Gili island snorkelling

We climbed on our outrigger canoe to leave the mountainous terrain (Lombok emerged from volcanic activity in the earth’s crust), to go to tiny Gili islands off the north west of Lombok. They would definitely be wiped out with climate change and rising sea levels, I’m guessing they are only about a metre abover sea level! On Gili Air and Gili Meno there are no cars or motorbikes, only bicycles and pony carts. Even where we are staying now, in front of a black sand beach, there are signs saying where the tsunami evacuation route is!

The coral reefs we explored are fringed coral reefs. In these ones the reef grows from the shoreline. These types grow in the tropics with warmer water temperatures. Today the water was 28 degrees, which Mum was very pleased about.

Coral reefs are sometimes called the "rain forests of the sea". Shallow coral reefs (like where we were today) form some of the most diverse ecosystems on Earth. They occupy less than 0.1% of the world's ocean surface, but they provide a home for at least 25% of ALL marine species. 

The turtles were amazing, they were like kings surveying their underwater kingdom at their own relaxed pace, not hurried by the flittering fish or worried about the red transparent jellyfish (which I bopped with my go pro because I didn't want a stinger!)

Mum tried to encourage my observation, but god bless her, she didn’t even know a parrot fish – she asked me if I saw the fish that looked like a rainbow flavoured Paddle Pop!

The parrot fish's teeth are like beaks and they grind up the coral and coralline algae and eat it. After they digest the edible parts, they excrete the rest as sand, helping to create small islands! The teeth grow continuously, replacing material worn away by feeding. Mum wishes her teeth could grow continuously so she didn't need implants!

 Here's some of the corals, polyps, & creatures I captured.