Chamber

Droplets of water making the rocks glisten and stalactites hanging above made this a very pretty scene.

Stalactites

Masses of stalactites.

Helictites

There were lots of these funny curly little formations.

Squeezy

Simon almost couldn't fit through this little gap which lead to another chamber.

Glistening Rocks

Little drops of water made these rocks glisten in our headlamps.

Green Rocks

After scrambling over surfaces like this, our hands looked quite green when we came back out into daylight.

Guano

All those birds nesting in the same location over 100's of years lead to one BIG pile of poo! In fact, it covered everything in the outer chamber. But it wasn't wet and mushy. It was quite dry and powdery

NOT Bats

These are a mass of nesting Glossy Swiftlets inside Daniel Roux.

Entering Daniel Roux

Our friend Linda took us into the upper chamber of Daniel Roux Cave today.

Knobbly Crab

Another crab I can't find the name for :-(

Zoanthids

The rusty coloured line shows where exposure from low tides has killed some of these creatures. In this colony, their feelers are all curled inwards. Probably because the tide was low they weren't "active".

Zoanthids are different from other corals because they incorporate sand and other small pieces of material into their tissue to help form their structure.

Sponge or Coral?

Not sure if this is a sponge or a coral.

Stony coral - green

These green Stony corals are stunning. Although the yellow band of colour in this one is pretty, I think it indicates that this part of the coral has died. Possibly because it gets too much exposure during low tides?

Tree Coral

Stony coral

I think this variety of Stony coral is Peg Coral - not sure though. Because it is a young collony it looks like pebbles.

Leather Soft Coral

This coral was in very shallow water. If you look carefully, you can see that a little is poking out above the water.

Black Sea Urchin

At first I thought this was the same type of urchin I photographed a couple months ago while snorkelling. But when I checked, this urchin is a more compact ball. The other urchins had much longer spines.

If you enlarge the image and look closely at the left hand corner, you will see a little hermit crab.

Matha's Sea Urchin

Hiding in the tiniest of rock pools.

Segmented Worm

Not a very good photo because it was in a deep pool of water. These segmented worms are so pretty though.

Rock Pool Cave

Simon finished work early so we could explore the rock pools along Flying Fish Cove together. The tide was really low, so we were able to walk further than normal. This section was particularly pretty. But Simon forgot there was a pillar of rock hanging from the roof behind him when he stood up. He bashed his head pretty bad.

The funny side - we were talking earlier in the car about colouring his hair pink (which he said he would never do!). But the blood coloured a patch of his hair a lovely deep shade of pink.

Frigate Silhouette

I can't tell if this is a male or female frigate. Possibly it is the mate of the nesting frigate posted a little further down the blog (it was sitting nearby). If so, it's a female.

White Eye Silhouette

White Eye's are the jungle's alarm bells. They warn everyone else when intruders arrive.

Knot

Thess vines were a mass of knots that gave so much character to the tree they were strangling. I wonder if a virus or burrowing bugs caused the growth?

Autumn?

We don't really experience autumn in a tropical jungle. But this leaf looks pretty enough to suggest the season exists. It didn't stay pretty though - it looks very brown and shrivelled now.

Paper Wasp Nest

A nest of a different kind.

I think my hair bun saved me from a stinging. I brushed against this nest before I saw it so had this wasp buzzing in my hair for a few seconds. It flew off and returned soon after. You can see an egg next to its front leg near the bottom of the nest.

Frigate's Nest

How priveleged I felt when I came to a section of jungle with a steep decent, putting me at eye level with this nest a short distance away. This is the father on the nest - a little of his red throat is visible. My only complaint - those leaves make it difficult to see the fluffy white chick.

Christmas Island Imperial Pigeon

Christmas Island is the only place you will find this pigeon.

Emerald Dove - Finally!

This bird is very elusive. I have seen it several times but it is very timid and blends well with it's environment. So I was thrilled when it landed in a clearing and provided me with a clear shot.

Silver Bosan

What a wonderful opportunity this beautiful
bird gave me. I was standing at the top of Isabellle Cove where the Information Centre is situated. They fly very fast, so it is difficult to get a shot that is in focus. One was enough though.

Another Sea Slug

This slug was quite large - about 15cm long. You can just see one of its eye stalks on the right hand end, as well as some of its grey coloured foot poking out.

Sea Slug

When I first saw this creature on a rock I thought it was a strange looking dead jelly fish. However, when I gave it a gentle prod, it moved. It's a little difficult to see in this photo, but its eye stalks are protruding from the top edge.

Rusted Chain

Some of the debri on the beach becomes a part of the landscape. This piece didn't have anything growing on it - yet.

Hard Coral

I didn't climb out onto the ledge to check, but I'm fairly sure this is hard coral (not soft).

More Soft Coral

Soft Coral

Some of the soft corals become exposed when the tide gets low enough.

Upside Down

I'm addicted to exploring rock pools at the moment. This little hermit crab gave me a great view of his little green body when he fell over backwards.

Coconut Palm

We are never short of fresh coconut. This palm is in our back yard. Simon is becoming an expert on opening them. They are so delicious. Although I'm still not keen on the milk (pulling a face).

Star Fruit

This Star Fruit tree is also growing at the National Park's Day Park. I'm going to have to try one when it is ripe (yellow).

Bread Fruit

This Bread Fruit tree is a very large tree growing at the National Park's Day Park. I am going to have to try the fruit at some stage. When it is green it is prepared one way, then when it is ripe (yellow) it is prepared a different way.

Paw Paw Palm

It's a pity that Simon and I don't like Paw Paw. We have a palm in our back yard, and there are others like this one growing around the Island.

Banana Palm

These bananas are growing in our back yard.

Ripe Passionfruit

These passionfruit taste ok, but it's a lot of
work to get one mouthful. And the seeds are a bit too much.

Prickly Passionfruit

This passionfruit is an introduced pest. It grows like a ground cover.

Killer ants

This baby crab was already dead. Crazy ants killed it and were still eating it's flesh.

Crab Fly

Without realizing at the time, I photographed this Fly. I have been curious about what it looks like because I couldn't find a picture on the internet. It's the fly that lays its eggs in the mouth gills of red crabs. The red dot is its eye.

Loading Phosphate

Low Tide

Exposed Coral

The lowness of the tide today made the cove look very pretty.

Black Coral

I think these little black creatures are small soft corals.

Rock Pool Crab #2

I'm having trouble identifying some of the crabs that live in the rock pools. I've decided that someone needs to publish a book just on Christmas Island Crabs. No - you didn't just see my hand go up to volunteer!