South Herald Cay

Today the ship pulled up the anchor. They wanted to have enough time to do it in case it was taking many hours. However, this means that getting on and off the explorer was a bit tricky as there were swells, and the ship’s engine is permanently on, keeping us in position.

They decided to find another cay, the South Cay, which was about an hour away on the explorer. They lowered the plastic blinds so the spray didn’t come in, and we were off! There was quite a swell, and the trip was exciting. The zodiac that comes with us as an extra spotting vessel drove in our wake. When we got to the cay there were incredible numbers of birds.

And ghost hermit crab cones lined the beach.

We counted nine new turtle tracks, and somebody saw that a turtle was still making its way down the beach to the water.

There was a male waiting for her in the shallows.

I went snorkelling. There was more coral than at the previous reef, and lots of anemones and algae. 

There were also quite a lot of fish. The water was incredibly clear, so they could be photographed from a fair way away.

The ship came to the cay (there was a lot less swell here), so it didn’t take long to get back. I didn’t go on the afternoon snorkel, as I was very tired. Our last sunset in the Coral Sea was glorious!