Here’s a few pics from a few snorkels around the Whitsundays during the last few weeks … Butterfly Bay, Chalkies Beach, Waite Bay and Langford Reef. I’m really looking forward to some calmer days out in the water! Getting buffeted around by current and wind makes for some trying photography.
The snorkeling at Butterfly Bay is nothing like it used to be but as always, I did find some interesting activity down under. The tourist boats are regular visitors to the reef here now so negotiating the inexperienced and exuberant snorkeler is always a challenge. I got unexpectedly jostled a few times!
These Coral Rabbit-fish were being attended by small Wrasse also known as Cleaner-fish (they are the tiny blue, black and silver striped fish you can see). They loop and drift about larger fish cleaning their body, removing parasites and damaged skin and fungus. The Cleaner-fish are quite happy doing this and they even enter a larger fish’s mouth, maybe to check out the teeth?! You can see the Cleaner-fish doing exactly this in one of my photos. The Cleaner-fish often have designated “cleaning stations” where different fish regularly visit, even turtles.
Coral Rabbit-fish being attended to by the Cleaner-fish
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- My turn next!
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- Even the mouth!
Sometimes I find the coral just as interesting as the fish.
And check out this creature from the deep … is it a gorilla? A monkey? It’s rocky silted coral but it does look like the profile of a gorilla! I only spotted it when I was editing my photos after my Butterfly Bay snorkel.
I spotted some white Christmas Tree Worms at Langford Reef too …
Her’s a slideshow of some other photos …
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- I’ve visited this coral head (bommie) before. Very pretty with the Damselfish staying close.
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- You need such calm water to get a good split shot
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- This white coral looks very much like a fingers actually holding a small clam.
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- A Coral Trout … good eating fish!
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- You can get idea of their size here
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- See the cleaner-fish at work with this Parrotfish?
