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The blue linckia always impresses guests
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date: 25/5/2009
Author:Nick Brennan
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Weather: Overcast
Air Temperature: 21.9ºC
Wind Speed / Direction: SE 25-33 knots
Water Visibility: 10m
Sea State: Chop
The wind came up today but the coral gardens still offered very smooth clear conditions for the glass bottom boat. Guests reveled in the interesting sea floor topography of the coral gardens diving through caves to observe coral trout and other big predatory fish. The fusilier and big-eyed trevally were both schooling in mind boggling numbers moving quickly through rifts in the reef. Another interesting discovery today was the pennantfish. This fish is from the trevally family but has extremely large streamer fins on its dorsal and ventral side making it look very peculiar indeed. Towards the end of the snorkel a mid sized green turtle came right under guests and they admired the beautiful colouration of its shell.
On the afternoon dive guests saw a sea snake moving through the water with its characteristic exaggerated swimming motion. These amazing reptiles breathe air but can stay submerged for up to eight hours owing to a long lung that extends down to the base of its tail. They also have venom that is toxic ,having said that, these creatures are placid and non aggressive so our divers relished in the opportunity of swimming with this remarkable piece of evolution and those with cameras took some very memorable photos.
The guided reef walk came across some magnificent sea stars. The blue linckia always impresses guests and today was no exception; they appeared throughout the walk all contorting in various positions to jam themselves up into the reef. The New Caledonian sea star also caught people’s attention and it was interesting to look at its tube feet, the tiny appendages they use for locomotion.
Dinner was a choice of delicious roasts and some very tempting deserts, followed by a relaxing DVD about Australia’s Greatest Islands in the lounge of the bar. It was great re-enforcement on a big day of discovery on the Great Barrier Reef.
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jess and seastar - J Fox
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click to download flash player