After clearing the final customs checks at Vava’u township we moved Braveheart out to the outer islands of the Vava’u. Our afternoon was spent diving two very different reefs off a small Island called Vaka’eitu. We spent our dives photographing

Today we did two dives and did visual and photographic surveys of fishes. One was on a very sheer slope and cave, and another was on a sandy slope with small patch reefs. Some species were found at both sites

We hauled up the anchor just after dark on Wednesday and started on the 30 hour steam to Tonga. On the way we crossed the date line and lost a day. A rolling following sea made for a comfortable night’s

We dropped anchor around midnight in sheltered waters of Vava’u Island, and this morning the RV Braveheart moved into Neiafu Harbour. We have spent the day clearing immigration, customs and quarantine; until these were completed we could not leave the

Niue was the first tropical island I ever dived and it still holds a special place in my heart. I remember being blown away by the diversity of fish life and the unreal colours. Niue’s great limestone water filter Renowned

We arrived at Niue mid morning, and by midday we had cleared customs and immigration. I then spent some time discussing our project with government officials to obtain permission to undertake our research activities. No collections were made today, though

Palmerston parrotfishes We left Palmerston Atoll last night about 8pm. The Palmerston community were very generous with their time to show us around the island, and they offered us some delicious parrotfish fillets. This is the main fishery on the

This morning we arrived at Palmerston Atoll – from the air these small islands are arranged like beads in a triangular shape. We were met off the outer reef by the mayor who pointed to a suitable anchorage. An hour

It’s our second first of January in two days and a great way to start the new year. On the flight from Auckland to Rarotonga we crossed the date line for another New Year’s Eve, then today we flew to