Just have my last pre-dawn intertidal trips over the weekends for this year.
Was at Semakau for the guide training but I ended up doing things for the filming.
On Saturday, we reached Semakau in the middle of a thunder storm from West Coast Pier.
Someone in the group must have agitated Mother Nature.
As it was weekend, no transportation was provided to bring us to the entrance of the mangrove. We have to walk 2km from the jetty together with our gears in the light rain.
When we reached the mangrove and proceeded into the forested area to get to shore, along the way, someone in front came across a snake. But the snake was fast and disappeared into the bushes before he could get a second glance at it. All we know was that it was black with yellow spots.
Upon reaching the shore, we set up and set out towards the sandbar and reef areas. Things were pretty quiet until someone spotted a FROGFISH. It was a camera shy black Frogfish about 5cm big. Later, someone spotted another Frogfish again. This one was more active and we got all the shoots that we needed it to do except eating a fish.
I came across a nudibranch (
sinuate ceratosoma) on a tape seagrass. It was sitting there like a piece of sponge. It was a first sighting for me of this slug. Later on, also managed to find another nudibranch (
chromodoris lineolata) on some seaweeds and a tiny winy baby squid about 0.5cm big. Back at shore, others also found a pair of
glossodoris altromarginata,
chromodoris lineolata, a squid, a juvenile cardinalfish, flatworms etc.
The first day turned out to be a great day with all the amazing find and we have a clear BLUE sky at the end of the trip.
Unfortunately, the second day at Semakau was not that good. We were half way through the shooting of a seahorse and a flounder when gust of winds and thunders sent us packing. The weather did not make a better turn and we spent our time at the hut waiting and sleeping before the bus came to pick us up back to the jetty. However, we still managed to see some stuff found earlier and that include a heart-shape bivalve and a pair of
gymnodoris.
Well.....that’s all for the pre-dawn trip this year. Got to wait for another six months before the new serie starts again next year. Meanwhile, look like I am going to suffer from some withdrawals.
The next trip out will be somewhere in November evening. Looking forwards to all the guiding at Chek Jawa and now Semakau. Also looking forwards for my last diving trip of this year at Pulau Dayang at the end of this month.
