We haven’t visited the Whitsundays’ outer reefs for some time, in fact we think our last visit was in 2022. With a calm weather window approaching here in the Whitsundays, before our family fly in to Hamilton Island, it was perfect timing to get out there.
We chose Little Black Reef, 30 nautical miles north-east from the Whitsunday Islands. Little Black has a lagoon, so we would be protected from the northerlies that were forecast. We nabbed a late afternoon mooring at Border Island after an easy day at Whitehaven Beach, which gave us a head start. We had a sail all the way to Little Black Reef and we had it all to ourselves for the first day. The Little Black lagoon does offer great protection from all winds and we even found a relatively shallow 9 metre spot to drop anchor.
The first time we visited Little Black was ‘blind’ with Anui giving us the lat/long waypoints over the 2-way. As you can see, there’s an obvious lagoon & what appears to be an easy track in, but the waypoints certainly helped.
We weren’t on our own for too long!
I first snorkeled the inside of the lagoon in a few different locations. There was a lot of dead coral and big expanses of rubble, but also some pleasing splashes of colour with healthy coral regrowth, little fish life however. It is a fishing zone here so it appeared Little Black was largely fished out.
The LHS photo captures the state of the lagoon’s inside reef. Expanses of dead rubble with random coral growth.
These clams kept my interest. I’ve photographed many clams over the years, so I’d been thinking of capturing those intricate patterns with some very close photos, rather than the usual ‘here’s a clam’ shot.
a lucky shot …
This very young Pink Skunk Anemonefish was one of a few this Anemone was hosting but all were very shy including mum and dad who were hiding down low under the Anemone’s tentacles. This little tacker reluctantly poked its head up … and I got that lucky shot!
I then revisited the northern side of the entrance channel. I’d actually marked it in 2021 as a “go to” spot. So I was curious see what state it was in.
This photo does show the entrance channel at the top of the photo (although not that clearly) and it was the northern side that offered a steep drop-off down to well over 30 metres. With planes constantly flying overhead I was reluctant to get any higher with my drone.
While there wasn’t the healthy coral cover we’d seen in 2021/2, there was still a lot more to see than inside the lagoon. Big schools of bait fish kept me entertained and I found a Flatworm. How pretty is this?!
While I thought this Flatworm was actually a Nudibranch when I was under the water, the giveaway was the speed this Flatworm was travelling (and of course there were no gills which I did not notice). While I have optical lenses in my mask my eyesight isn’t perfect under the water!
I have become quite obsessive about finding Nudibranchs and Flatworms. They are so small but with their very colourful eye-catching bold patterns, they are still so hard to find. So when you do, it’s very exciting, isn’t it?
Flatworms are not Nudibranchs. They are extremely flat, move quickly and lack the gills and tentacles of a Nudibranch. But they are as beautiful (I think) with their brilliant colours and remarkable patterns. Here’s an interesting fact about Flatworms … their bodies have a front and back, top and bottom, and a right and left side, all identical to one another (bilateral symmetry if you’re interested 🙂 ).
Oh, and the baitfish …
And then I found this beautiful Christmas Tree Worm. This is such a stunning colour. Generally if I hover too much and certainly too close to these tiny creatures, my shadow triggers them to close, but this one stayed in full display for the entire time.
Our next stop was to Bait Reef. Bait Reef is only 18 nm from the nearest island in the Whitsundays and with moorings on offer, it’s a popular choice for yachts to visit. After chatting to Sea Goddess at Little Black they mentioned the encouraging state of the ‘stepping stones’ at Bait, so we decided it was worth dropping by for a night, on our way back to the islands. Our last visit to Bait Reef was in 2022 and the ‘stepping stones’ were looking very sad after recent weather events, particularly Cyclone Debbie in 2017.
The ‘stepping stones’ at Bait Reef are a series of 18 pinnacles that rise from the ocean floor.
Photo compliments of Johnny Gaskell (an underwater photographer I follow on Instagram)
While the northerly wind did blow up a tad, we were on a mooring and I managed two snorkels. And, yes, the ‘stepping stones’ were certainly looking healthy, if not wonderful. There was extensive coral cover with the plate coral possibly dominating and maybe there was a tad less fish life than I would have expected, but nevertheless they were looking so much healthier than our last visit. I know there have been rehabilitation projects targeting Bait Reef over the last few years. It seems they have worked! Well worth a visit.
Sunset at Bait Reef
It’s back to the islands now to prepare for our family visit.
PS. While I was writing this post I Googled some info’ Bait Reef’s possible restoration projects … and I found an AI reference to one of my posts on my bossafusion.com.au blog! Ha!!
Lots of great photos, Amanda. Agree that the Channel wall on the Black Reef side opposite Little Black is what offers most interest, although it is nothing like it used to be. Glad you found some joy at Bait Reef too. Nudis and flatworms are so colourful and that shot of the tiny pink anemonefish poking its head out is a beauty.
Thanks Chris. Agree the channel’s reef isn’t in the same healthy condition it used to be in. My first snorkel there was by far the best as the fish life was so good. Bait Reef was a surprise!
Hi Amanda, such an enjoyable read. Loved your photos and great to hear that the stepping stones are good as well as Little Black Reef. We enjoyed our visit there a few years ago. Maybe next year we will get to visit some of these reefs. Enjoy your time with the family. We are in the Tweed River, hope to head further south in a day or two. Had lots of rain the last few days, over 100 mls. Seems to be fining up now thank goodness. Safe travels to you and Neville xx
It was a lovely four days out there Jeanette. Hoping we might get back out there with our family on board too. So much rain down your way. We’ve had none. Yet!
Glad you have had lovely weather, goodluck with the weather gods and hope its really good for your daughter’s visit. Yes lots of rain few days ago. We have had a good trip south so far, hopefully it will continue for the last of our trip back home.
Beautiful work Amanda!
Thanks Sally.