Chesterfield Reef Photos Part 4: Turtles, Sharks and Crabs

Here is the final selection pf photos from the reef, this time of the sea life in the amazingly clear waters. It was the mating season for Loggerhead turtles so we saw several pairs at work around us:

A turtle waits in the shallows for a possible mate to swim by

We were able to approach within a couple of metres to get this photo - by just putting the camera in the water at arm's length and hoping the shot would work

A male gives chase to a female....

A fair amount of grappling and boarding - some kind of design fault with those convex shells, surely?

The female is under there somewhere

She comes up for air while the male grips the top of her shell with his mouth

The shells are beautifully marked

 

Meanwhile, on the nearby island, these were the tracks of a female going to lay her eggs

There were sharks in the water - another yacht was gutting fish they'd caught and had a 10ft Tiger Shark nosing around them for food! We just saw this little Black Tipped Reef Shark in the shallows:

On the windward side of the island, but still protected by the reef

"Me and my shadow"

Great colours

So that's it for the reef photos (though we have lots more!!), hope you've enjoyed the virtual tour?