This morning at 7:00 a.m. we approached St Joseph Atoll, with beautiful calm conditions and the sun shining brightly across the water. Just after 7:00 a.m. some activity was spotted in the water—marine mammals looking like dolphins of some sort. The Captain decided to slow the ship down for all of us to have a better look. More and more guests joined us on the outer decks, especially when our expedition leader made an earlier than planned announcement to make all guests aware we were looking at potentially false killer whales. The team was still busy identifying what we were looking at, as it seemed that there were more than one species present feeding on tuna, which were feeding on small fish themselves. While everyone was enjoying this magnificent sight, taking photos from the outer decks, Mike explained we were looking at a big pod of three different species of marine mammals. The first were black fish, sometimes called melon headed whales, the second species were Risso dolphins, and we also had some spinner dolphins in the background. It was a true feeding frenzy and fantastic to watch! What a great start of the day.
At 7:30 a.m. breakfast was served and while everyone was enjoying the view from the outdoor café, the expedition team went out to scout for good snorkeling and dive areas.
Everything went ahead as planned, so the divers left for their morning dives and all keen snorkelers had a chance to explore the reef at D’Arros Island. The reef in the shallows was lush, full of colour, and there were a huge variety of fish species. We were even accompanied by several black tipped reef sharks and manta rays. It was truly a lovely morning of swimming and snorkeling.
After lunch Chris and one of the staff members of D’Arros Island gave us a great and informative presentation in which they talked about the new marine protected area and the scientific work that is being done here by the Save our Seas Foundation.
The afternoon was a true expedition afternoon. We had the chance to explore Joseph Atoll’s lagoon by Zodiacs and by Kayaks, something we hadn’t done yet during this voyage. It was a great experience for both kayakers and guests on the Zodiac, as there were spotted eagle rays and turtles seen in the shallows, and egrets amongst the mangroves. The whole lagoon was such a pretty sight.
The day wasn’t over yet, as we enjoyed cocktails on one of the nearby islands while watching the sun set into the ocean—a magic start of the evening. Onboard we continued our ‘Pristine Seas Cocktail Party’ while we heard more about this Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic ocean conservation project and also about our plans for tomorrow.
After dinner our National Geographic photographer Bob Krist gave a very entertaining presentation: “Behind the Scenes – The Real Life Misadventures of a National Geographic Photographer,” in which he shared some of his amusing backstories of some of his most challenging assignments.
It was a full but fantastic day here at St Joseph Atoll, The Amirantes.
