Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Island hopping: Saint John's, Lazarus & Semakau!
After what seems like a really long time, plus a weekend of awful stomach discomforts (stomach flu? food poisoning? both?), it was finally time to DIVE AGAIN! I was getting some serious diving withdrawal symptoms so was REALLY happy to get my fins wet. Plus, the last dive I had just ROCKED!
Today we had to just RUSH everything (although there was still time to spare for looking around a bit. hehe.) because there was a guide training trip to Semakau at 4.30pm! I wasn't sure whether we'd make it... BUT WE DID! And really glad that we did too! I thought I really wouldn't be able to go, but I MADE IT. Rushed and rushed and ran and ran, even had to leave TL to wash up the gear while I settled everything before I could go (THANK YOU, TL!). Abby sent us to West Coast ferry terminal (THANK YOU, ABBY!) and before I knew it, we were on the boat on the way to Semakau! EXCITING.
DIVING SAINT JOHN'S! and LAZARUS!
Hur hur hur, the last time we went out diving, TL missed it because she was ill. Although I admit the last dive was way cooler, but this time round, the 3.5m vis we had made up for everything... plus the fact we encountered THREE seahorses, carpet eel blenny, pipefish, nudibranchs, giant flatworms, feeding filefishes and a prawn burrowing itself in silt to boot! THREEEEEE seahorses!!!!!! OH OH OH! And and ALLIED COWRY!
SEAHORSE!!!
Pipefish! The relative of the seahorse.
An allied cowry!
Funky filefish!
I'm the first to admit it's always great to see colourful or interesting looking creatures. But to be honest, it's MUCH MUCH more exciting to actually be able to see something as common as you snail or prawn or even worm exhibiting some kind of behaviour. DOING something. In ACTION.
A shrimp covering itself with silt! CAMOUFLAGE in ACTION!
We also encountered colonies of corals which were bleaching. You can see the stark WHITEness of the bleached portion of the coral.
WALKING SEMAKAU!
*MY MAC CRASHED BEFORE I COULD FINISH UPLOADING THE PHOTOS TO FLICKR!! ARGH!*
We saw a RAINBOW!!
Doesn't this just make you feel lucky to be so alive?
3 islands in 1 day. Totally shacked out by the time I reached home.
SEE MORE PHOTOS OF:
Saint John's reefs HERE!
Lazarus island's reefs HERE!
Semakau's reef flat and reefs HERE! ¶ 9:54 pm
Today we had to just RUSH everything (although there was still time to spare for looking around a bit. hehe.) because there was a guide training trip to Semakau at 4.30pm! I wasn't sure whether we'd make it... BUT WE DID! And really glad that we did too! I thought I really wouldn't be able to go, but I MADE IT. Rushed and rushed and ran and ran, even had to leave TL to wash up the gear while I settled everything before I could go (THANK YOU, TL!). Abby sent us to West Coast ferry terminal (THANK YOU, ABBY!) and before I knew it, we were on the boat on the way to Semakau! EXCITING.
DIVING SAINT JOHN'S! and LAZARUS!
Hur hur hur, the last time we went out diving, TL missed it because she was ill. Although I admit the last dive was way cooler, but this time round, the 3.5m vis we had made up for everything... plus the fact we encountered THREE seahorses, carpet eel blenny, pipefish, nudibranchs, giant flatworms, feeding filefishes and a prawn burrowing itself in silt to boot! THREEEEEE seahorses!!!!!! OH OH OH! And and ALLIED COWRY!
SEAHORSE!!!
Pipefish! The relative of the seahorse.
An allied cowry!
Funky filefish!
I'm the first to admit it's always great to see colourful or interesting looking creatures. But to be honest, it's MUCH MUCH more exciting to actually be able to see something as common as you snail or prawn or even worm exhibiting some kind of behaviour. DOING something. In ACTION.
A shrimp covering itself with silt! CAMOUFLAGE in ACTION!
We also encountered colonies of corals which were bleaching. You can see the stark WHITEness of the bleached portion of the coral.
WALKING SEMAKAU!
*MY MAC CRASHED BEFORE I COULD FINISH UPLOADING THE PHOTOS TO FLICKR!! ARGH!*
We saw a RAINBOW!!
Doesn't this just make you feel lucky to be so alive?
3 islands in 1 day. Totally shacked out by the time I reached home.
SEE MORE PHOTOS OF:
Saint John's reefs HERE!
Lazarus island's reefs HERE!
Semakau's reef flat and reefs HERE! ¶ 9:54 pm
