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the Hebrew cone shell
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date: 23/7/2009
Author:Nick Brennan
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Weather: Sunshine! Postcard perfect day!
Air Temp: 21.3ºC
Wind: Variable 5-10 knots
Water Temp: 21ºC
Water Visibility: 20m
Sea State: Calm
It looked like it was going to be a wonderful day. The sun rose and the wind stayed calm. The ocean was like a turquoise blanket with the only ripples coming from the whales that were very active all morning in front of the dining room. It is a very special thing to have breakfast watching whales breach only a few hundred metres away.
The glass bottom boat went out to second reef to make the most of the spectacular conditions. The boat steamed out to the lighthouse bommies and another humpback breached in the distance, sending up an enormous explosion of water. As you can imagine a 40 tonne animal makes quite a splash. The boat then had the good fortune to move over a Manta Ray that was being cleaned on one of the bommies. These animals get enormous reaching widths of nine metres! This means the animal has a lot of surface area and is prone to being covered in tiny parasites which over time have the potential to harm the health of the Manta. The mantas however know that they can get cleaned by lowering their bodies over the bommies and allowing the fish to come out and eat them all off. This is the behaviour that we were so lucky to witness today! At second reef the water was beautiful and mild and some of the guests were lucky to see the half moon angelfish, just one of the many extravagantly coloured fish out here on the reef.
On the guided reef walk the guests were introduced to the tiny hermit crabs that litter the shoreline. Not a single tiny shell is over 1cm in length and each one has a miniature hermit crab inside. It is very easy to walk past them but every little shell becomes a home for something and that’s why it is so important that shells aren’t removed from the beach. The other interesting shell that the group came across was the Hebrew cone shell. This is a small mollusc that has evolved to eat fish and worms. It catches its prey using a poisonous harpoon that contains a very potent toxin. For this reason they can also be dangerous to humans if they are handled.
The afternoon dive was a beauty! It was great conditions underwater with nice visibility and a negligible current. The really big surprise was a tiger shark that showed up when the group was doing their safety stop. It didn’t bother anyone merely coming into visibility before disappearing back out to sea, but it sure got the adrenalin pumping. One of the divers tried to get a few great photos before it disappeared and was happy to share his images with the divers.
In the evening guests came along on a night stalk and enjoyed the serene winters evening. The island is just so impressive by night with a full sky of stars and the lighthouse shining its beam out over the ocean. This is a magic part of the world, come out and see it for yourself!
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tiny hermit - Jenni
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