Blue Lagoon - More Photos

Aurora_b
Mike and Liz Downing
Tue 21 Aug 2012 01:31
More pictures from the Blue Lagoon, some from underwater when exploring the reefs - there are several good ones close by. 
 
The southern entrance to the Blue Lagoon, as shown on the chartplotter using Navionics Gold
charts, not forgetting that white/blue is sea, yellow is land and green is reef!
 
The blue line is our course from Google Earth, showing that there is actually quite a wide channel through the reef. In this parts of Fiji there are whole islands shown on the charts that don't exist when you get there, and we found at least one island that was there, but not shown on the charts. It keeps you on your toes! We've easily spent more time preparing routes in Fiji than we have anywhere else we've been.
 
An evening meal ashore at the resort with Canadian friends on Sarah Jane II. Those are not stars
in the background, but flames from the lights, many of them suspended from the palm trees,
giving a lovely atmosphere.
 
At anchor with our mooring ball up for the first time since we arrived in Fiji - just in case
the Flyer gets too close!
 
 A feeding frenzy - at one special spot the resort boats feed the fish, so they all get excited
whenever a boat arrives.
 
Do we want to get out of the dinghy amongst this lot? We had been told that if you don't bring
some food, they have a nip at you instead, so cover up.
 
And this is what it looks like when you do go in. We had wetsuits on, so not a problem.
 
Two different types of bannerfish.
 
The very oddly constructed boxfish.
 
This is the first time we have ever seen one of these and were very lucky to do so. It's a
many-spotted sweetlips juvenile. The adults are quite different.
 
More butterflyfish.
 
A clam tucked away within the coral.
 
A coral with it's polyps out feeding.
 
The biggest octopus we have seen, hiding in the coral.
 
We assume it was  able to sense our presence and it started to turn white to blend in with the
surroundings.
 
Now very white.
 
We see these pipefish all the time and so rarely take a photo of one.