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One really large Manta that was perhaps 3.5 metres across
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date: 26/2/2009
Author:Nick Brennan
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Weather: Overcast | Air Temp: 28°C | Wind: SE 20/30 knots | Water Temp: 26°C | Water Visibility: ~ 20m | Sea State: Chop
Those crazy Manta Rays loved the fast current out past the lighthouse today with guests sighting three individuals at once from the glass bottom boat. One really large Manta that was perhaps 3.5 metres across came and sat right on the surface as guests gaped in awe. It then took a turn and headed under the boat! It was absolutely sensational everybody caught a great look at it cruising with its massive mouth open before taking a big flap of its fins and shooting out of sight. The boat then cruised over to second reef for a great snorkel full of intriguing and brightly coloured fish.
The divers also had a great experience with the Manta’s today. They watched the graceful giants descend on a coral outcrop to be serviced by a small armada of cleaning fish. This arrangement has benefits for both species in that the Manta ray is cleansed of parasites and the cleaner fish get a good feed. It was amazing to observe it in the field and watch the co-operation that takes place. Turtle bommie lived up to its name with five juvenile green turtles seen by the divers. One in particular was rubbing it’s underbelly on the rough surface of the plate coral, rolling it’s eyes back in it’s head like a dog getting a good scratch. The divers progressed out past spiders ledge where there was a massive abundance of glass fish schooling with trevally charging in and out trying to catch them. It was an action packed dive that left some truly fantastic memories with our guests.
After dinner guests came out on a turtle trek to watch some hatchlings be released at the coral gardens. These little creatures function on instinct and when they emerge they look for the lowest point on the horizon as this is usually where the ocean is. This is normally the brightest part of the night sky and therefore they have evolved to have an attraction to light. This doesn’t always work in their favour as they can get confused by light created by humans and so these ones had gotten lost on account of lights in the resort. Our staff collected them up in a bucket to be released on the dark side of the island where they could start their big journey into the Pacific Ocean uninhibited. Guests took lots of memorable photos and had some great questions. Everybody thought it was so special to have had such experience these amazing little creatures
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Manta - Nick Brennan
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