Blog Log! 22 February 2009

February 23, 2009

Reef goby

The first dive of 2009 was a cold one! At least underwater it was! Above sea level, the temperature out at Hantu was a scorching 35degC at noon!

Ceratosoma nudibranch (juvenile)

With a boat full of divers and a volunteer trainee (very exciting times indeed!) we got down to the depths to send our New Year greetings to our little finned friends on the reef. With it being the tail end of the monsoon season, and that dive season is still closed in most areas around the region, Hantu’s reef has had little time to rest with local divers finding their way to local waters to conduct courses. We hope who divers take their dive courses at Hantu realise the value of our local reefs and don’t forget them once they’ve been certified.

Carpet eel-blenny

What we’ve forgotten or missed for awhile is the splendour that Hantu can be sometimes! Today’s reef was dotted with all sorts of interesting creatures and an array of nudibranches!

Glossodoris nudibranch: This beautiful nudibranch is a real treat for divers in local waters. Its beauty is just breath-taking. 5 years ago I went all the way to Sulawesi to find this critter. Who'd have thought I'd be able to say I can see it at home too. What pride!

Ceratosoma nudibranches were sticking out behind every rock and on top of the silty sea bed surface. I ran into veteran Hantu Blog diver Chay Hoon at one point during the first dive to ask her if she’d seen a Ceratosoma, she wrote down on my slate where I could go to find it. I said thanks, turned around, and there was one! Right underneath my nose! Sometimes things show up when you’re not looking for them.

Tigertail seahorse

Then on the second dive it was one seahorse after another. Small ones, white ones, brown ones, yellow ones, but whatever their appearance, they all had the diagnostic striped tail that telltale of their species.

Tiger cowrie

It was a big reunion with all the reef critters. It’s been a LONG time since we’ve seen so many creatures out at once.  total variety of animals we saw today was an amalgamation of animals we’ve seen over about 4 years. So it was a really special dive, and a lucky one for first timers!

Go to our gallery to see the rest of the pictures. I seem to be able to look at them over and over again!

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