Lemus and Ral Islands

What, I hear you say, Two posts in as many days? What can I say, I'm on a roll, okay?! Plus, the stuff we saw at Lemus and Ral Islands today is too good not to share. Conny unfortunately did not follow up with her incredible find of the mimic octopus from yesterday, but not for lack of trying. Peni had so wanted to see it, I don't think he saw much else, so focused was he on the octopus. Alas, no cigar. Still, lots of other stuff to see...

Robust Gostpipefish, this one is the female. Her partner was also there,
but they were obviously having domestics, as one was on that side
of the coral, the other around the corner. 

Baramundi Cold, posing nicely for me!

Chomodorididae Glossodoris atromarginata

Another decorator crab. I find these little buggers so
very ingenious! I mean, how clever to stick bits of coral,
rubble, grass etc. on your head and body so you blend in?

Another one for my "weird animals I've never seen before"
category. This one might also be a jelly fish, but again,
if anyone out there has any ideas, please let me know! 

Where on earth did that month just go?

I can't believe it's been a month since I last posted any stories, photos or just silly comments. There has been plenty to report, a few photos to share, so lets get to it. 
A dive at my favourite dive site, The Bottleshop, produced some great shots. 

Scorpionfish 

How cute is this little Blennie? They
always look like they are smiling! 

While our friends Imi and Christopher Bartlett were here, Dietmar and I took the opportunity to join them on the dive boat one Sunday. Danny's Bommie was as great as always, as was Kavin II, even without Pygmy Seahorse. Christopher had given me some camera hints, which I was keen to try out. The first photos at Danny's Bommie were still "practice photos", but at Kaving, I was slowly getting the hang of it, .... at least I think so.... feel free to disagree. 

Orangutan Crab - what a hairy little bugger!

For want of knowing the proper name, I've called this
species "Green Crab".

Dietmar Smartypants just tells me this crab lives in the Halimeda algae, so it could be a Halimeda Crab. Of course, after looking this up on the internet, Mr Smartypants is right.

Speaking of not knowing what is what down there, have a look at this weirdo below. Christopher and I took stacks of photos, but mine didn't turn out very well, and as far as I know, neither did Christopher's. It's really hard to photograph something like this in blue water, especially when there is other stuff floating around. That doesn't make identifying this creature any easier, and no, it's not a fishing hook/floater! 

Jellyfish? It was approx. 20cm long from tail till the bent
where it then comes down to the two eyes, or whatever
they were. 

If anyone out there has any ideas as to what this could be, I'd love to hear from you! 

The divers just came back from Ral Island, a dive Dietmar and I were meant to join. Unfortunately, duty called, but according to the divers, they saw a mimic octopus! Yeah, right, and pigs might fly one day. You are just saying that to make us jealous, it's probably another one of those diver stories. No, no, we have pictures!! Great, thanks for telling me, I wanted to come along, remember?!?!?!?! 

Well, I've just informed them that we are going back to Ral tomorrow, whether they like it or not. I want to see Mimi, the mimic octopus! Luckily, the guests are also keen to see her again, so Ral it is tomorrow. Hopefully, I'll get some decent photos, and hopefully, Mimi is still there.....