A little visit to Columbretes, a Natural Park and Marine Reserve formed by isolated volcanic islets off the Spanish Mediterranean coast.
Even if brief, it is always lovely to return to the wonderful, blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea to observe life both inside as well as outside of the marine reserves.
It clearly shows how incredibly important marine protected areas are for both marine life and those who live on them! 💙
More on Columbretes in a previous post: Islas Columbretes
Orust, West Coast of Sweden, Scandinavia
Wonderful spring! Although I appreciate all seasons, spring is probably my absolute favorite. So much that happens in nature, behind every single bush and stone, full of life among both animals and plants.
Meanwhile there is so much rising life in both forests and waters, this is also a peaceful time for reflection and magical moments.
New Caledonia, Coral Sea, South Pacific
There is troll-binding world hidden beneath the waves. This place, filled with beauty, fascination and surprises, is always calling for me.
As much as I love taking the scuba gear on, I love the simplicity and freedom freediving and snorkelling provide. All one need to start exploring the incredible underwater world is a mask and snorkel.
In this blogpost I´d like to share some shallow water beauties from the New Caledonian lagoon. The majority of the pictures are taken just a couple of meters below the surface, only the photos of the turtle, rays and nurse shark are from 5-7 meters depth.
So here are some of our many aquatic friends, how they commonly are called in english, and their latin names:
Blue-green chromis (Chromis viridis)
Surf parrotfish (Scarus rivulatus)
Zebra shark/Leopard shark (Stegostoma fasciatum)
Bluelined snapper (Lutjanus kasmira)
Whitetip reef shark (Triaenodon obesus)
Fringelip mullet (Crenimugil crenilabis)
New Caledonian sea krait (Laticauda saintgironsi)
Green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas)
Pink whipray (Pateobatis fai)
Ocellated eagle ray (Aetobatus ocellatus)
Tawny nurse shark (Nebrius ferrugineus)
The reef systems enclosing the lagoon are considered to be the second
largest in the world after the Great Barrier Reef of Australia.
With a length of 1,600 km it is the longest continuous barrier reef in the world and home to an exceptional diversity of marine life.
New Caledonia is a windy place all year round, making the the calm days at the exposed barrier reef precious. This is where the ocean meets the lagoon and from where the breaking waves can be heard from afar.
During our previous visits at the reef, we had, among plenty fish and reef sharks, the privilege of a brief but sweet meeting with a hammerhead shark while freediving, and during our scuba dive we had huge, old loggerhead turtles joining us at the depth.
The magical underwater world calls for more… 💙
South Georgia & The Falkland Islands, South Atlantic
After a wonderful time among ice and wildlife in the remote waters of the Antarctic Peninsula, we make our way north, giving a brief visit to South Georgia and the Falkland Islands. Here are some few pictures from these amazing islands and of some of its stunning wildlife.
These first photos are from South Georgia with King penguins, Antarctic fur seals and Elephant seal (laying in the water).
And then the Falkland Islands in the company of Black-browed albatross, Southern rockhopper penguin and Gentoo penguin.
