Reef within the village and a critical part of its future.

Behavior scans – Just like humans, these dolphins are creatures of habit. For the most part, their actions follow a pattern. They return from feeding and are relatively quiet, both in communication and behavior. In essence, they are sleeping. As the afternoon approaches, they become more active and communicative. Whether they are talking about where they will be dining later, or socializing, or teaching the calves valuable survival lessons, we have no idea. They change their behavior when there are boats in the reef, as well as when there is a change in weather. What’s important to know are the patterns of these behaviors, so that dramatic changes can be noted. If the dolphins do not feel that Moon Reef is a valuable resting, breeding, birthing location for them anymore they will leave and their survival may be endangered.

So, for several 30-minute periods each day, we collected data regarding every behavior displayed by the dolphins. It took teamwork, clear data and role-responsibility, and sharp eyes, but it was fun!

Photo-identification – The dorsal fin of each Spinner dolphin is unique and can be used like a finger print to identify individuals. The goal is to create a catalog of the dolphins, to determine how many there are, who they are, and if there are changes occurring in the resident population.

This is the type of photo that is optimal for research and photo-identification: clear dorsal fin with high contrast.

But looking at a bunch of dorsal fins can get pretty boring. Spinner dolphins are known, and named, for a unique spinning behavior. That was the fun part! Fun to watch but challenging to photograph! It’s really hard trying to get good pics of an unpredictable and wild animal, whilst standing on a constantly rocking boat, when the BSS is high and you are zoomed to 300mm! Most of the time, my results looked like this:

Then there were the near-misses:

These two were enjoying some hang-time together:

About 1 in every 100 shots was something to be proud of:

In addition to research, some days involved a lot of other random activities. Like quasi-snorkeling:

She actually had to pee, but wanted to check out the “facilities” first!

Or a mid-day nap by the staff:

Every day was something different, and as the volunteers from Northern Ireland would say, “quite a good crack” (that means it was a lot of fun)!

Here’s one more…for the Instagrammers!

Every day we have to commute out to Makalati (Fijian for Moon Reef) in order to collect data on the dolphins. This is our vessel: a 15-foot, un-sanded wood-bottomed skiff that isn’t much better than a dingy.

Bruiser with Meli, our “skipper”.

The journey is 7.3 km (4.5 miles) one way and the swells between the beach and reef are awful…every single time! We have kindly renamed the boat “Bruiser” because your butt, back, elbows, and every other part of your body will be thoroughly bruised after a day’s commute. Forget staying dry. That isn’t even worth discussing.

So, basically, we all sit in the fetal position on the floor of the boat, bracing ourselves for the next swell and blast of cold salt water to come streaming down our backs while praying for it all to be over soon. Eyes open risks a thorough optical salt water cleansing. Eyes closed risks a bout of sea sickness. Bottom line: the commute sucks. Every. Single. Time. I don’t have pictures of the worst moments, because I was too busy trying not to be bounced overboard! And don’t even say, “But you’re in FIJI!! It can’t be that bad.” It is. Every. Single. Time. Even paradise isn’t perfect.

However, the horrific commute is quickly forgotten when we arrive at the reef and these guys are there to greet us:

The white on the right of the picture is the bow of “Bruiser”.

The following two pictures are not mine. They are borrowed from a friend with an underwater camera. She simply leaned over and put her arm in the water. Yes…they do come that close! The dolphins will occasionally approach the boat out of curiosity or to ride the wake for a bit. That is the magic of a population of intelligent organisms left un-touched by tourism!

How awesome is this?!!

Another plus: Moon Reef Cafe! The ladies in the kitchen send us out every day with a waterproof “goodie box” and a thermos!

It is pretty awesome to have cake and hot drinks for breakfast in the middle of a remote reef off the coast of Fiji while dolphins swim around the boat. Even if it is simultaneously pouring rain.

And it is pretty amazing to end a workday with this, even if it means more rain is on the way…

Ok dolphins, see you tomorrow…if I survive the commute!

Nataleira Village, on the upper eastern shore of Viti Levu would be our base for researching and working for the next few weeks. Fondly described as a “third world frontier town on the edge of the jungle” by our Country Director, Nataleira is actually on the wealthier side of the scale when compared to other Fijian villages.

Nataleira is considered “wealthy” because the village owns an Eco Lodge, the only place for “tourists” to stay in the entire region. Excessive quotation marks are required because I am using these terms in a very generous and relative manner. For example, there is no store or “shopping” possibilities in Nataleira. One would have to take the bus about 30-40 minutes to get to a larger town with actual stores. The people get what they need from the land by growing their own plants and raising livestock, hence making the need for money, and the concept of “wealth”, a bit obscure.

The Eco Lodge

My bure – “home” for a few weeks!

The villagers take turns working in the Eco Lodge, ladies doing the cooking and cleaning, men doing the physical labor (the entire lodge was built by the villagers). Despite the Eco Lodge as a source of income, the people live very simply, if not “poorly”. One day, a group of us hired two of the village ladies to walk us through the jungle so that we could swim by a waterfall. This provided us an opportunity to see the everyday life of the village (beyond the Eco Lodge).

Walking through the village. The church, the most important building in the village, is on the right of the road.

Everyone in Nataleira, and most Fijian villages in general, live in tin-sided shacks. There is no TV, no computers, no Internet, and only basic furniture…if any. I cannot confirm, with confidence, the presence of running water and/or plumbing. Electricity is a “probably”.

Jungle living

Someone’s house.

I have no idea what this shack was used for. It looked like cooking, but there could be another purpose.

I actually took all of these pictures as we were walking, by just clicking the shutter, while only the lens was sticking out of my bag. Stopping to snap photos felt wrong, as most “tourists” do not leave the Eco Lodge.

Fijian students attend school in English, and speak Fijian at home. All of the print material, media, and news throughout the country is in English. Hence, many Fijians have poor reading and writing skills in their native tongue. We had a Fijian language lesson during our stay and our two Fijian teachers often had to discuss how to write/spell the Fijian words correctly.

This is the school, with the children learning outside.

Village life is filled with traditions. Women are required to cover their knees and shoulders, men are not allowed to wear hats (only the chief can wear a hat), and sunglasses are also forbidden (only people with intentions of deceit hide their eyes behind glasses). No one (especially women) swims in a bathing suit…they instead just wear their clothes and then air dry afterwards.

The shore along Nataleira, and the neighboring village Silana, is the only black sand beach in the entire country of Fiji. It is about 1 km long and a source of great pride for villagers.

What is really interesting about Fiji is its parallel military and tribal governing system. Moon Reef and the waters between the island and the reef are actually owned by the village and the tribe. The site has important historical importance to the tribe because they believe it is actually the location of the “old village” before the waters rose and covered the land. The Dawasamu people believe that the spirits of their deceased launch themselves off the high point of Viti Levu, “land in the ocean”, and then remain in Moon Reef. This is a view of Viti Levu from the reef with the high mountain (the dolphin is an added bonus!).

Here is where the work we are performing during our stay becomes important. The tribal Chief and Elders decide who can do what with the reef, and then the village profits from any income the reef generates. They are sitting on an un-tapped gold mine! Hence, the extreme importance of researching and studying the reef and its dolphins, teaching the villagers how to sustainably manage the use of the reef by tourism, and monitor the health of the reef as a result of increased human impact.

That last sentence is why I wanted to come to Fiji: to experience the country on a deeper level and contribute to a grassroots effort that would benefit the local people while protecting our planet’s most precious resource. I knew I would never have another chance in life to seize an opportunity like this. WOW! I am so glad I did!