Onwards to Pulau Moyo, a large island that is a nature reserve, except for an exclusive diving resort in one bay. A pod of about 6 dolphins frolicked in and under Merakai as we came around the NW corner of Pulau Moyo. We anchored in the southern part of the bay in the centre of an endless white beach, in 14+ knots NWesterlies. Fortunately, the breeze and waves faded together, to be replaced by the typical SE zephyr overnight. A good night was had by all!
11th Oct: A beautiful calm morning - I watched an octopus resting on coral (initially thought it was a strange starfish) and swimming over the bottom from the boat through 7m of water! Lovely pre-breakfast swim, and then periodic dives into the clear water from Merakai over the course of the day to cool down and snorkel over the reef between catch-up chores.
Reef clear from the back of Merakai through 7m
We can't exchange or refill our Australian gas bottles in Indonesia, and our third and last bottle was nearing empty. Rick assembled this bits and pieces he's assembled for some weeks and bodgied up a connection between and Indonesian bottle and our Aussie ones. Hung the Indo bottle upside down from the rigging and managed to fill one empty Aussie bottle and top-up another - coffee is saved! and tacos and tea back on the dinner menu.
12th Oct: A luxurious morning reading, swimming and snorkeling. The reef at Pulau Moyo appears to be recovering from some kind of damage judging by the numbers of small to medium-sized corals, lack of large ones, and the preponderance of old dead and partial mortality on corals. Some patches of cyanobacteria and pale corymbose
Acropora's.