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Manta ray was spotted
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date: 27/8/2009
Author:Jess Howard
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Weather: Sunny and HOT
Air Temp: 25.8ºC
Wind: North Easterly 10-15 knots
Water Temp: 22ºC
Water Visibility: ~10-15m
Sea State: Picture Perfect
The wind finally swung around to the east, opening the western side of the island again today for snorkeling. And what a day for snorkeling it was, nice flat seas, clear water and masses of fish and turtles hanging around as if to say “we missed you”. One Manta ray was spotted as the boat came back into the Lighthouse keyway, just cruising at the surface eating the plankton that filled the currents.
Fish Feeding as always gathered quite a crowd, even “Nigel” made an appearance, our Silver Drummer, with his big round mouth, gobbling up as much food as he could. The mullet, many sporting a Remora sucker fish on their sides, scooted around nabbing Nigel’s left-overs as they swam through people’s legs.
With the new climate change trail freshly completed, a maiden venture was undertaken by the staff as they toured the island making themselves familiar with the location of each sign, the information, and toasting at each point to the new advances Lady Elliot is making towards educating the public on Climate Change.
Six night reefwalkers gathered at the Education centre to wander the reef and look at different nocturnal creatures and how unfamiliar the reef is at night. Ass’s Ear Abalone were spotted frequently, along with nocturnal sea cucumbers and the spiky black Diadema Urchins. A whole colony of sea hares were found in one area, with not a metre of space without a sea hare in it. A small Epaulette shark was found just in from the shore on the way back, giving some people quite a scare as he splashed when he turned around, having almost been trodden on. It was an informative and interesting night for all who attended.
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Manta - J Howard
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