There were tons of different types of nudibranchs to see in Byron Bay's protected Marine Park waters.
This Egg Cowrie does not look like a cowrie shell at all to me. Maybe I have to look a little closer next time.
A cool white with black outline nudibranch. Nudibranchs are basically the slugs of the sea -- it's a good thing they're a lot more interesting to look at underwater than their dry earth cousins.
This is probably one of the most colourful nudibranch I saw on the trip.
Anemonies... look closely inside these to find ...what else but anemonyfish!
...also known as Clown Fish or "Nemo" from the Disney Movie "Finding Nemo".
These fish are typically very shy and tend to stay in the venomous anemonies for protection.
They have a simbiotic relationship with the anemonies where each protects the other.
It's interesting to see how the anemony's "tentacles" are different at the ends in areas with much more current.
Now.. here's a puzzle. Can you figure out what this is???
I bet you never thought it would be a shark! This Wobbegong is a common australian shark. Typically a bottom dweller during day, similar to its carribbean cousin the "Nurse Shark". What's even more confusing is Australia's "Grey Nurse Shark" which is much more like a large carribbean reef shark than a carribbean nurse shark. Phewph. Any questions?
A resting wobbegong seen from overhead.
In Byron Bay, we saw dozens upon dozens of wobbegong. So many that there were often some within a few feet of each other as is demonstrated in this picture.
Take a close look at this picture of the wobbegong... can you see it's gator-like eye of this wobbegong. He doesn't look like he's in a mood for a glamour shot.
This is the famed Byron Bay dive site, Julian Rocks. And yes, she does rock!
A map of all the dive sites surrounding the area. We covered most of the terrain on the west side from Hugo's Trench to Split Bommie.
Here's the Byron Bay Dive Centre's zodiac dive boat.
The jeep drove right into the beach's waters to let the boat glide off.
Divers and their tanks... eagerly looking forward to diving.
