Ray of Sunshine

    Today we drove to Goat Island and went snorkeling. We saw many kinds of fish, large and small, listed as living in the marine reserve. Check out these two cool videos. It took me a few minutes to realize that I wasn't going to see a coral reef population here; but we saw wrasse, snapper, goatfish, red cod and a dozen more species, in and near kelp and seaweed gardens. 

    I've never seen seahorses in the wild, so I'd hoped for that; but instead, I got a large black stingray with wings as wide as my outstretched arms, who hunted lazily at low tide just beyond the length of my fingertips. He'd go into undercuts and caves at the bottom of the rock drop-offs, and other kinds of large fish would exit immediately.  But he didn't seem to mind my presence, so I tagged along.  I thought that was very obliging of him. 

    How dangerous was it to get so close to a black New Zealand ray, some might ask...about like following a black bear around, really. They are more trigger-happy than their Caribbean cousins, it would seem. Here are some interesting links: Here, and here, and here, and here. Hmm...I think that my travel medical insurance will cover that...I'm pretty sure that tattooing began as a Maori and Polynesian practice; maybe body piercing did too, with a little inspiration from the local stingrays. 

    Apart from that, today was just a beautiful, relaxing drive and beach day, with more great vistas, some nice canna lilies and some toe-toe grass to photograph, and a grocery run. 

    Apparently there are many Goat Islands - it was common for sailors to leave goats on islands where there was no running water, so that shipwrecked sailors might have sustenance until found and rescued. On this Goat Island, however, there never were any goats. They did put some pigs here instead; but the pigs all immediately swam across to the mainland and got away - when you see the low tide photo, you'll realize why they didn't even hesitate. 

Next stop, Omokoroa