Rush hour at Uepi Point
Just a few fish hanging at Uepi Point!
The Solomon Islands
By Lee Fewster
Just a few fish hanging at Uepi Point!
By Lee Fewster
This is for all the people who just love being out there with the barracuda.
Kelly's Inc. & Team Uepi
By Lee Fewster
Watching Cuttlefish court, mate and lay eggs, is fascinating. Imagine our surprise when this baby Cuttle appeared amongst the mangrove roots, right at the diveshop. This site (in fact the very same clump of mangrove roots in the video) is a very popular habitat. It has been previously occupied by sea-horses, mud skippers, crocodile fish and various other fish. Last year guests were photographing an octopus feeding on the sand immediately alongside these mangrove roots.
Many fish love to occupy where the boats tie up, both when the boats are away and when they are present. At times beneath the boats is a teeming mass of Scad. And there are often mighty fish schools right at the reef edge.
Banded pipefish just love the concrete step where divers and snorkelors access the water, especially at night, and care must be taken to shoo them off. Damselfish attack divers getting in and out as they protect the eggs they lay on the wooden steps.
So this dive boat area is, for whatever reasons, a desirable place to live for a variety of marine life.
You can see in this video how, once you put your head underwater, it all changes to a magnificent forest of mangrove with a spectacular array of Orbital Cardinalfish drifting about the forest. And amongst them, a solitary, stunningly beautiful baby cuttlefish (we assume its a baby) looking very composed and very much at home.
Jill, Grant and Team Uepi
By Lee Fewster
A calm and sunny, late April morning with clear water in the lagoon. So why not relax and take the time for an early morning snorkel with our Mantas as they glide along the reef, socialising, feeding and getting spruced up at one of the cleaning stations? We couldn't think of any reason not to.
It had been a while since we visited the Mantas and at first we only saw a couple of shy ones, but by the time we left there were more cruising around us and from the boat we saw others. Great to know they are doing well.
By Lee Fewster
Mantis Shrimp are amongst the most ferocious and powerful predatory animals in the ocean. They pack an awesome punch or spearing abilty to damage and kill prey for food. Their eyes are amazing with the field of vision for each eye almost covering the whole sphere.
At Uepi we commonly see two fairly plain species. We also see huge Mantis Shrimp holes big enough to easily stick your whole arm down, but have never see the actual animal, at day or at night.
But this especially beautiful species of Mantis Shrimp is rarely seen. To see it come out of its hole is special. To see it attacking a hermit crab and hear it striking, (luckily for the crab it was in a strong shell and escaped) is very special. To film it even more so.
By Lee Fewster
By Lee Fewster
By Lee Fewster
Extreme Chivalary is shown by the male cuttlefish with his decoy tactics, even to the extent of pretending to lay eggs himself. Meanwhile the female is unperturbed as she takes her time to choose the correct spot in the cracks between the corals to lay her eggs. She was at a disadvantage with almost every crevice filled with eggs, taking her time to carefully deposit the precious load.
Such a display of dedicated parenting kept me entranced for the entire dive.
Jill@Uepi
By Lee Fewster
By Lee Fewster
Sometimes it takes a girl a while to get the house in order before she starts a family!
The female Anenomefish is laying eggs at the end of the clip.
Team Uepi!