Finding a camera on the ocean floor, Hiva Oa

Today we have done a ton. This morning we woke up planning on leaving and Piva brought us fresh Baguettes and pomplamouse for the trip. He also told us it was too bad we were leaving because tonight would be perfect conditions for a wild boar hunt. So we decided to leave at 1am for Nuku Hiva instead of in the morning, because if we left in the dy we would have to get into the harbor at night, something we don’t really want to do (anchoring is hard enough in broad daylight).  So the first thing we decided to do was visit the beach cove we were at yesterday and try to find the waterproof camera that fell out of my pocket while I rescued a spear gun that was sinking.

We all told dad it was pointless to go back and look because the current and wind in that bay was super strong. Plus we figured it would be covered in sand a whole day later. But he insisted so we all prayed as we sailed over there with Piva that we would find it. Once we got there we found a place near where we were the day before and dad started putting his diving gear on. I wanted to swim to shore and get a guitar capo I left the day before but mom told me I had to help so I got a snorkel and mask on and jumped in.

I decided at that point to actually try and find it so I said a prayer as I started swimming in a random direction (there are 360 different directions around the boat I could have swam) . I prayed that it would be sitting on the bottom just waiting for me and boom, before I could say Amen I saw it 20 feet below me on the coral and sand bottom. It was kind of awesome, I dove down and grabbed it and was back on the boat in under 3 minutes, everyone looking surprised (especially dad who hadn’t even got him wet suit on yet).

Later we went to Pivas house to get ready for the boar hunt. It was pretty cool Alyssa, Dailin, Orin and I sat in a truck (half of us in the back) and drove for 45 minutes up an old mountain road and then followed out fully camo shot gun carrying guide. First we checked his traps (huge log cages that he said weighed a ton) then we waited with the lights off for 30minutes next to a popular boar trail. After that we snuck through the bushes and checked the trap at his family plantation. Then we followed boar tracks through the forest but couldn’t find any less than a day old. We never shot the boar that night but it was pretty sweet tracking it, I will get one next time.

Jaeden Schafer

I love to travel, and do adventurous things. I write for publications on the topics of Leadership, Business and Marketing. Studied Business Managment Marketing at BYU-Hawaii.