Description of My
Dive Buddy's
Orca Adventure

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Orca Whale photograph

After diving the Great Barrier Reef,Êone of the members of our group traveled on to Agnes LodgeÊon MundaÊwhere he had a very unusual experience. During the first week of August, while taking a surface interval on the beach between dives, he noticed a pod of dolphins swimming through the lagoon, immediately followed by some Orca whales. The divemaster asked if anyone wanted to snorkel with Orcas. The group responded with a resounding Yes!, so they all loaded up and motored over to where three large Orcas were frolicking in the water. My buddy got in the water and the Orcas came within arm's-length of him. He took pictures and some of them show only large areas of black, because he couldn't get far enough away to get a better picture! Everyone was impressed with the size of these three Orcas, when all of a sudden an even larger Orca arrived on the scene. My buddy watched this Orca grab a 300-pound, six-foot-long dolphin in its mouth and head for the bottom.

More Orca

There were bloody pieces of dolphin in the water, some of which show up in his photographs. The divemaster signaled everyone out, and the snorkel was over.

Orca

The divemaster explained that the Orcas had been hunting. This was the male, and the other Orcas were part of his pod. He blocked one exit of the lagoon, and the other three drove the dolphins into the lagoon; the dolphins couldn't get out and it was now lunch time for the Orcas. While there is no known record of a human ever being attacked by an Orca, the divemaster called an end to the snorkel because he was afraid the blood in the water would draw sharks.

Our group is trying to duplicate the same conditions this summer in the hope that we can all experience this marvelous event.
We are planning a two week trip to Fiji (Nandi)Êand the Solomon Islands (Honaria, Gizo and Munda)Êleaving Chicago on July 30,1997 and returning approximately August 14. The cost per diver is expected to be around $3,600-4,000 and will include round trip air transportation from Chicago, transfers, lodging, diving and most meals. If you like to dive the Pacific Ocean, or are interested in learning more about the time/destination/cost of this trip e-mail me.

All diving images © Neal Skrenes 1996, 1997. Please do not use without permission.
Technical notes: See the notes on Mr.Scuba's Other Interests page.

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