Blog Log! 27 July, 2008!

August 5, 2008

It’s been awhile since you took a look at underwater Hantu! I hope the pictures this dive satiate your cravings! But before all that… a weather report! It’s the middle of the year and when we should be expecting hot and dry days, many of you on this island Republic will realise that it’s been anything but. Scattered showers and storms have been dotting the week, and it looks like the tend is going to keep up till the monsoon season. With it raining throughout the year, you wonder if the “monsoon season” needs a new definition. Despite the ominous weather, lucky us, we had sunshine all day. I even managed to get a little bit roasted. (Not that I had the intention) ABOVE: Six banded Angelfish, Copper banded Butterflyfish

And what better way to compliment a sunny day than with great vis at Hantu! If you couldn’t join us this weekend, you missed a pretty lot! Regular divers of Hantu appreciate a day of good vis, and newcomers to the waters wonder what all the hype is about. More than anything, improved vis simply means diving with a little more comfort, there’s no greater or less luck with finding critters. ABOVE: Carpet eel blenny, Speckled goatfish

I managed to spot myself an elusive though relatively well known critter of local waters, the Ceratosoma nudibranch with its winglike appendages. But what bewildered me more was this yellow little sea slug, covered with spectacular white knobs with pink tips. This was one thing I’d never seen before. If you can tell by the size of the algae in the same shot, this critter was tiny. So it was tough getting a good shot of it though there is another view of it in our Gallery.

Taking advantage of the decent vis, I took this wideshot of the silver moonies. They are surreal to watch and often school in the waters of Hantu. They are skittish and can disappear very quickly when there’s too much activity in the water. They also like to keep shallow, which ironically leads to them often being missed because divers like to look down into the depths!

But the truth is, there are some good things to see in the deep depths. Especially if you bother to squint really hard. Like this Whip coral goby. Marvelous creatures.

Blue spotted fantail rays are often found hiding under some crevice during the day time, because they’re actually nocturnal. During daylight they hide and rest, and at night they’re our in full force, hunting for a meal. I actually spotted this ray sleeping next to a very unassuming neighbour…

A surprisingly laid back Red swimmer crab rests in a crevice next to the ray. These crabs are also more active at night. Anyone who’s seen a Red swimmer crab on the offense will be able to tell how unprovoked this individual is.

There were PLENTY of crinoids out at Hantu. Someone should really look into why most of the crinoids in Hantu are predominantly red or reddish. We’ve seen some green, yellow and white ones, but most often we come across the red ones.

On the way back to mainland, we were so excited to see the mighty Rainbow Warrior berthed at the marina. This ship has traveled across all the world’s oceans and is an ambassador for peace not only towards the environment but towards humanity. It was very inspiring to finally behold this great ship.

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