409 Dive Log Australasia December 24

Titan Trigger fish with Blue Lined Snapper

amazing with many sites recording the best cover in 35 years. This has resulted in Spoilsport returning to some old sites that have recovered from past impacts of cyclones and Crown of Thorns Star Fish (COTS) infestations. There are over 30 world-class dive sites in the Ribbons (see map). It is impossible in a single blog to talk about them all, so let’s take you on a typical Spoilsport trip from Ribbon #10 to #2 with a brief description of what you may see at some of the celebrated dive sites. #10 dive in the northern section hosts ‘Dynamite Pass’, ‘Snake Pit’ and the famous ‘Cod Hole’. At the Cod Hole you will always find several friendly, easy to photograph Potato Cod. There are also lots of other fish, Triggerfish aggregation in breeding season, nemos, morays, several cleaner stations hosted by both Cleaner Wrasse & shrimp. Also, if you are lucky you may come across a Leopard Shark. At ‘Snake Pit’ – a large featureless table-top bommie dropping to beyond 30mtrs – here you will find Pygmy Seahorse (i.e. on the 30 m wall), Moray Eels, Whip Corals, Gobies, nudibranchs, resident turtle and of course, sea snakes in season. In the lower #10 and upper #9 dive sites include two of the most iconic dive sites in the GBRMP: ‘Twin Towers’ and ‘Light House Bommie’. Twin Towers is two adjacent flat-top bommies rising out of the depths which you can navigate around by a figure-8 dive path. Light House is a relative small verticle structure also rising from the depths. At both sites you will experience fantastic coral cover, walls

covered with soft corals and Gorgonian Fans and moray eels poking their heads out of numerous crevasses. There is a multitude of fish species including Long-nose Hawk Fish, Pipe Fish, Leafy Scorpionfish, Lionfish, Puffer Fish, nemos, Giant and Disco Clams, turtles, Eagle Rays and large schools of Big-eyed Trevally and Barracuda off in the deep. Look closely and you will also find soft coral crabs, and lots of different nudibranchs. Also be sure to look out for ‘Nemo City’ at Twin Towers. ‘Gotham City’ is named after the numerous Batfish found there. There are also Garden Eels on sand, and amongst the excellent coral formations: Blennies, Angles, Morays with Cleaner Shrimp, Pipefish and large White Tip Reef Sharks passing by. At ‘Pixie Wall’ we have always been able to photograph Long-nose Pipefish, Blennies, Clown Trigger Fish, Puffer Fish, various Angles Fish, nudibranchs and large Trevally which school under Spoilsport at anchor. Meanwhile, ‘Pixie Gardens’

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46 DIVE LOG Australasia #409 - December ‘24