Trip Report August 10-20, 2019
Bilikiki has just returned from a fantastic 10 day trip on which we were joined by a group of 12 photographers with Immersed Imaging and 3 repeat guests from the US and Japan. Our divers came in a brilliant mood and were rewarded with spectacular encounters under water. It is hard to name everything we got to see but it included plenty of sharks, mobula and eagle rays, schools of bumphead parrot fish, barracudas, jacks and oceanic triggerfish. All the little critters were also out in abundance, we saw cuttlefish, pygmy seahorses (H. denise and H. bargibanti), seahorses and three different species of ghostpipe fish (halimeda, ornate and robust), plus orangutan crabs, nudis and flatworms - the list goes on and on! The cuts and caves impressed everyone too with beautiful light rays coming in from the jungle above. A photographers delight!
One definite highlight however was when our crew spotted orcas outside of Mary Island and some of us quickly headed out in the tinnies. They came right towards us, dived under the tinnies, and we were finally able to jump in with them to see a pod of five orcas swimming right past us, four adults and a baby - what a magical moment!! This encounter certainly kept the conversations going for the rest of the trip!
For Oli and myself it could not have been a nicer last trip of this season. We would like to thank all our guests for being such a wonderful group, you all made this very special! Our heartfelt thank you also goes to our incredible crew for their continuous hard work every single day and for being such great guys - you rock, and we're looking forward to seeing you all again in 2020 for more adventures! Tagio tumas!
With best fishes
Tina & Oli
Orca photos to come soon!
All underwater photos are by Michael Zeigler of Immersed Imaging.
