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Friday - night reef walk a delight
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date: 21/11/2008
Author:Laura Smith
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CONDITIONS
Weather: Mostly sunny | Air Temp: ~ 29°C | Wind: NW/N 15/20 knots | Water Temp: 26°C | Water Visibility: ~ 15 m | Sea State: Very choppy
ISLAND LIFE
Critter Encounters:
Last night a most beautiful electrical storm lit up the island. Forks of lightening slashed through the distant sky, and sheet lightening lit the horizon purple. Several guests and staff ventured on independent reef walks to check if there was any further coral spawning action, and although none was found there was an abundance of other life to be seen. One pair of reef walkers reported seeing four epaulette sharks, an enormous brittle star, countless abalone, one large octopus and a small green sea turtle!
Glass bottom boaters had a very bouncy ride today! Sea turtles dotted the sea surface in large numbers, and several guests were excited to have snorkeled with a reef shark! SCUBA divers today were impressed by a majestic manta ray gliding by.
Today’s historical tour was conducted from the comfort of a golf buggy. Exciting historical points on the island were visited, including the island’s very first buildings, the lighthouses and old lighthouse keepers’ cottages, the graveyard and the old miners campsite.
At the very end of fish feeding today, a massive cowtail ray appeared, lying still on the bottom of the fish pool in thigh-deep water! We’re not sure how long it had been there for, as it wasn’t until the food was nearly all gone and the other fish had started to disperse that we noticed its enormous outline on the sand below. But what a thrill! The large diamond-scale mullets and silver drummer at fish feeding were dwarfed next to the enormous ray.
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Brittle Star - Laura Smith
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