419 Dive Log Australasia AUGUST 2026

Bubble Shells

Known locally as yaqona , the drink is prepared from the powdered root of the kava plant and has been central to Fijian culture for generations. Its appearance does little to inspire confidence. Imagine muddy water stirred with a stick and you’re not far off. Its importance, however, has nothing to do with

more like a gathering of old friends who simply hadn’t met yet. The kitchen added its own surprises. Several dinners would not have been out of place in an upscale city restaurant, yet here they appeared from a kitchen hidden deep in the Fijian rainforest. Each meal somehow seemed better than the last. As darkness settled over the resort, dive stories inevitably surfaced. Some grew slightly more dramatic with each retelling. Fish became larger. Currents became stronger. The perfect photograph somehow moved just beyond reach. No one objected. Exaggeration has always been one of diving’s oldest traditions. Eventually the lanterns were lit once more, and we each wandered back through the jungle to our bures, already anticipating tomorrow’s dives. One Last Evening The week passed with surprising speed. It always does. One moment you’re arriving by boat, wondering what an off-grid dive resort might be like. The next you’re realizing tomorrow morning you’ll be leaving. Our final evening began seated in a circle on woven mats around a large carved wooden bowl. Inside was kava.

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Dive Log Australasia #419 August’26

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