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a Starry Moray Eel feeding on a crab.
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date: 27/1/2009
Author:Jess Howard
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Weather: HOT | Air Temp: 30ºC | Wind: South East 15-20 knots | Water Temp: 27ºC | Water Visibility: 15 metres | Sea State: Calm
ISLAND LIFE
Critter Encounters:
What a day! Temperatures creeping up and up, and a few clouds lead up to a hot humid day. And what is the best cure for a hot, humid day? Swimming of course! And that’s how most people spent their day, either diving, snorkeling or jumping in for a quick dip and cool off.
Morning divers at the Three Pyramids descended into big schools of enormous Batfish. The fish, swimming on their sides, dipped in and out of view as they lazed around on the bottom having a feed here and there. The Parrot fish were a bit more active, as they zipped all around the divers munching on the algae growing on the coral. The scraping noises they projected could be clearly heard by divers who were fascinated watching their eating regime. One big colourful Maori Wrasse was also spotted on the dive.
The Glassbottom boat moored up at Sandy Seconds after a few turtle head sightings from the boat. Well if the heads weren’t enough, the turtles certainly delivered on the rest as well. At least five Green turtles were spotted at one stage, weaving in and out of one another lazily. One lucky lady also spotted a small white-tip reef shark disappearing into the deeper water just behind the boat. That’s awesome spotting!
Interested historians took a stroll to the western side to learn all about the islands remarkable past, from the guano miners, to the newest addition on the island, the solar power plant.
Island discoverers spent a while watching one freshly hatched Bridled Tern chick poking his head out from between the coral that lines the paths. Still wet from hatching, he was absolutely adorable with his newly discovered clumsy legs and brown fluff. The fish pool was full once again with fascinated guests and hungry fish. Nibbling on food and running into people’s legs seem to be the ultimate pastime for Sergeant majors, Brown damsels and Moon wrasse because they never tire of it.
The afternoon reefwalk saw something incredible, a Starry Moray Eel feeding on a crab. The Moray was approximately three metres away from reefwalkers, and about 50cm long. What an awesome thing to see as soon as you step into the water! Also found were a New Caledonia Seastar that was also feeding, as its bright orange stomach was spotted retracting back into its body when it was turned over.
As the sun set on the day at 6:40pm, a group of staff and guests released about forty Green turtle hatchlings at coral gardens. A few stragglers wandered off towards the west, finally making it into the water, quite a bit away from where they were released. Watching little turtles make this important journey into the water has to be one of the best ways to end an awesome day in paradise!
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Hatchling - Jess Howard
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