Veronica makes a new sea turtle friend who shows her all the hotspots of his native Coral Gardens, and introduces her to his friends – including “Nemo,” a manta ray, parrotfish, angelfish and colorful giant clams!
We could only see a tiny portion of the over one thousand miles included in the Great Barrier Reef, but the part we saw was phenomenal.
There were so many different varieties of coral, over four hundred are found in the reef, and they are much more colorful than we had ever seen in the Caribbean.
Because this southern tip of the reef is outside the tropics, the cooler water temperatures have kept the coral healthy.
Further north heat is causing serious bleaching to much of the reef and, along with pollution from shipping and agricultural runoff, is a great threat to this natural wonder.
The Great Barrier Reef is also a habitat for countless species of sea creatures.
We saw many of the fifteen hundred different types of fish that live along the reef, and something completely new and unexpected, a vivid blue starfish known as Linckia laevigata.
Click to see more about Lady Elliot Island and snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef!
David & Veronica, GypsyNester.com
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