Parsley Bay - Two Trips

Over the holidays I had a few friends in town keen to give snorkeling a go, so I thought Parsley Bay would be a perfect beginner spot. They were great days above and below :)

Everywhere I looked the juveniles were out and schooling.

Another guarantee for Parsley Bay is Common Stingaree's. Whilst they look quite dangerous the chance of a sting is low, usually only occurring in shallow water when swimmers step on one accidentally.

I may have gotten too close to this one.

Rough Flutemouths were also cruising around the shark nets.

And a couple of Fan-Bellied Filefish.

Moon Jellies provided a chance to try out my new strobe light (more on that in my next post).

Toadfish also provided a few good shots. I'm not too sure if this is a Smooth Toadfish as it is a bit more yellow than I usually see.

Mourning Cuttlefish were also camouflaged all over the place.

However, the big surprise of the trip was this new weird fish I hadn't seen before. I'm thinking it could be a Sand Flounder but I'm not too sure yet. I took a fair few shots just because I couldn't get passed it's sideways frowny face, camo, and strange swimming style.

Cabbage Tree Bay - Long Weekend

With a long weekend, I figured it was worth getting out of my local neighbourhood and hitting one of my favourite South Sydney spots... Cabbage Tree Bay. The water was cool and clear so this is another pretty long post.

There were a few big Blue Gropers out in force. Surprisingly the Eastern Blue Groper is not actually a 'grouper' but in fact a wrasse. The juveniles are typically a greenish brown, in females this shifts to a reddish brown with age, whilst the adult male are bright blue. They can grow to be 1.2m, with a round belly, heavy scales, and thick lips.

There was also a heap of other wrasses out and about.

Senator Wrasse:

Crimson Banded Wrasse:

Maori Wrasse:

Their juvenile offspring:

And my first ever Rainbow Wrasse:

I also found a massive Old Wife, hiding down deep.

There was a couple of Indo-Pacific Sergeant's enjoying the clear water.

Not to mention an adult and child pair of Neon Damsel's.

I haven't yet figured out this black and yelllow fellow.

I also didn't know this spotty:

I found a great Blacksaddle Goatfish:

There were plenty of Black Tipped Bullseye's:

A big school of Squid:

There were Rock Cale's chewing on algae everywhere:

A terrific Fan Bellied File Fish:

I love this bay.