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Wednesday - Oh, the abundance of turtles!!
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date: 22/10/2008
Author:Laura Smith
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CONDITIONS
Weather: Clear, sunny and warm | Air Temp: 25.8°C | Wind: NE/NW 10/15 knots, changed to SE/SW 20/25 knots | Water Temp: 23°C | Water Visibility: ~ 15 m | Sea State: Choppy
ISLAND LIFE
Critter Encounters:
SCUBA divers were overflowing with stories from today’s wonderful dives!! A large shovelnose ray remained still on the sandy seabed, allowing divers to approach very closely before it finned away into the distance. With its shark-like form and looming dorsal fin, this creature certainly is an adrenalin-pumping sight, but is in fact completely harmless to humans. Rodney the anglerfish was in his usual haunt on an isolated bommie, blending in marvelously with his coral background. Lots of large pelagic fish were seen passing by Lighthouse Bommie, including a number of very big mackerel. A graceful manta ray glided by. A silvertip shark approached so closely that some divers thought momentarily that it would head-butt them! Then it veered at the last moment – how thrilling!
A choppy sea surface with the occurrence of the westerly wind made for an adventurous glass bottom boat tour today. Oh, the abundance of turtles!! Greens, loggerheads, and hawksbills were all spotted today, frequently popping their faces up out of the water to catch a breath of air.
At Coral Gardens, people stood on the shore in ankle-deep water this morning and watched (harmless) black-tip reef sharks patrol the shoreline, the tips of their fins slicing the waters’ surface as they cruised up and back.
Diamond-scale mullets, golden-lined rabbitfish and fivebar flagtails dominated fish feeding today. So busy was the Fish Pool and so crowded were the fish competing for food, that the slimy bodies of moving fish frequently brushed peoples’ legs.
A guest who arrived this morning expressed his fantastic first impression of the island: “It’s an incredible place… I’m still pinching myself as a reminder I’m actually here!”
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Green Turtle with guest - Laura Smith
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