Today was a wine and roses day of diving. Magic Point was intoxicating in a dreamy sort of way. A school of Yellowtail with no beginning and no end greeted our arrival. Its seemingly limitless size was varied by the sculptural shapes it produced. Threads of Yellowtail appeared next to us until the weave they produced made us a part of their school. It was exhilarating to be enveloped, in this way, into its dynamic form. The second cave was more jewellery box-like than ever before. Shimmering silver and gold Pomfrets were reflected in the glass-like ceiling produced by our bubbles. Colourful sponges on that ceiling seemed to be jewels set in crystal. This scene was even more surreal when watching Seapearch swimming upside down against the cave's ceiling. A solitary fusilier mixed with particularly large Long Fin Pike. A mini school of Stripeys added extra colour to this enchanted scene.
Another memorable sight from our dive at Magic Point, was a large cluster of Old Wives, which even caused a Moorish Idol to stop and look at it. It's hard to outdo a Moorish Idol in terms of its appearance - but, on this occasion, the large school of Old Wives managed to do this with ease.
Making our way back to the boat meant an encounter with a striking Eastern Blue Devil Fish. If ever a name was a mismatch this is unquestionably it: in no way does the word "devil" seem to agree with this beautiful fish.
Our second dive was one of roses: this dive of Old Man's Hat revealed some amazing sponge gardens. The colours, shapes, textures and forms of soft coral, ascidians, and sponges were dazzling. An underwater garden needs flowers and we saw them in the form of Sea Tulips (which are, in reality, an animal). Torchlight showed unexpected colour and detail of different sponges and especially Colonial ascidians. Close by, we also saw a Black Margined nudibranch. 'Hand' sponges even gave us a wave as we left that garden and continued on our underwater journey. An 'off the beaten track' exploration of this site produced unexpected aspects as well as so many memorable scenes. With twists and turns, we bumped into schools of Bulls Eyes, more Yellow Tail, and One Spot Pullers. This dive site has a gothic quality to it, with its juxtaposition of tall reef outcrops. Yet, our meandering between many of these outcrops and boulders, allowed us to see a different side to this dive site. One where denizens of this reef had made a home in this declivity or under that overhang. This journey through unexpected highways and byways of Old Man's Hat, showed us a multitude of species and novel underwater vistas.
We were explorers: there is no comprehensive dive map of Old Man's Hat, nor with so many of the other dive sites we are fortunate to be able to visit. New features are always being discovered and new creatures found. Conditions change, and we encounter a new experience. We are truly privileged to to enter this alien world and to see it under its many guises.
Kind regards,
Eric