 |
|
Sunday - Guest inspect sea snakes up close
|
date: 26/10/2008
Author:Laura Smith
|
CONDITIONS
Weather: Warm, calm, partly cloudy – perfect for snorkelling!| Air Temp: 26°C | Wind: NE/SE 10-15 knots | Water Temp: 24°C | Water Visibility: ~ 15 m | Sea State: So calm!
ISLAND LIFE
Critter Encounters:
The shore of a coral cay is such a treasure trove for inquisitive nature lovers! On the guided flotsam fossick tour this morning, such a diversity of fascinating remnants were found – dried out sponge, barnacles, the skeleton of cuttlefish, so many old coral chunks with their intricate designs… But the highlight by far was the discovery of a dead sea snake that had been washed onto the beach. One fossicker was said that, as a nervous snorkeller who liked to stay in the shallows, she felt she was unlikely to see one of these creatures in the water, and so felt privileged to have had the opportunity to see one on the beach. And, if that wasn’t enough – a second sea snake was found on the way back! A rare thing it is to see one, let alone two!
The calm weather conditions today resulted in an absolutely glassy reef flat, perfect for clear reef-viewing. On today’s guided reef walk, we saw a sea hare, red-eye crabs, a couple of glossy cowrie shells, and an octopus! This master of disguise was only spotted because it was squirting water through its siphon from the crevice it was hiding in, creating a rippling jet on the surface; otherwise it was masterfully camouflaged to match its background.
At today’s fish feeding, a crowd of diamond-scale mullet, sergeant majors, moon wrasse, three-spot wrasse, convict surgeonfish and many more flipped and splashed in the water as they fought over food. And to add to the show, a black-tip reef shark made a quick appearance, cruising past in the shallows with the tips of its dorsal and tail fins visible above the surface as it went by.
Whale song still rings through the water, and SCUBA divers have been enjoying the mystical background music on today’s dives. Guests were excited to be shown Rodney the pink anglerfish. A bull ray, a mantis shrimp a leopard shark and so many frisky turtles were also reported by excited divers.
|
|
view from the boat tour - Laura Smith
|
click to download flash player