Nekton

"On entering the lagoon, the scene is very curious and rather pretty, its beauty is, however, solely derived from the brilliancy of the surrounding colours"
Charles Darwin, 1836

For those of you who, like me, have heard about the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and do not know where they are - let me help you.

Located about 2750 kms northwest of Perth (in the Indian Ocean between Seychelles and Darwin) are the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. These islands, most of which are unin-
habited, are sprinkled in a horseshoe shape around an atoll's lagoon and are breath-
takingly beautiful. An isolated crescent shaped cluster of islands surrounded by clear blue waters with white sandy beaches and a tropical climate they rank among some of Australia's best-kept diving secrets.

There are no huge resorts, shopping centres, restaurants or gift shops; all accommodation is in lodges or motels, varying in standard. Transport is mostly done by bicycle or, if you are feeling lazy, you can hire one of the two hire cars.

Surrounded by the unbelievably blue, clear Indian Ocean, Cocos (Keeling) Islands are a haven for scuba diving. Great dive sites surround the islands, varying from steep drop-offs, fish cleaning stations, large pelagic fish, batfish, sharks, manta rays, turtles, dolphins, coral gardens and numerous colourful fish. It is like a huge aquarium. If you are lucky you may even get to dive with Kat the resident Dugong.

A typical day diving usually includes two dives with a lunch stop at Direction Island (a definite place to visit). This beautiful island has white sandy beaches and a unique shelter filled with calling cards (made from anything available) from visiting yachties. A must during the lunch break is to snorkel the "Rip", renowned for its diverse marine life. Jump into the swift current in a gully between the corals and drift along passing trevally, octopus, potato cod, white tipped reef sharks, huge wrasse and parrotfish. It is so good that most people will snorkel the "Rip" more than the once.

The dive sites are varied but one thing they all have in common is lots to see.

There are numerous dive sites so diving is very rarely cancelled as there is always a protected area.

Some of the dive sites that we visited were:
Cabbage Patch certainly lives up to its name; it is the biggest expanse of pristine Cabbage Corals I have ever seen. There are layers of the cabbage shaped coral with hundreds of small Anthias and Chromis darting in and out above the coral. This is where I had a Manta encounter and a huge school of parrot fish charging through the reef, the sound of this was amazing as they chomped on the coral leaving a large dust trail in their wake.

Garden of Eden is a dive site for the big pelagic fish. Sharks, Tuna, Rainbow Runners and Barracuda hang out here and congregate along the wall, cruising back and forth, eyeing up the divers and the big-eye trevally came in for a closer inspection - pairs with one black and the other silver. The visibility was spectacular and a large school of barracuda just circled the whole dive. The ocean bed is covered with forests of gorgonian fans in beautiful colours and morays, octopus and gobies hide among the coral outcrops. It is a dive where there is so much to see that you definitely want to return to take in the parts you missed. This was my personal favourite dive site.

Fan Wall is a spectacular steep wall to 30 metres before it falls away to a sheer drop. Gorgonian fans cling precariously to the sides of the wall, swaying in the gentle current. Look closely and you can find the long nose hawk fish hidden in the fans. Also never forget to look out into the blue.... you are likely to see Grey Reef Sharks and Dogtooth Tuna chasing the bait fish. This is the dive site where they are monitoring Mantas for a possible cleaning station.

There about 25 dive sites in total and none will disappoint.

The boat rides to the dive sites are also an experience - one diver with us who suffered an ear infection came out on the boat for the day and managed to snorkel with mantas, dolphins and turtles. He also managed to invent a totally new style of snorkelling! He mimicked (as best he could- very funny to watch) the dolphins style of swimming and it worked. The dolphins loved it and came back over and over to play with him. (Sorry Russell - you did look funny though).

During my stay I had the pleasure of experiencing the local "Hash House Harriers" run. It was Australia Day and the run had been organised to visit all the historic sites on the island - a great way to learn the local history plus meet and have a few drinks with the locals.

The only thing that is important to take on holidays with you is a smile for the locals, if you do, you will leave with many happy holiday memories and new friends.

Cocos Islands are definitely a destination for a non-diver, not only divers. The relaxed pace of life and the friendliness of the locals is fantastic.

Getting there:

Flights run twice a week with National Jet Airlines ex Perth. You can connect with local domestic flights from all other cities.

Information:
Cocos have two main seasons: the windy trade winds from April/May to September/
October and the calmer doldrums from November through to April. The "wet season", February-May, can also generate the occasional cyclone; however rainfall usually visits this sandy atoll in the evenings, bringing glorious sunny days! Temperatures are fairly consistent no matter what the season, remaining around a comfortable 29� C with a minimum evening temperature rarely dropping below 20� C. The ocean is a warm 26-29 C most of the time so no heavy wetsuits.