26 Jan 2025
Today, like previous days, started quite early as I struggled to sleep again last night. But, at least I got to watch the sun rise over Lizard Island:
Today is another half day:
We’ll be saying goodbye to about half our our group and will gain a TON more divers for the second half of the trip. Here’s our small group- 10 divers, 10 staff (minus one taking the picture):
We definitely got spoiled on this first part of the trip.
There’s a small airstrip here on Lizard Island, so we’ll be going ashore to explore land a bit before splitting up. I initially planned on only doing a partial trip aboard this boat and combining it with a land-based trip in Indonesia, but there are some pretty strict weight limits on how much luggage you can bring on the Lizard Island plane, and between dive gear and camera gear, I was way over the limit. So a full week trip for me it is!
My boat!
Welcome to Lizard Island!
We walked along the beach and checked out the mangroves where we spotted a few rays in the shallows:
Apparently, there are also crocodiles in the area and one was sighted recently…
Winding our way through the marsh:
Up on the “mountain”
There were a TON of cicadas and they were LOUD!
Pano from the viewpoint we hiked up to:
One last group shot:
A rainbow! and our boat:
A lizard!
Back down the “mountain”:
Plover?
Look at his awesome reflection!
We hung out on the beach, enjoying breakfast with a view, while we waited for the plane to arrive:
Then, it was back to the boat where we remaining 4 waited for 17 new divers to join us…
(those garden eels at the bottom left are my favorite!)
Farewell, Lizard Island!
Dive #12 – Pixie Gardens (Ribbon Reef #9)
The new group of divers had to do the same abbreviated check-out dive we did when we first boarded, and fortunately, my buddy is one of the divers doing the whole 7-day trip (I once again got lucky in the buddy department- we dive similarly and while he does go through air a bit more quickly than I do, they upgraded him to a larger tank and we’ve been pushing our 60 minute time limit ever since), so we splashed early and enjoyed one last dive in relative peace before 21 of divers decent on a site en masse.
Garden eels!
Usually they’re quite skittish and tuck into their holes as soon as you get close, and these guys certainly did, but there were a few that either stayed up or didn’t stay hidden long so I managed to get a few decent pictures:
Goby and his shrimp:
Sweetlips parade:
So… remember that territorial Titan triggerfish that attacked me a few days ago? Well, apparently I’m a slow learner…
I found this guy nesting and snapped this picture, and he charged. And just like the first guy, he did not give up. I had to fend him off with my camera and finally kicked him before he finally left me alone.
Absolutely terrifying!
But I didn’t get chomped, so again, a win!
Several Pennant bannerfish:
A sneaky grouper:
Brown tang:
Maroon clownfish:
Chromodoris lochi:
and another!
such a stretchy little guy!
Midnight snapper:
Purple anthias:
again, love that little pointy nose!
Black and gold chromis:
Coral grouper:
White damsel:
Pipefish!
and you can finally see its pretty pink tail!
Honeyhead damselfish:
Another pipefish, riding a sea cucumber:
Darkfin hind:
A whole school of sweetlips!
Sharp-nose puffer:
So about now is when our lucky turned.
For the first half of the trip, we had stellar weather- warm with sunny skies, but this is Australia’s wet season, and there’s a storm brewing in the area:
We’ll be able to dive today, and it looks like conditions are better out at Osprey Reef, which is where we were planning on heading overnight for tomorrow’s dives, but this will definitely be a play-it-by-ear situation for likely the rest of the trip, going where the weather will allow us to dive. Rain isn’t a big deal, we’re getting wet anyway, but the wind and waves are picking up, and that’ll make it unsafe to get on and off the boat.
Dive #13 – Pixie Gardens
Bleeker’s damselfish:
Dotted sweetlips:
Bluespotted grouper:
Redfin bream:
Goniobranchus roboi? Goniobranchus sp. 2? I found him in two different books with two different names 🙁
Spadefish cleaning station:
Batfish:
and yes, they look remarkable similar- I tend to get them mixed up.
Little white-tip shark:
Freckled hawkfish:
Purple anthias:
Cheeklined wrasse:
Yellow boxfish:
A whole pack of little Green chromis:
Pipefish!
Starry puffer:
Dive #14 – Challenger Bay (at night!)
Same site as our last night dive- not my favorite (sharks are cool, but I like watching eels try to hunt or crustaceans on the prowl), but at least it’s a site I know?
SO. MANY. SHARKS!
At one point, they went after something under a rock nearby me and suddenly I was in the middle of a shark tornado:
There was blood and fish parts everywhere, and while I know they aren’t going after me, I was surrounded by so many chompy mouths that may not be aimed at me, but might accidentally find me. One of the few times I’ve felt unsafe on a dive; I finned out of there as quickly as possible.
A very chubby Chromodoris magnifica:
Pseudobiceros flavocanthus:
also SO. MANY. BLOODWORMS!!!
They were EVERYWHERE, bumping into my hands and face, and getting in the way of pictures.
Not my favorite dive.
Tonight, we’ll be driving through the night, across the Coral Sea, out to Osprey Reef. With the storms in the area, it might be a bit choppy, but at least my boat is metal and won’t creak like crazy like the Amira on my last Indonesia trip.