House Reef

Since we didn't get enough of snorkelling yesterday, we returned to the beach after breakfast. Despite of the sunny hot weather, people were still swimming and snorkelling there, no worry of the Ultra Violet that causes skin cancer. We applied high factor sun block for protection.

Not forgetting the crabs in the bottle, we released them here. The condition was different from yesterday, now the water level is high and the current is pretty strong. The first thing I saw when I got my head down to the water was a Black-spotted Boxfish, without any expectation. I just like to be here, various species of marine being are to be discovered. I overheard a guy said to his friends that here is more interesting than Sibu Kukus Island. They regretted didn't come here early, as they are leaving the island this afternoon.

There are rock barriers placing at some meters away from the shore, we assumed they are the indicators for snorkelling area. For safety reason, we didn't go beyond the barriers. As the barriers are made up by stacking rocks, the empty spaces between rocks make a good dwelling for eels. I attempted to search for them, but didn't encounter any. Instead, we saw a Blue-spotted Ribbontail Stingray at the depth of about 2 meter, really surprise to see it at such a shallow water.
 A lot of people already left the beach, quieter now. I couldn't stand the hot sun and the strong current made me exhausted, we decided to come up and end this session. But we would be back again in the evening, that would be the final one in our trip.

Many guests checked-out the resort, the management had to arrange extra ferry schedule to accommodate the guests back to the mainland. We were sitting at the Beach Bar which only operating in the night; resting and enjoying every scenery portrayed to me. The ferry finally arrived at approximately 5pm to fetch the last batch of guests. After they left, we picked up the snorkelling gear again and headed to the same beach.

The Striped Spinecheek was just too friendly and  followed me along, it waited aside when I stopped to take photos. If it waited too long, it would come to my front to signal move on. It was just so cute of it! Various types of Sea Cucumber can be found here, the Black, the Prickly Red, the Spotted, and some I couldn't even identified. There are combination of hard and soft corals at this area, but hard corals take the predominant. Plenty of clams, shrimps, tubed-worms, and crabs are found.

I got a shock when something slap my buttock, then I came to know that it was the Dascyllus. It looked aggressive because this species is territorial. It must be thaught that I invaded its territory, because I stopped there long enough to take photo of the Butterflyfish. Another remarkable item was the Scorpion Shell, it's about 30cm. It could be missed easily, as the shell is just the same as the ground. I also saw the parrotfish used its mighty teeth to lift the coral for food.

What an exciting exprience! If I were here to stay longer, I would go to other nearby beaches to explore. I'm sure there are more interesting and beautiful marine life form waiting for us to discover.