Curious Creatures of Minerva Reef

This Minerva Reef fish was curious and
kept popping out to check me out.    

Minerva Reef provided the perfect end to this year’s tropical snorkeling.  Not only was Minerva crystal clear, and the last warm water I’ll snorkel in until Australia in May, 2016, its undersea life was fascinating! 

Big and small, I saw many new-to-me and intriguing varies of fish.

See?

The collagen-like puffy lips and dramatic eyes of
this Minerva Reef fish seemed almost animatronic.

“You’re still doing Minerva Reef posts?” Wayne asked, incredulously.

Yep. 

This colorful fish struck me as an angelfish.  There were
more traditionally marked angelfish in Minerva Reef, too.

I’ve only ever seen this species of fish in Minerva Reef.
They’re quite large – nearly a meter long, with a very
large head and big, dark bulbous round eyes.

With Galley Wench Tales, I try to keep each post focused on a single topic, not too long.  If a place calls for multiple topics, then I write more than one post on it.  There may be more Minerva posts still, but if they are, they’ll most likely be part of a video short.

This fish with its vividly marked eyes was quite tiny,
less than three inches in length.

Other Minerva Reef posts include

• Undersea Christmas Trees of Minerva Reef
• Minerva’s Amazing Giant Clams
• Analysis-Paralysis “Minerva Reef Yacht Club”

The closest thing to lobster I found – its moulted carapace (shell).

Minerva’s a unique place, so remote likely less than 100 boats a year stop there.  I hope you enjoy this small virtual taste of its remarkable beauty.  If you’re able to make it there yourself, count yourself as one of the lucky few, and, please, drop me a line to share your experience!

Location Location
This post's photos were taken when we were in Minerva Reef, November 4 - 13 2015.  We are currently cruising New Zealand's North Island between Whangaroa and Whangarei, where we expect to haul out sometime in January.  This post was written for pre-posting December 21, 2015 while were briefly in wifi range while anchored in Whangaroa (S35.02.836 E173.44.514).

This amber-eyed fish seemed convinced if it remained 
ucked into the coralhead crevice that I wouldn’t see it.

Cruising by the Numbers
Between December 2014 and November 2015 -- 11 months -- we sailed over 10,000 miles, from our starting point of Jacksonville Florida to New Zealand, our stopping point until May 2016.