Great Barrier Reef WARNING LOTS OF PHOTOS!

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8924364#post8924364 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by edr42
yup, the wallabies are all over the place
They mostly come out at dawn and dusk and just sit in the shade during the day, but they do wander about.
Any sort of restauraunt would go down well in Townsville, and if you aim at the uni (JCU) there will be no shortage of customers at all. Incidentally, about a third of JCU is American exchange students, and the first thing they all do is look for the local mexican place, of which there is only one.
It's hard to imagine wallabies all around -- I'd have to go to the zoo to see one.

Only one Mexican restaurant? That's hard to imagine, too. Here in Houston there's almost literally one on every corner - lol.
 
Absolutely stunning photos, thanks for sharing! And thanks to melev for letting people know about this thread ;)
 
This is my usual dive spot, not bad is it?
It's ok, if you like that sort of thing - :lol: ;) ;)

I feel like I'm getting to know that big parrot fish. Do you see any of the same fish when you go back to the same spots?
 
Some of the more recognisable fish (like Elvis the giant barracuda, and VW the Giant Grouper) are definately regulars, and a lot of the other smaller fish are too.
The clowns don't stray too far, and the turtles can be identified, and it is very likely that most of the fish are residents, but there are just too many to keep track of.
 
On the subject of regulars, these are some regulars that i play around with down in Sydney, where i'm currently spending the summer break.

GiantCuttlefishinAmbush.jpg

Giant Cuttlefish setting up an ambush

GiantCuttlefish.jpg

The same Cuttle 30 seconds later, incidentaly this is just before he came over and tried to grab my mask, very curiuos creature.

Blueygettingapat.jpg

This is Bluey, my wild pet Blue Grouper, he likes a pat and a sea urchin every now and then.

Bluegrouperbeingfed.jpg


AdultMaleEasternBlueGrouper.jpg


UnidentifiedNudibranch.jpg

This is just an interesting nudibranch.

BanjoRay.jpg

A friendly Banjo ray that lets me pat him now.

TruncateCoralfish.jpg

Truncate Coralfish, always in the same area, and always in pairs.

WaratahAnemone.jpg

Waratah Anemone (it just looks nice)

JuvenileWhiteEarDamselfish.jpg

Juvenile White Ear damsel (gotta catch one of these for my tank!)
 
VERY nice pictures.
you are sooo lucky to live there. it is one of my goals in life, to dive in the Great Barrier Reef.
have any more?
 
Wow! This thread gets better and better. So the grouper can bite down on an urchin with all those spines?

Thanks again for all the eye candy! You've got some excellent shots. Could that water be any more blue! :eek2:
 
Bluey seems to love chomping on sea urchins, and gets quite excited when i give him one. Those thick rubberoid lips are super tough and fishes mouths are largely thick, insensitive tissue.
There are plenty more photos, i'm still sorting through my photo album, so more will be posted.
At the moment i'm off for a dip, might go say hello to bluey...
 
Man that picture of the Ray is just unbelievable! I love the picture of the grouper. It shows a ton of character!

If you could; next time you go down, snap some macros of some of the table corals!:D
 
Some more photos:

HeronIslandSharkBay.jpg

Heron Island, not a bad place to do research work eh?

HeronIslandReefFlat.jpg

The reef flat on Heron, good for inspecting the corals at low tide, or for a snorkel at high.

Bluey-3.jpg

Who wants a sea urchin?

Bluey-2.jpg

I think Bluey does.....

Bluey-1.jpg

Yup, someone is hungry. (and so is his entourage!)

Bluey-4.jpg

Bluey being dark and mysterious.


And a movie of a surface feeding mega school of chromis on the reef.
 
Oh my gosh, I'm so jealous I could cry :mixed:

Do you know what those white spots are on Bluey? :fish2:
 
Thanks again for all of these GREAT pictures & video! Your really getting me pumped up for a trip to Palau!;)
 
Some of the spots are just scratches, he has really thick skin. But most of them are just backscatter.
I have some more movies here, and photos.
Now where are they........
 
Here we go,
These are from Heron Island, the turtles were all over the place as i was there during the breeding season.


Akindynos clowns in an LTA








This turtle was a little annoyed that i disturbed its nap.
 
Heres the rest of them:


A very photogenic Green Turtle, i think he liked me.


Grazing parrotfish


Stacked clams


A little blue spot ray hiding in the corals.

Now where are those photos hiding...
 
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