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a huge manta ray part a big school of trevally down the middle

date: 28/6/2009
Author:Nick Brennan

Weather: Sunny
Wind: W/SW 10-15 knots
Water Temp: 22ºC
Water Visibility: 20m+
Sea State: Moderate

It was another beautiful morning here at Lady Elliot Island. The westerly winds were blowing the ocean flat in front of the resort with a few humpback whales making ripples just outside the reef.

The visibility was fantastic for the Glass bottom boat with guests able to observe the lighthouse bommies very clearly and see all the brightly coloured plankton feeding fish feeding under the boat. Once guests were in the water snorkeling some Manta Rays showed up just outside second reef giving everybody the opportunity to swim with these enormous creatures.

The divers also spent a lot of time with the Manta Rays this morning. One diver fondly recalls seeing a huge manta ray part a big school of trevally down the middle as it gulped down the plankton with its wide mouth. They are so graceful through the water that they are almost hypnotic to watch. The white spotted eagle ray was also very impressive coming past in a school of about half a dozen with their extremely long tails trailing out the back. The sea snakes are another creature that have been appearing regularly throughout these cooler months and today they kept divers well entertained. They have very toxic venom but in terms of their potential danger to divers they are very insignificant as they are placid creatures with tiny fangs and an unwillingness to waste their venom on anything other than food. They were incredible exciting to be in the water with. The whales were being as vocal as ever down there singing away their haunting tunes creating an appropriate soundtrack for the amazing visual display.

Guests came along to fish feeding in the afternoon and were lucky to have a whale spouting virtually straight offshore only 50m from the reef crest. For a little while everybody forget about the fish and stood with their eyes transfixed on the monster. It was so impressive and just re-enforced what a great time of year winter is at the Great Barrier Reef.

manta - J Howard