
Our time in the sea grass gave us the chance to see a variety of marine life including colorful sea stars, sea snakes (two species!), sea horses, pipefishes, lots of juvenile reef fishes, and a blue-ring octopus! And among lush coral gardens we not only had the chance to see a huge diversity of fish, but six species of moray eels, lots of nudibranchs, and plenty of critters such as Halloween hermit crabs, octopus, and egg cowries.
But it was the reef margin and walls that drew the most applause. The walls along the reef margin were simply incredible. The diversity and abundance of reef fishes are some of the highest in the world. Red-tooth triggerfish, pyramid butterflyfish, blue-stripe fusiliers, anthias, dameslfishes, and schools of jacks, snapper, rabbitfishes, and unicornfishes could be seen at almost any points along the walls. It was wall of coral on one side and wall of fish on the other!
Of course, our snorkeling tour would not be complete without a couple (well, three :-), night snorkels, and what better place to do them but on the house reef. It was so intense and productive in terms of the critters we saw that we will address our amazing time at night in a separate blog.
Our time at Wakatobi Resort was fantastic. Easily some of the consistently best food I have eaten at any resort I have ever been to. The facilities and friendliness of the staff was second to none and we look forward to coming back to snorkel the reefs of Wakatobi in 2019!