On Sun, 2 May 2004 10:52:47 -0400, Krazy Kiwi Viv <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

< big snips with kiwi shears;  just a few quickie comments >

> I'll submit my better pics at a
>later date to support Bjorn's trip report for the Nekton mag.

Sue came up with the link:
http://www.oceanlight.com/html/mola_mola.html


>The first two dives were the most swift I've ever encountered.

Surely you jest.  I remember hanging on the rope with Mika, but it
lasted only a short portion of the dive, right before the end.


>The only blacktip sharks I within view were the human kind - da Feeesh &
>ScubaSue :-)

Not true!  What you thought was the baby nurse shark tugged under
a coral was a blacktip.   That's what the DM said, though we could
see only the face which looked like a nurse.


>Sue saw a picasso triggerfish.

SOB that we were, I didn't see it.  But I saw several Clown Triggerfish
-- my next favorite.


>- the Blue & Emperor angelfish,

That's an impressive looking critter, much more so than the Queen
angelfish.



>chanced across a couple of nursesharks resting up under one bommie.

Blacktips.  :-)

>recall feeling someone, who I guessed was Bob (coz he was the only one
>near me at that time) brush over the top of me while I was busy having a
>squizz at these sharks.

You mean the current tumbled me over you while you were trying to take
the pic?  :-)

> They were so well hidden even Mika, who had been
>at this very spot a few mins before we drifted over to it, did not realise
>they were there.

I got a pic of one of those.

>I only saw one cuttlefish who was not in the mood to play.

I saw one at the Blue Lagoon?   It must've been a she cuttle.
Because she and I looked at each other for a long time and I looked
around and couldn't find anyone to come look.  I had used my entire
roll of film on the 1st dive, so I didn't get to take a pic of this
gal.  I was about as close to her as I could get without kissing
each other.   On the other hand, it might have been a he cuttle
who was fascinated at my goatee.  :-)

>
>The Manta Point dive was something I will never forget.  Seeing those
>mantas coming in one after the other to their cleaning station and hanging
>there like large hovercraft was amazing. There were was one manta who
>unfortunately had a hook and some line hanging from its mouth.

I didn't see that one, but my pix did turn out, but very poorly, without
the strobe.  THe all-black one was ther:

I followed
>3 of them over to another bommie away from their cleaning station where I
>first came across the one that was nearly black all over. Apart from a
>couple of white patches on its underbelly it was totally black ..


>the Rastaman was doing a head-count

Was that the DM with the braided hair and was Mika's personal baby
sitter on every dive -- cuz Mika was always stayed until he sucked
his last breath out of the tank whereas the rest of us sometimes
got back with half a tank of air left.  :-)

All in all, you did see and recognize about 10 times as many fish
as I could identify.  :-)

-- Bob.