Tahiti Diving

Moorea, FP

October, 2008

   

	To start the dive we back rolled off the side of the boat.
	Lots and lots of blue lined snapper.  The Tiki is visible in the back ground.
	This is a carved Tiki statue.
	This Porcupine fish is coming right at me.
	These young white tip sharks were very shy and preferred to stay in the safety of their cave. Each one was only about 3 to 4 feet long.
	There were a few big Lemon sharks on patrol in the area.  This one is about 10-12 feet long.  Lemon Sharks have two dorsal fins.
	There are tons of Black Tip Reef Sharks.  Every dive in Tahiti we saw Black Tip.  Almost every time we turned around there they are.  This dude looks very round and well fed.  he is probably 6-7 feet long.
	Here is another Black Tip circling above.
	Between dives we would head over to a nearby dock to refill the tanks and have a moment to walk around.  This dock is filled with little shops and tourists from giant cruise ships.  It was kinda fun as the tourists would all look at us soaking wet in out black wet suits.  We told them stories of all the sharks.
	There were so many sharks in the water Cactus Jack wanted his picture taken with a shark.  He wanted a shot in the mouth of a shark.  Just like the lion tamer at the circus be we settled on this polite distance.
	This is Linda swimming along with a Remora attached to her leg.  The Remora  sucker fish attaches it self to a shark and feeds off the debris of the sloppy shark feeding.  By the time the trip was over about half the group was giving rides to Remora.
	Paddletail Snapper were swimming next to us, beside us, over us, and in between us.
	This is a big Barracuda.  We saw him several times hanging out under the dive boat.  This guy is big and old and smart.  Our guide said he will hang out under the dive boats because he knows it is safe.  Hanging out under a fishing boat is not so safe.  He is about 7-8 feet long and perfectly comfortable with divers.
	\ Here are another 4 Black Tip sharks.  See the divers in the right side of the frame.  On the entire trip one one person lost a finger, arm, or even a toe.  Not even a nibble.
	This dude wanted to swim with the group for a little while.  He had no fear and let everyone pet him and scratch his belly.
	He was so friendly he swam with the group for about half the dive.  In this picture are Jeff, Linda, Dan, Chris(in the middle), the Green Sea Turtle, and Nicole.
	This is The Rose Garden.  Swimming about 20 feet above this coral it resembles rose blooms.
	This is a Whitemouth Moray Eel.
	After swimming across the bay searching for sting rays we came up empty.  Our guide Andre found us this Giant Moray Eel.  Andre was even petting it.  They must be good friends.
	In this frame there are two Scorpion Fish.  They blend very well with the rocks on the bottom.
	These Hawkfish would hang out in the coral until we got about 2 feet away.  Then they would disappear.  I think the flash also scared them off.
	Cactus Jack waves good by to a big Titan Triggerfish in the back ground.

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