The Manta Experience

[strauss]

Hi Guys,

Just wanted to share some photos from a recent freediving trip in Queensland, Australia.

Facebook | Daniel Strauss's Photos – Queensland 2007

D

[SanderP]

Looks like you had some beautiful diving there. Thanks for the photos!

[island_sands]

oh you jammy jammy person!!!! fantastic photos mate. is that a regular sighting in Queensland?

[cdavis]

Nice, Very Very Nice!!

Connor

[strauss]

Lady Elliot Island has a resident population of Manta Rays. Pretty special.

[immerlustig]

WOW!

very cool images indeed.

roland

[harbour seal]

beautiful pictures! thanks for sharing. loved the use of natural light.

like the first star of the night, lady elliot island, floats alone in the sea;
not a place you want to be with a storm looming. whoa!

changes in ocean levels over time would be rather evident on that wee spot of land.

cheers,
sean
vancouver, canada

[strauss]

Here is the story to go with it. Enjoy.



The drudgery of Melbourne life was eroding our souls. I do love Melbourne, however mid winter freediving in Port Philip is not enough to anchor a freediver.

Dive buddy David and I decided to plan a winter trip.

Over the last year David and I had dived in Indonesia, Egypt, Brazil and Honduras. We spoiled ourselves with some of the finest diving on the planet; it was now time to experience Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

Many hours of virtual trawling revealed Lady Elliot Island. The official Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort website presents mesmerising images of crystalline waters brimming with creatures great and small. However, it was the promise of shore access to dive sites and no-fuss facilities that excited us boatless penny pinching breath holders.

Lady Elliot Island is a small coral cay 80km off the coast of South Queensland. The small coral-formed island is the southernmost point of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort is the only accommodation available. Like many of Australia's natural wonders turned natural resources, Lady Elliot has been used and abused. First, sea cucumbers. Later, guano. Infact, guano industrialists introduced a small population of goats who successfully ate every plant, bar a single tree. After the goats devoured the last leaf on the last plant they took a tip from the parrot fish and tried to feed on coral at low tide.

In 1969 the goats were shot. A long revegetation process began. You may be pleased to know that in addition to the still standing goat-proof tree, the island is now well vegetated and is home to a diverse mix of birdlife.

The resort itself is owned an operated by a private company who leases the island from the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. Sorry, no hunting. This, coupled with to the continued commitment of resort management to ecologically sustainable tourism, helps to ensure that the human footprint on this once plundered dot is minimised.

Whilst waiting to depart from Hervey Bay Airport, staff told us that on the morning flight out they spotted a pod of humpback whales breaching and generally showing off. I had no reason not to believe them, however for some reason I didn't. Queenslanders like to mess with Victorians.

The 30 minute flight across Harvey Bay to Lady Elliot Island is eye opening. The low altitudes allow for spectacular views of Fraser Island and the bay. From the air it is clear why Fraser is a world heritage zone, and why the whales like to hang here for winter.

As little Lady Elliot Island peered over the horizon to greet us, the pilot banked left. The Queenslanders were not messing with us.

A family of humpbacks were milling about in the clear water below. We yawed and circled for a few minutes to watch the whales at play. We witnessed calves mimicking their parent's movements in a touching display of family unity.

Immediately after touching down on the 500 metre airstrip David and I made our way to the dive shop. We were ready to get into the water. Ready to freedive.

We were greeted by the dive shop manager, Mark. Being a fellow freediver, he was enthusiastic about the joining us in the water. Off we went.

After we moored I dove straight into the water with no breathe up. I couldn't wait to get under there. My last dive was almost a year earlier and after so long I couldn't even spare two minutes for a little respiration.

The modest 15 metre visibility did not affect our first impressions of Lady Elliot's fringe reef. Upon immersion, we could clearly hear humpback whales sounding off. According to Mark, they were particularly loud. Particularly close. Only an hour earlier we had seen them from the air. Listening to their shrill musings in the ocean was eerie. The first day was a truly a success. We saw silvertip reef sharks, green sea turtles, a healthy population of fish, bubble divers and dozens of manta rays.

The day's diving ended with Mark showing us "The Blowhole", a cave with an opening at each end. The entrance is on the outer reef wall at a depth of 20-25 meters. The cave extends for 20 meters, exiting on the reef table at 15 metres. Quite a swim.

Mark and I dove down to take a look into the cave through the entrance. Swim throughs like this are inviting. I peered into the entrance, even slipping into the darkness for a few long moments. After we returned to the surface Mark tapped me on the shoulder and said "spot me". With no consideration for my ego, Mark swum through The Blowhole and exited safely. I wanted to do the blowhole with no fins the following day, but unfortunately we were unable to dive that side of the island for the rest of our stay due to unfavourable winds. By unfavourable, I mean, really big winds and crashing waves.

David and I spent most of the following two days exploring Lady Elliot's other sites including Lighthouse, Anchor Bommie, the Severance Wreck, Three Pyramids and Coral Gardens. We saw a wide variety of life including the now infamous cowtail bull ray, barracuda, potato cod, coral trout, anemone fish, turtles, eagle rays and blue angelfish. The biodiversity of the region is seemingly unaffected by the coral bleaching evident in northerly sections of the Great Barrier Reef.

However, the richest experience by far was spending an afternoon with a large group of harmless white and black manta rays. We freely interacted with the magical creatures for hours. Rarely did they alter their path to avoid us. Rather, they were curious and inquisitive. We were careful not to touch them but at times the got so close it seemed they wanted an itch scratched. For hours we held our breath- mimicking and mirroring their movements, albeit with a gracelessness uniquely human.

Island staff are currently undertaking a photographic manta identification project and have preliminary results that suggest the island has an almost permanent population of up to 100 manta rays. It seems our experience was not at all unusual.

Lady Elliot offers a unique opportunity for breath-hold divers to simultaneously explore their limits and stunning underwater environments. Swap your speargun for a camera and your frying pan for a projector. Shoot and share with new enthusiasm.

[harbour seal]

hello straus,

thanks for adding the story, which further enrich your beautiful pictures.

i enjoyed reading of your adventures , especially, from such a sublime location. i hazard to say that i am now completely enchanted with lady eliot island.

cheers,
sean
vancouver, canada