Nudibranchs on Great Astrolabe on Kadavu, Fiji

What a trip!

For the last week I have had the pleasure of meeting and diving with Bill Boyce.

Bill has an extensive knowledge of the marine environment, a great understanding of current conservation issues, his joke telling ability is second to none and he has an amazing talent for underwater photography. And these talents I’m sure are the tip of the iceberg that is Bill Boyce, however the greatest thing about diving with Bill is his enthusiasm… about everything.

 Joe and Bill fishing for sailfish (a Fiji National Record there!)
AND we didn't cut Joe out the photo this time Tim!

Now as a dive guide you always want to find the holy grail of species, the most beautiful nudibranch, the harlequin ghost pipe fish, the biggest manta, whatever it is you want to show the divers, you want it to be well cool! So I show Bill a few things that I find amazing, a beautiful emerald anemone, this gets a "YAHOO!" (yes he can talk underwater!), a pipe fish gets a few high fives and by the time I show him a tiny little nudibranch nestled in a sand flat I get a great big shove and I can hear him shouting underwater ‘no way man – how’d you see that!’

We surface from every dive and Bill is exploding with excitement about everything we just saw. This is the kind of diving I love, when every single thing underwater is appreciated, when every fish is admired for its diversity, where every nudibranch has its five minutes of fame, where each scratch on a sharks sleek body is recognised. People who are excited about diving, keep diving alive.

Thanks a lot Bill, all I can say is what a trip!  

The Day I met Bella and Rupert

So it took me a while for my eye to adjust to the fact that the reef was not just a blur of color but was actually made up of individual living things. It as my first dive in Fiji where I saw them.

Never have I seen this marvel of  nature anywhere else, New Zealand could boast some wonderful creatures but none like this tiny perfectly painted shell-less molusc. And it instantly became my favourite - The Nudibranch.

From the Family Chromodorididae it took me some time to distinguish nudibranchs clearly from the flatworms which also frequent the reef. This tiny creature is intricate with colors that just amaze me.

So I began searching for them on every dive, the divemasters here, Mas, Jone and Jo definitly had developed their eye to find them and could spot one a good few meters away.

I'd thought I had seen them all, but today I found my favourite. With a light pink skirt and black stripes following the perfectly formed frame, I called them Bella and Rupert.

Now i'm sure there is many scientific experts on the subject of Nudibranchs that could identify classes and subclasses of these creatures on fine anatomical features. But all I can say (without sounding too girly) is that they are so pretty.

Kate the Kiwi Diving Instructor at Mad Fish Dive Centre

Diamond in The Rough

 Today whilst diving in Fiji with Eddie and Philipa from NZ (Yah some fellow Kiwis to keep me company). We dropped down to twenty and started our dive on the purple wall. Eddie and Philipa had never dived on a coral reef before so I just couldn't wait to get them down where the visibilty let you see further then a few meters (unlike the typical NZ diving they were used to (and I had forgotten).

It was on the second dive we saw the sea turtle which was a first for them and I never get bored of seeing this beautiful creature float past. But that wasn't what I was looking for, huge gropers, baracuda, angelfish, butterflyfish, unicorn fish,  but I still hadn't found what I wanted to show them.

It wasn't untill I'd almost given up hope of finding it and there he appeared - a diamond in the rough - I called him Henry, and he was beautiful. From the family Chromodorididae this little nudibranch as small as he was sure could give the rest of his underwater companions a run for their money!

Kate the Kiwi Diving Instructor at Mad Fish Dive Centre

Nudibranchs and Sea Snails by Helmut Debelius

A beautiful book containing over 1020 color photos, depicting gastropods from the West Coast of the US to the Red Sea to South Africa.

Half of the book is devoted to gastropods with shells and half of the book concerned with those without shells(nudibranchs) all live and in their natural habitat. There is nothing so brightly colored as a nudibranch and to see one "swim" is pure joy. A must have for divers, aquarists and those who love nature.





Although there is some animals misidentified I find it still a good field guide and should be well received by anyone who appreciates beauty.