Allison and Simon: June 2010

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Even with 4WD I objected to plowing through this section of road, because Dad said he wouldn't push if we got bogged. It was only 10 minutes walk to the start of the walking trail, so it was worth playing it safe.

Shelter

At least we had sunshine the first four days Dad was here. We took shelter under this little rock overhang for 15 minutes while we waited for a heavy downpour to ease up a bit.

Tiny Green Crab

Smaller than my little finger nail. We explored some rock pools and found lots of very small crabs - most of which were not very cooperative about being photographed.

Very Yellow Nipper

This is the biggest and yellowest Yellow Nipper I've ever seen! Roughly 10 cm across the carapace.

Tree House

The inside of this massive Tahitian Chestnut Tree is hollow.

Strangler Fig

Looking up inside what used to be a Tahitian Chestnut tree, and is now just the strangler fig lace work.

Maiden Veil Fungi

Also called a Stink Horn - although I couldn't smell anything. I was so wrapped at finding this fungi because I've wanted a photograph for the last year.

I have since found some of these broken up. Some had a slightly sweet pungeant smell, others were more on the nose. So I assume the name "stink horn" refers to the smell they develop as they decompose.

Booby eggs

This Brown Booby was very obliging. Right on cue she adjusted her eggs so we could get photos of them.

Goshawk

This Goshawk had caught a Praying Mantis. It was too busy eating to be worried by us sneaking up with our cameras.

Mating

If you look closely, you will see a small orange spider on the right side of this Giant Wood Spider. It's the male of the species trying to get some action.

Hungry?

Dad saw the prices in the supermarket, so decided to try his luck with jungle food :-)

Hermit crab

From the big, down to the very little.

Dad with Robber

Dad gets right into the wildlife here on CI. No hesitation about picking things up.

Dad with Red

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Diving

This photo of me diving was taken during the Underwater Festival in April.

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Electric Clam

These clams hide away in crevises. They have an electric light that flashes around their lips. This one lives in the entrance to Thunder Dome cave. If you Google, you can see several videos of them flashing on Youtube.

Glass Shrimp

These shrimp are tiny. I'm amased my photo turned out so clear.

Yellowmargin Moray

These Morays can grow to over 2m in length.

On the move

It's unusual to see one of these Brittle Stars walking about during the day time. Normally they only become active at night.

Crown of Thorns

This beauty almost took my breath away, although it's a good thing there aren't many of them around here because they eat the coral. In a healthy ecosystem, they have their own predators. Harlequin shrimp, giant triton, and humphead wrasse prey on the adults, while anything that eats plankton preys on the juveniles. There is even a coral polyp (Pseudocorynactis - a type of anemone) that can eat the crown whole!

Batfish

These Batfish are so awesome to swim with. They are really friendly and come up very close.

Green Turtle

I swam with a turtle on Cocos last year, but this is the first turtle I have swum with here on CI. The length of its tail is the easiest way to tell it apart from the Hawksbill which is also found around CI. The Green turtle doesn't get its name from the colour of its shell. Its name comes from the colour of the fat underneath its shell.