JohnnyB
11-08-08, 22:45
Hi folks.
There can be few sights we divers can ever hope to witness as spectacular and awe inspiring as a shoal of Conger Alley divers swarming in their annual pilgrimage to the sacred Cathedral Rock.
Last weekend I was lucky enough to be ' In the right place at the right time'.
Well luck and Peters organisational skills I guess.
It started as it always does with these magnificent creatures massing at the end of the harbour wall , close to the only viable entry point.
The local inhabitants quickly gathered nearby , eager to catch a glimpse of this wonderful spectacle and no doubt hopefull that one of them would slip and fall on their arse.
Sadly it was not to be.
After scrambling helter skelter down the slope the start of this great migration begins with the mass gathering in the shallows.
For what seemed like an eternity they floated serenely in the still translucent waters awaiting some sign that the time had come.
( Well it certainly seemed like an eternity to those of us that were keen to get on with it and get bloody home before the wife threw a hissy fit ).
At last , the alpha male made a guesture to leave.
Amidst some high pitched whistles , garbled calls and strange hand waving the group slipped silently , majestically beneath the waves.
Scientists have suggested that this is some primitive form of communication amongst the group that signals it is time to leave the surface and begin their journey through the azure waters and onto their final destination.
This is pish , anyone who had witnessed the behavior of these creatures close up is left in no doubt that they lack entirely any kind of higher intelligence.
Their ungainly clumsiness above water is matched only by their grace and beauty beneath it.
They are truly at home in this , their true environment, a subtle flick of their brightly coloured fins sends them darting through the kelp and out amidst the corals and reefs.
Off they speed to their destination , led unerringly by their noble leader.
I hope you enjoy this short video clip , perhaps , from previous observations , you may even be able to name some of the individuals present.
As you will see , I was so overawed by the while thing I fell backwards into a big lump of kelp.
A small price to pay for such a life changing experience I feel.
Enjoy !
JB. :D
QK42X6PbQic
There can be few sights we divers can ever hope to witness as spectacular and awe inspiring as a shoal of Conger Alley divers swarming in their annual pilgrimage to the sacred Cathedral Rock.
Last weekend I was lucky enough to be ' In the right place at the right time'.
Well luck and Peters organisational skills I guess.
It started as it always does with these magnificent creatures massing at the end of the harbour wall , close to the only viable entry point.
The local inhabitants quickly gathered nearby , eager to catch a glimpse of this wonderful spectacle and no doubt hopefull that one of them would slip and fall on their arse.
Sadly it was not to be.
After scrambling helter skelter down the slope the start of this great migration begins with the mass gathering in the shallows.
For what seemed like an eternity they floated serenely in the still translucent waters awaiting some sign that the time had come.
( Well it certainly seemed like an eternity to those of us that were keen to get on with it and get bloody home before the wife threw a hissy fit ).
At last , the alpha male made a guesture to leave.
Amidst some high pitched whistles , garbled calls and strange hand waving the group slipped silently , majestically beneath the waves.
Scientists have suggested that this is some primitive form of communication amongst the group that signals it is time to leave the surface and begin their journey through the azure waters and onto their final destination.
This is pish , anyone who had witnessed the behavior of these creatures close up is left in no doubt that they lack entirely any kind of higher intelligence.
Their ungainly clumsiness above water is matched only by their grace and beauty beneath it.
They are truly at home in this , their true environment, a subtle flick of their brightly coloured fins sends them darting through the kelp and out amidst the corals and reefs.
Off they speed to their destination , led unerringly by their noble leader.
I hope you enjoy this short video clip , perhaps , from previous observations , you may even be able to name some of the individuals present.
As you will see , I was so overawed by the while thing I fell backwards into a big lump of kelp.
A small price to pay for such a life changing experience I feel.
Enjoy !
JB. :D
QK42X6PbQic