Fiji: In the jet set

A jetski safari is a unique way to experience Fiji's Beqa Island. Photo / Supplied

To the people of Beqa Island sharks are friends. Nicholas Jones tested that trust.

When locals from Fiji's Beqa Island visit the mainland and order fish and chips they make sure to check whether the white stuff is shark.

Like beef is to Hindus, shark flesh is not eaten by the islanders, as the fish are revered.

In return for this abstinence, locals say that fishermen who have been lost at sea for many hours have not been attacked by sharks.

Tourists who take a tour of the island, which is about 19km from the backpacker hostels and resorts of Pacific Harbour, itself only 45-minutes drive from Suva, also frequently snorkel with the sharks and come away unscathed.

One of the most popular half-day tours is run by Jetski-Safari Adventure Tours, which was set up 15 years ago by Polish expat Alex.

The trip usually takes about four hours and covers an impressive 65km.

The deep passage to Beqa is crossed, then there's snorkelling around the island at some of the best spots in Fiji, lunch on the beach then back to the mainland.

Unfortunately, we're on a shorter tour that will take us only to a snorkelling spot on the edge of the island and back.

It's my first time on a jetski, having previously cursed their noise from New Zealand's beaches, and the handling takes some getting used to. But it's basic stuff, with only an accelerator on the right handlebar to worry about (according to Alex, 90 per cent of participants are first-timers on the machines).

The crossing is pretty full-on, swells and wind meaning there are plenty of jumps and it takes a lot of concentration not to tip over.

It's only when we reach the smoother waters of Beqa that our guide reveals tipping off is not the disgrace assumed in my mind - some tourists tip off about 20 times before they get the hang of it, he tells us.

Those attracted to jet-skiing may not necessarily want the extras of the tour, such as snorkelling.

When we get back, a chest-out Englishman is repeatedly saying he doesn't want to don a mask and snorkel.

But that's a mistake. Beqa is famed for its soft coral, and the resulting aquatic life. Divers frequent the island's resorts, many having travelled for the world-famous shark dive.

People on the full jetski safari also stand a good chance of encountering black and white-tipped sharks when snorkelling. You'll be hoping the abstinence trick pays off.

And if you miss the sharks, racing over a misjudged swell on the return crossing can send the heart racing nearly as much.

CHECKLIST

Further information: See Jetski-Safari Adventures Tours.

The writer travelled courtesy of Tourism Fiji.