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Ningaloo Whales, Turtles, Nudis, Who Knows What All


kja
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Kja! How do you get so close to mum and bub? Were you diving and they happened to swim past? Was mum singing at all? I've heard they are quite loud up close when they are calling out.. For some reason whales scare me at the thought of being near them in the water - seeing them do flips and the thought of one of them jumping me crushing me is terrifying! As silly as that sounds!

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At the closest they were only a few meters away. We were snorkeling so were on the surface. We knew they were there and hoped they'd come past - got lucky, they don't always!

The mums don't sing, it's the males that sing and yes, there was quite a bit of whalesong while we were on the dive prior to this experience. Sound carries very well underwater so it sounds loud but the whale might be miles and miles away. It's great to hear, but after an hour of it you really just want them to be quiet LOL How spoiled is that?!

Yes, they can be a bit snarky with boats and people in the water. Mums and males looking to mate, especially. But Jr was happy as a clam and it's a good indicator of the mom's attitude - not that there's anything you can do it they decide to get frisky!!

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Sorry, nudibranch. They are kind of like snails without shells = slugs :) Nudibranchs differ from true sea slugs by their rhinophores (the two little sticky up bits at the front) and their gills (the frillier looking bit in the back (out of the plane of focus here, leaning to the left of frame)).

Nudibranch means "naked lung" - their gills (lungs) are on the outside. Here's one of the same species where you can see both bits - sorry for the reject photo, I couldn't get my camera down any further thanks to a very badly placed rock.

OCT11_156kja.jpg

I know, more than you wanted to know but I adore them :laugh:

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Crazy turtle mating yesterday! There were 100s of turtles in the shallows and snorkeling with them was amazing!

I attracted the unwanted attention of a couple of males who couldn't get a handle on a stack of three turtles who were already mating and I was having to defend my honor pretty aggressively at one stage LOL Naughty beasties!

Two quickies up on the blog - more later this week and maybe a video if I get time, too!

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Loving this good weather. Too bad the swell and wind are picking up this week! But I guess if I can't go out I can get some time in on editing all the images I've already taken LOL

Batfish

NOV11_115.jpg

Lobo helping me set up before a dive

NOV11_113kja.jpg

Tell me if you're over this whole thread and I'll stop :)

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Thanks, Cat ;)

@Ripley - thanks! You're missing out, there's some great diving near you, just get a dry suit :D I love gorgonian fans - so colourful and pretty...need to spend more time taking photos of them when the viz is great.

Check out my sharkie friend from today's dive...

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