You might be familiar with the phrase ‘an elephant never forgets’. Stuart McClaren in ‘Guardian Notes‘ says that Plutarch (1st century AD) repeated a story of Hagnon of Tarsus (2nd century BC) about an elephant who exposed a cheat. Whatever the origin, humans and elephants have had a long history together. Hidden behind a dazzling orange eye is true intelligence. In captivity they show a propensity for guile, reason and intimidation. In the wild, they are able to recall ancient pathways, meandering across continents ..read more

There is no excerpt because this is a protected post ..read more

A week ago last Wednesday scientists reported discovering the largest coral on Earth in the Solomon Islands. Is this the largest coral on Earth though? Isn’t it more likely that they had only just discovered the biggest example they had ever seen? In the week that the scientists’ media release went viral online I reviewed photos I took of the same species in Indonesia. I am here to tell you that I reckon I’ve seen bigger … but that’s not the point ..read more

We spent most of the morning snorkelling in Bayside today. The major highlight was wonderful views of a Blue-ringed Octopus. What an amazing animal! We don’t seem them too often and they are quite shy. This one didn’t want to hang around but it made its way off quite slowly with enough time to take photos. Despite being highly venomous they are really quite harmless. The blue rings say ‘don’t touch’, which is wise with all marine life ..read more

Dropped in a couple of times today to snorkel at Ricketts Point as the weather was hot. It’s amazing what difference a few days makes. I checked all the Port Jackon Shark caves that were filled with males the other day and found none today. It was only after about a total of three hours of swimming in the afternoon that I stumbled across a cave full of females. There was the usual smattering of Zebrafish and juvenile Snapper ..read more

It’s been a while since I’ve snorkelled locally. I got a bit of an ear infection for a short while – reminder to thoroughly use Aquaear between swims – and a combination of bad weather and overseas trips hasn’t helped. It was lovely to hit the sea today in a balmy 19 degrees. The forecast was for light winds increasing to strong northerly mid-morning. Direct northerly isn’t great at Ricketts, since it blows down the bay (fine if it’s got a bit of easterly in it) so we went out early ..read more

Finally I’m back and rested after an exhilerating couple of weeks with guests in the Banda Sea. I’ve now had time to complete the Banda Sea Expedition Report for October 2024 and present it to you here to read in full (see below). As you may already know (as I have been mentioned it quite a bit) the next trip is in mid-February to the incredible Raja Ampat. On 1 December, I’m also doing an online presentation and Q&A about the region ..read more

We cruised in overnight and made anchor before discovering Banda Neira. Banda is an extraordinary place with a rich history as it was the centre of the spice trade for thousands of years. Today we even learnt that archaeologists may have found evidence of villages from long before Dutch rule, where Bahasa Tana (language of the Earth) may have been spoken. It is a sacred language that isn’t uttered in public and only sung in rituals ..read more

‘The presence of the castaways, it was stated, would not have been discovered if Captain Frame had’ not decided to steam in close to the island, in order to enable passengers to see at close quarters its hosts of birds. Manuk is a breeding ground for seafowl of almost every description, the birds making their homes on the inaccessible crags, which rise sheer from the sea. When disturbed by a ship’s siren they arise in flocks of almost increditable numbers ..read more

Manuk Island’s famous sea snakes in Indonesia are at one of the largest and most important seabird colonies in the whole South China Sea and Sulu Seas. We visited to find out more and see them for ourselves! This is the latest post from our Pindito expedition to the Banda Sea. Our first snorkel/dive today was on the reef plateau next to the island. It was chance to see Manuk’s infamous residents, it’s Chinese or Black-banded Sea Kraits ..read more