Sitting on the international dateline, the world’s day begins in Fiji. The first light illuminates magical Natewa Bay on the island of Vanua Levu. As the sun warms the waters, a tranquil mist rises from the surface. Here you can find marine expert, diving enthusiast and entrepreneur Sara Carlson.
I remember the first time I met Sara. A friend had arranged for a group snorkeling trip and Sara was our boat captain. She sparkles. Sara has a certain presence infused with the joy of the sea creatures with which she cavorts. Her energy reminds me of a dolphin — super smart, playful and caring. Sara is vibrant, with an infectious enthusiasm. Her energy is an exhilarating mix of joyful exuberance combined with the intelligent depth of a keen, perceptive mind. Perhaps Sara is a dolphin come back to play on the surface this time around — and maybe that’s why the intricate spins of her synchronized swimming are so graceful.
When you need a friend, you can count on Sara — and the first place I go when I land in Fiji is out to Natewa Bay for smiles, laughter and freedom with my friend Sara. It is my pleasure to share Sara Carlson and her maverick lifestyle with you.
On moments that shaped Sara:
Visiting my grandpa down in the Florida keys sparked my love for the ocean. We used to see manatees at his dock, and he even had a great egret named George that would visit him daily. Growing up I was never sure of what I wanted to be when I got older, but I knew it would somehow involve the ocean.
I found my calling when I volunteered with the biodiversity research organization Operation Wallacea immediately after graduating university. Upon graduating my plan was to become a genetics counselor, but I signed up to volunteer with Operation Wallacea to have the opportunity to experience fieldwork as a biologist after years of lab-based study. I spent one month in Kruger National Park in South Africa where we were up at dawn each day for bird surveys and then spent the day doing habitat analysis, and then one month in Mozambique where I became SCUBA certified and helped with fish surveys using stereo-video technology. Over those two months I met various university professors, dive professionals, and passionate field biologists who were devoting their lives to their curiosities and passions.
On being a maverick:
Mavericks are independent thinkers. I define being a maverick as living a life less ordinary. Not following any rules or societal norms, but instead relying on intuition and a pinch of luck to make the bigger decisions.
Going through school I wanted good grades, I tried to fit in, and I didn’t know what I wanted to be. There were some signs in those early days that I was a bit different – being the only girl in the high school’s fishing club, pressuring myself to train 25+ hours a week for springboard diving – but mostly my differences caused me to feel depressed because I didn’t seem to want what my peers wanted. I was most comfortable with eclectic, older friends. Now that I think about it, a lot of those friends are people I’d also consider mavericks.
While I’ve struggled with anxiety, and depression when I was younger, most of the time I’m very content to explore my own path with an underlying confidence that things will work out. I never had to apply for a job, they all came to me exactly when I needed them, and I found myself moving from entry level to the highest position without any pressure from my end. Keeping an open mind, meeting people from all different walks of life, and being excited by unfamiliar experiences has been crucial in getting to where I am today.
On experiences that shaped her maverick mindset:
Losing a close aunt when I was 17 had a profound impact on my view of life. She passed away suddenly from a brain aneurysm, which made me realize that anyone could die at any time. That loss made me more grateful for each day, especially the days spent doing the things I love or being with the ones I love.
Meeting my partner Matthew in Honduras whilst working for Operation Wallacea turned out to be a pivotal moment. Matthew had quit his stable, well-paying job to work as a diving instructor. I hadn’t been looking for a relationship, but I couldn’t ignore the voice in my head that insisted that I pursue this one or I’d regret it for the rest of my life. Eventually I left my job at Operation Wallacea and we spent some time backpacking throughout Southeast Asia before our next career presented itself. My old boss reached out to us to ask us if we’d want to manage a dive operation in Fiji, which is a whole story in itself.
On what makes her happy and lights up her soul:
SO much makes me happy and makes me smile. I love to smile, and even when I was battling depression most people would have described me as cheerful. These days I do consider myself very happy, and very grateful (I think those often go hand-in-hand). Nature sets my soul on fire – a beautiful leaf, a ray of sunlight, a species of fish I’ve never seen before… they all bring so much joy.
On how serendipity has shaped her journey:
I think my entire career path has been a series of joyful coincidences. I’ve never gone out looking for the next thing – the next job, the next relationship, the next adventure. From Operation Wallacea coming to my university to give a presentation to ending up in Fiji, it’s all unfolded without any planning or research. I’ve had my fair share of worries and doubts about my life choices, but so far everything that has presented itself to me has ended up being so much bigger than I anticipated and I have no regrets.
On challenges, grit and resilience:
Haha! Everything I’ve shared so far has been about how lucky I’ve felt and how the next steps have just revealed themselves to me, but now we get into the grit.
Often when I mention to new acquaintances that I own a dive operation in Fiji with my partner, I know it sounds idyllic, and they’ll say I have the coolest job. No one imagines the discomfort, trials, losses, and doubt faced along the way, but those hardships are what makes any degree of success even sweeter.
Our move to Fiji and the start of our business was one challenge after another. It turned out that our potential business partner in Fiji (whom my boss had introduced us to) was a conman, and we had been seriously misled. Matthew and I intended to manage a locally owned dive operation for a Fijian woman and her Kiwi husband. We had been promised a house to live in, a dive shop and a boat to work from, and in exchange we would invest in diving gear and manage the operation. Operation Wallacea was already in agreement with the conservation organization founded by the conman, and it was agreed they would send out 150 international students over June – August 2017.
We moved to Fiji in November of 2016, and quickly realized the conman and his wife had been lying about everything – no house, no boat, no agreement with local resorts for business outside of Operation Wallacea. However, the woman’s family visited the village for Christmas of 2016 and ended up kicking her and her husband off their family land. The family then approached us directly to see if we’d work with them to host the Operation Wallacea project in 2017.
We worked together with that mataqali (Fijian family land-owning unit) to successfully host international students each June – August, but we had nowhere to live, and no boat. Fortuitously, we ended up meeting a resort owner who offered us a house in Natewa Bay, Fiji, and by 2019 we were able to afford a boat. We opened our diving and snorkeling operation in mid-2019, just a few months before the borders closed due to COVID. Through a mix of stubbornness, strength, and support from one another we managed to keep going long enough to see our business start to thrive.
Keeping cheerful helps me get through a lot of life’s hardships. Being grateful for what I have and who I have around me helps me find happiness during difficult times. I know I’m strong and will do anything in the moment to keep people safe and happy.
On innovation and creativity:
Owning a SCUBA diving and education business in a remote area requires a lot of innovation and flexibility. Fiji’s North only receives about 5% of Fiji’s tourism, and when we arrived, Fiji ranked below several war-torn countries for ease of doing business. We faced a lot of discouragement from people around us, and as the only independent diving operation (not linked to a resort) we weren’t guaranteed any business. We used our experience working with school groups and our relationships with local communities to offer educational opportunities that are completely original to this island, with groups traveling to Fiji specifically to learn from us and to stay in remote village homestays.
On assessing risk:
Risk assessment is intrinsic to our job as dive operators. Every day we decide if conditions will be safe and enjoyable for our customers. We decide whether we can put people together or whether they’ll be happier in separate groups, and by prioritizing the customer experience (sometimes at a slight financial loss to us) we’ve received only top reviews and have been recognized multiple times at the Fiji Excellence in Tourism Awards. These daily strategies of prioritizing customer experience and safety have brought us to where we are today.
On the value of authenticity:
Authenticity is hugely important to me, and a big reason I enjoy (co)owning our business. Together we can market ourselves without any gimmicks, we have the freedom to say ‘no’ to situations that we don’t feel comfortable with, and we deliver a product that is uniquely us. On a personal level, authenticity is a work in progress. While I think I’ve been living a unique, self-driven life, I sometimes find myself reverting to the ‘people pleaser’ I was when I was younger, but as I age, I find more confidence to be authentic in all situations.
On curiosity:
One of the biggest drivers of my curiosity has been the ocean, and it’s also my favorite source of play. The ocean is full of life and behavior that is still so mysterious, and I love that every day in and on the ocean is different. I’m able to play at work which may take the form of watching an octopus for a half hour or speaking with new people from around the world. We’re keeping an inventory of different fish species we see in the bay, and whenever we see a new one we’re eager to look it up and learn more about it.
On being guided by intuition:
I try to be trusting and reserve judgement when I meet new people, but experience has also taught me to go with my gut. I make lots of mistakes, and sometimes I’ve trusted the wrong people. I try not to put too much pressure on myself because these mistakes have taught me valuable lessons.
If I have a big decision to make, sure I’ll weigh the pros and cons, but ultimately, I’ll go with what feels right. On paper there might be a bigger, better, or safer option, but if I’m feeling drawn to the other option for an inexplicable reason, I’ll take a chance. For example in my late 20’s I had a stable job that allowed me to travel and dive (two of my passions), but I left it for unemployment – full time travel and diving, with the hope of one day making a living from one or the other. Now as business owners we use intuition when it comes to joint ventures with agents, accommodation providers, and other activity providers. We’ve been approached with big promises but have turned them down when we’ve felt that collaboration with those specific businesses would compromise our values.
On kindness:
I value kindness and respect towards one another, and to our planet. It doesn’t take much to be compassionate and tolerant of others, and it is our responsibility to be kind to the planet we’ve inherited. Nature and people are very resilient and can really surprise us if we let them thrive, but those who abuse their influence at the expense of others or our Earth are selfish.
It can be hard to speak up against those who have more money or perceived power than you, but once you’ve seen someone be unkind to a person or animal it becomes very hard to tolerate. We (Ocean Ventures Fiji) had to walk away from an existing business partnership because we felt the situation had become exploitative of the community.
On balancing independence and collaboration:
Growing up I was a competitive springboard diver, which is a very individual sport in competition, but you’re also very much part of a team. I may have been the only one up there on the board, but in the times between my individual performances I gathered so much strength from being part of a team.
I do think it’s possible to be extremely self-reliant, but to also be a great collaborator. I’d say every individual and every business has strengths and weaknesses, so finding people who can embrace your strengths while bolstering your weaknesses is an excellent way to reach new heights.
As a small, independent business, Ocean Ventures Fiji has worked with many different businesses, organizations, and individuals. Our town of Savusavu is small, and the tourism operators have had a history of competing with one another instead of collaborating. There are a few larger resorts that keep most of their activities in-house, but we have found a community in the other smaller activity operators and accommodation providers. By working together, we can all improve the visitor experience in Savusavu, we can better market the offerings of the destination, and we can share expenses and ideas. Some examples: we’re able to afford a great office and storefront in town by sharing with a Freediving business; we don’t have on-site accommodation, so we’ve been able to run large group trips by working with local communities; and we’ve been awarded grants from various organizations for collaborative efforts with other small businesses and communities on Vanua Levu.
Fellow small business owners who are dear friends have been incredibly helpful. Owning a business can be isolating if you don’t have a community; every decision is down to you, feedback can be rare, and sometimes the hoops you need to jump through can be daunting. I have dear friends both abroad and here in Fiji that have given me inspiration and have commiserated the setbacks and hardships.
On what’s exciting now:
I’m excited by the trend towards more responsible travel and discerning tourists who want to support businesses that give back. It’s not true of all travelers and tourists by any means, but more and more we are meeting people who have done more research and are seeking out experiences that are more sustainable in nature. More young entrepreneurs are entering the scene which is leading to more innovation and collaboration. The younger generation is more acutely aware of the importance of conservation and sustainability, and generally more accepting of people who live a life less ordinary.
On her hopes for humanity:
Living in a country that is so exposed to climate change impacts has been eye-opening, and the island of Vanua Levu is particularly interesting because it only receives a small percentage of Fiji’s tourism. Fiji’s North is at a crucial time of development, especially as recipients of an IFC/World Bank loan specifically aimed at boosting tourism. I hope that further development does not come at the expense of Fiji’s natural resources, and that it is done in such a way that the community is lifted at the same time instead of resenting increased tourism. We’ve witnessed many developers destroying mangrove forests and coral reefs instead of finding ways to work alongside these important resources, and many of them have tested the limits of what they can get away with in a remote place like Vanua Levu. I really hope that the younger generation and the indigenous resource owners are empowered to stop harmful development practices, and to hold those accountable for poor practices or greenwashing.
Her words of wisdom to embrace your inner maverick:
There is no ‘correct’ timeline for your life, so plan loosely. Society might tell us that there are goals we all should be striving towards – wealth, the perfect body, kids, a social media feed that sparks envy – but life is not a contest, it’s for living. Some people will voice their opinions that you’re not doing life ‘correctly’ if you don’t follow expectations, but that only brings limitations. Live life like you don’t know how many tomorrows you have. You don’t have to make every day BIG, but rather slow down to appreciate the smaller moments, relationships, and scenery that make life magical.
During the pandemic Sara and I were locked on our island of Vanua Levu together — for two years. Fiji closed the borders, and so our tourism businesses ground to a halt. In that time, I started sharing my personal philosophy of Quantum Surfing — a combination of neuroscience, quantum mechanics and applied enlightenment for outsize results. And Sara kicked off a number of projects, including coral restorations and her PADI South Pacific Coral Reef Ecology course. You can take Sara’s PADI course online, earn a PADI certification and then explore the beauty of Natewa Bay with Sara and her partner Matthew when you visit all of us in Fiji!
FIND SARA: IG @divingsara, IG @oceanventuresfiji, www.oceanventuresfiji.com