November 24, 2025
Other activities we did in UEPI included hiking in rainforest, kayaking, snorkeling and diving. Our scuba lessons were spectacular this time!! Jill and Grant Kelly, the 75 year old founder's of Uepi were our personal teachers. Grant did the classroom review with us and fitted us with our gear. Jill taught us all the water skills and was with me the whole time! These lessons were exactly what I hoped for! Super informative, calm and totally hands on - I never felt unsafe or overwhelmed and really enjoyed the whole experience.
Below is video from our 3rd dive where Bosco was practicing dolphin swim moves with Molly ( school teacher at Uepi and his dive buddy), Ben was reviewing some skill with Joe (his dive master) and I was practicing my control at balance, just kneeling on fin tips, while my dive master Jill filmed the whole thing. Also shown are some pretty fish, clam & coral videos. And video of Spinner Dolphins who greeted us as we were coming into dock, after a snorkel, one of the days.
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On our last full day in Uepi, all six of us went for a snorkel at nearby reef called Dekudekuru . The reef has many protected, shallow & deep water pools, made within coral crevices, where the shifting earth or plate tectonics below, have risen over years. It was fun exploring all the nooks and crannies and seeing the way the sun shone through - it was a gorgeous day! These photo's from Kelly's show scene, since none of us have an underwater camera, yet!
The Days in Uepi begin with amazing Manta experience. Uepi has been blessed with a Manta cleaning station, a few short minutes ride off their entry reef. Each morning, around 7 am, the Mantas hang in this shallow area and have cleaning fish latch on and remove particles from their skin and we get a front row viewing of these majestic creatures! This video was filmed by the Kelly's showing 5 Mantas.