09 Dec, 2007

A deeper dive into the ocean is rewarded by a great variety of creatures seen.

After three days of being confined to camp by rain, the first gap in the wind filled us with enthusiasm, and we weaved our way through the big surf off southern Mozambique’s coast onto a calmer Indian Ocean than we’d seen in days.

The warm, blue water was still with us, and because of the big swell and the surge that comes with it, we decided to opt for a deeper spot today. We knew about a small reef inshore of the Pinnacle off Ponta Malongane but had not been there before.

We swam down to about 20m (66ft), making out the form of a large rock surrounded by patches of sand. The gatekeepers of this spot appeared quickly: a few big Zambezi sharks circled in the distance. 

At the bottom, the diversity of this new site began to reveal itself.

We were surrounded by shoals of surgeons (Acanthurus sp) and coachmen (Heniochus acuminatus), and we swam through stands of wire coral, some growing in corkscrew formations. Little gorgonians and sea fans (also types of coral) hosted clouds of cardinals and sea goldies (Anthias squamipinnis). Feather stars (a class of echinoderm) adorned the branches of some of these deepwater ‘trees’.

On one occasion the blue roof above us was peppered with the shapes of hundreds of tuna.

A big ornate rock lobster was living in the shade of one of the sea fans, its striped feelers waggling about.

When we ascended we were immediately surrounded by huge shoals of bludger kingfish and barracuda.

Great reef life, big and small residents, fantastic hard and soft corals, sharks, tuna, as well as a host of pelagic species – we’ve given this site the name Melting Pot because of this diversity.

– By Graeme Duane, Earth-Touch crew, © Earth-Touch

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