DIVE LOG JUNE 2025 issue 412

Sailing in a tropical paradise in MIlne Bay

Well camouflaged Spindle Cowrie

encounters with Barracuda they have experienced, however we were not so lucky, again no big fish, but still a very memorable dive. The rest of the day progressed with more wall diving at sites like Sponge Heaven with its small caverns harbouring a wealth of small fish species. Also apart from the large Gorgonian Fans, Sponges, and magnificent coral cover, there were schools of Anthias, Fusiliers, Chromis, Coris, Butterfly Fish, and Angelfish. John’s vigilances of the deep paid off with the sighting of a Giant Hammerhead which appeared to be heavily pregnant. John captured some magnificent footage on his trusty GoPro. At last some large fauna! Wall diving continued into the next day at ‘Tanis Reef’, ‘Cobbs Cliff’ and ‘Boia Boia Waga’. At Tanis we encountered the usual flotilla of fish life but on one of the large Gorgonian Fans we found a Pygmy Seahorse, amongst a Black Coral a Long-Nose Hawk Fish and a Painted Crayfish hiding in a crevasse. At Cobbs some of the divers came upon another Hammerhead and had a passing glimpse of

a Swordfish as it zoomed across the shallows looking for a meal. The next day we had an ‘open deck’ (i.e. multiple dives/same site) at ‘Little China’ and a follow-up muck dive at ‘Naukata’. Apart from the usual marine life at Little China, we encountered Stargazers, Stone Fish, Rockmovers, and a pair of Crocodile Fish. While at Naukata we were amazed by the variety of Nemos and coral shrimp species. The next day we experienced a great dive amongst the giant fans at ‘Shortland’ while at ‘Grant Island Bommie’ we experienced two dives and some of the best dives of our adventure. Visibility was at 20mts which made for a great vista composed of schools of Rainbow Runners, Anthias, Fusiliers, Chromis, Coris, Butterfly Fish, and Angelfish darting in and out of the giant Gorgonian Fans and Barrel Sponges. We also found a couple of Moray Eels hiding amongst the very healthy coral cover. In the afternoon we dived P38 – a USAF Lightning fighter plane that ditched after engine failure on a Vir phillippensis shrimp on Bubble Coral

Spearer Mantis Shrimp in its burrow

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DIVE LOG Australasia #412 - June 25

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