The joy of (looking at) fish

The old lighthouse

We're back at Lady Elliot Island. Last year's visit was such fun that we booked another five nights this year. Once again, the main activity has been snorkelling in the Coral Sea. The fish and turtles are magnificent!

As well as snorkelling in the lagoon daily, I've taken three boat trips out into deeper water to snorkel with guides. The fish and coral are a delight, and this time we saw an eagle ray – the largest our guide had ever seen. Gorgeous.

Other special stuff this week has included:

– watching thirty or so newly hatched green turtles scamper down to the sea
– seeing, and hearing, mutton birds
– 'meeting' Nigel, a largish fish resident in the lagoon, who likes to get up close and personal with snorkellers
– participating in numerous activities on the island, including talks on the history and ecology, a reef walk, and a 'night stalk', and helping out with the monthly survey of debris collected

The debris survey had an unexpected bonus – we found a message in a bottle! One of the plastic bottles found on the beach had something rolled up inside, and it turned out to be a handwritten letter, some photos and ten (Australian) dollars. It seemed a woman in Sydney had asked a relative to hurl the bottle off a cruise ship (long story), and wanted the finder to call her with news of where it had landed. We hope she was happy to hear from a Lady Elliot staff member.

There's something joyful about floating around and looking at tropical fish. It is good to be back.

Turtle tracks on the beach