Treasure in the Muck

Gloomy Nudi Holding Tight

  As we donned all of our scuba gear in the parking area of our favorite muck dive spot here on Maui a big truck with dive flag stickers all over it rolls up and the man driving says, "Are you guys going from shore here? Never seen anyone dive here before." Word of our findings from this spot spread like wildfire but I'm glad that it is still a somewhat secret spot. This treasure trove of nudibranchs and other rarely seen creatures still shows us something new every time, even after 20 dives here.

Kangaroo Nudi Portrait

  Gloomy nudibranchs were everywhere we looked on this daytime muck dive. Some where in mid water, caught in some shallow surge from above, while others held fast to the substrate as they crawled over the rocks. Some crabs and fish hid out deep within branching corals waiting for night time to come out and scour the reef for food.

We saw a half dozen different kinds of nudibranchs which usually would be considered very good unless you are coming off of a 20 nudibranch dive like we just did the other night.

This scorpion fish hiding deep in a cauliflower coral head turned out to be one of my favorite pictures I've taken lately. The amazing colors and patterns amaze me as does the amber colored eye reflecting the flash of my camera. Silent and still this fish stayed until I left to search for other finds. Little did he know I would be looking at him time and time again.