We found a way! Yes, one last snorkel for the season … well, actually … four!
We left The Keppels after seeing a reef weather window approaching. We dropped by the Gladstone Marina for a few days, where we met up with Reeflection and Aquavista, then after a 3 am big time “stupid o’clock” departure from the Marina we entered Pancake Creek … ready for breakfast! Why a 3 am start?? To take the outgoing tide and not fight the tide along with the expected headwinds later in the morning.
All for one last snorkel!
Lady Musgrave was at its best. We had four days of beautiful calm weather, with excellent water clarity and so much colour down below. And the turtle activity was sensational. One of our best visits.
We jumped in the tender the day we arrived and headed straight for the shallows. It was mating season!
There just seemed to be so much colour and activity. It was like snorkeling in an aquarium.
I came across this octopus in the shallow water above the lagoon’s coral reef edge. They are masters of camouflage so I was chuffed to spot this one and observe. I did wait for some time for it to come completely out, but no luck. It eventually sensed my presence and retreated in to the coral cracks. Just deep enough to still keep an eye on me. How they manipulate their bodies to sneak in and out of these tight spots in the coral is crazy.
There was less than a metre of water above us when I spotted this octopus. It stayed in this position for some time before retreating inside the coral.
Here’s a few more … you can see in the last few photos that big eye still checking me out.
Then it was turtle time …
Males court a female by nuzzling their head or by gently biting her flippers or neck. However, there is nothing sedate about their mating ritual. The male hooks its sharp flippers in to the female’s shell, often damaging it and then it’s up to female to keep them afloat and surface for a gulp of air. Not to mention the 3-4 hour nesting period. Gee we women work hard!
The female turtle (left) is not so keen on this male which I caught making quite aggressive advances. I left them to it, but when I looked back, he was definitely still on the outer.
So many photos. Both of these Green Sea Turtles were so friendly and photogenic. The water was so clear and I could get close without disturbing the turtle. In fact one had a snooze while I continued to snorkel nearby.
Here’s a slideshow of these two turtles … hope I haven’t overdosed on the quantity here …
It was decided an early morning visit to the island might be the go to sneak a look at the concluding stages of some turtles nesting hopefully. Female nesting turtles come to the island at high tide and in the dark, so with our high tides in the early hours, this seemed like a good plan. The catch? It had to be at first light … 5 am!! So with actually surprisingly little opposition from the Captain and some support from Reeflection and Aquavista, we visited the island at 5 am … two mornings in a row! (I know, I know, the Bossa Nova crew aren’t known for their early starts.)
On our first walk we just missed one turtle making her way back to water, after seeing only two nests on our circumnavigation of the island (takes about 40 mins). But, we spotted a mating couple out from the beach. I quickly got my drone up.
The island at 6 am …
A very quick Hermit Crab, a bright purple Magnificent Sea Anemone, a Moray Eeel, some beautiful Bubble Coral, a Sea Urchin, a very hot pink Magnificent Sea Anemone, colourful Parrotfish, Sea Stars and a very inquisitive Squirrelfish. So much colour!
These two Magnificent Sea Anemones were so striking in colour. One a hot pink, the other a bright mauve purple. When the Anemone closes, we see their colourful outer structure. I’ve seen all colours now, bar blue. These two were both housing very shy Pink Anemonefish, with the pink Anemone also housing the Barrier Reef Anemonefish; two blue stripes. See if you can spot the one Pink Anemonefish in the purple Anemone (top right).
Bubble-tip Anemone. This Anemone wasn’t housing any Anemonefish that I could spot. It’s obvious where it gets its name, with its bulbous tentacles. So pretty.
I think you may have guessed it … it was a wonderful 4-day visit to Lady Musgrave. The best yet we all said. The turtles were amazing, there was so much to see in the water, which was warm and clear and the weather was perfect, we even had a glass out morning one day. I snorkeled each day, in different spots and yet after so many visits over the years, I am never disappointed. There’s always something new to see.
Then … after eight seasons of cruising the Queensland coast … I finally got to snorkel the Lady Elliot reef.
Watch out for my next blog post.
Brilliant post, Amanda! So clear, so colourful and we can sense your enthusiasm. Well done on spotting the octopus too as well as the usual critters. Let’s hope we too can enjoy a last reef exploration before the haul out.
Loved, loved this post Amanda. Super clear photos and a huge variety of marine life. Glad you guys got another shot at the islands before you finished up this season.
It was a great visit Darren. We always to try to drop by LM on the way south but as you know, this season has been a bit tricky weather wise. We feel very fortunate to have got there. Thanks for commenting too!
Thankyou Chris. I certainly had fun putting it together. So many great moments so it was easy to ‘paint the picture’ with my photos. I had so many photos too. Glad my enthusiasm shone through. I felt very lucky with this visit. Hope you get back out to the reef one more time too.
It can’t get much better than this!
Ha! Exactly what I thought too.
Great turtle shots!
Good to hear from my WordPress behind-the-scenes techno guru! Yes these turtles made it easy. I was able to get quite close to these happy turtles & the clear water helped.
Beautiful photos. You’re so lucky to get so close.
Thanks Kaycee. It was tricky choosing the photos for this post as I had so many but the turtle ones were a no-brainer. So clear & I was able to get close without upsetting the turtles.
Jealous
You have to come south now you live in the tropics!