16/03/2021 – The Big 5 of Cabbage Tree Bay

We are so lucky to be able to swim, snorkel and play in this amazing Marine Park, Cabbage Tree Bay! The area is marked on the map below and stretches from Manly Surf Club out towards The Bower surf break and includes Shelly Beach. Since it was declared a ‘No Take Aquatic Reserve’ in 2002, fish have returned and it is thriving with marine creatures! It is a safe haven for a huge variety of aquatic wildlife. It is so unique to see so much marine life this close to a capital city, Sydney. There really is no place in the world like Manly!

When I was out in the middle of the bay one morning a friend Kerry, mentioned how in Africa they talk about the ‘Big Five’.The “Big 5” refers to the African: lion, leopard, rhino, elephant and Cape buffalo. She came up with the idea that in Cabbage Tree Bay we could say we have the ‘Big 5’ . In the last 2 weeks many of us have swam with the Dusky Whaler, Blue Groper, Wobbegong, Eagle Ray and Turtle!

(Of course we know that it could be the ‘Big 8’ as we have also, at other times swam close to a Southern Right Whale, Dolphin and Giant Cuttlefish!) The Giant Cuttlefish usually appear in Autumn, so around now! I’m going to include them in my ‘Big Five’ as they are incredible to see! Lots of photos, videos and info below about our ‘Big 5’ and I’m talking about theDusky Whaler, Blue Groper, Wobbegong,  Green Turtle and Giant Cuttlefish!

Dusky Whalers are harmless creatures that swim away quickly when they notice swimmers, like this one. This Autumn they have been swimming in shallower waters closer to the rocks so we have often got to see them quite close up.

The Dusky Whaler is found in tropical and warm temperate waters. It can grow to 3.65 metres in length. The ones we see in CTB are classed as ‘juveniles’ and are usually 1-2 m in length. The long pointed snout, long pectoral fins and serrated teeth do make them look quite scary but don’t worry they aren’t interested in humans. They feed on bony fishes, other sharks but also eat crustaceans and cephalopods. (The Cuttlefish we see are cephalopods, hopefully they aren’t eating all of those!)

Here is a short video I took with 3 Dusky Whalers appearing in quick succession!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdkONAHd9oY

 In my ‘Big 5’ of Cabbage Tree Bay I’m going to include the Eastern Blue Groper as this beautiful fish is seen throughout the year by swimmers, snorkelers and divers. It is quite exciting seeing the flash of bright blue swim beneath you or to watch a large one chomping away on a sea urchin. There are a couple around The Bower surf break that are used to humans and get up really close, like this one above. 

 Don’t you just love those lips?! The Eastern Blue Groper is a type of wrasse and lives in shallow coastal waters around reefs from southern Queensland to Wilson’s promontory, Victoria. Juveniles are brown to green brown and are all female. It’s the adult males that are the bright blue colour, adult females are brown to reddish brown. They can grow to 1.2m in length. More info here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_groper

The Wobbegong we often see above, is the spotted Wobbegong with the pattern of white rings and dark saddles on a yellow to greenish-brown background. They can grow up to 3m in length and occur from Southern Queensland to south western Western Australia. They are possibly endemic to Australia. They feed mainly at night upon fish, crayfish, crabs and octopus. Wobbegong is an Aboriginal name and they are sometimes called a ‘Carpet Shark’.

Wobbegongs swim quite slowly and don’t shoot away like Dusky Whalers. ‘Sparkles’, pictured above is a speedy swimmer and managed to swim quite close to this one, which gives us an idea of it’s size! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wobbegong https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wobbegong

This is ‘Shelly’ the Green Turtle before she was taken to Manly Sea Life Sanctuary for rehabilitation.

The green turtle is a large, weighty sea turtle with a wide, smooth  shell. It inhabits tropical and subtropical coastal waters around the world.

It is named not for the colour of its shell, which is normally brown or olive depending on its habitat, but for the greenish colour of its skin.

This is Shelly a few months later with the tracker on his back.

Click on link below to see my video of Shelly swimming to the surface of the water for air.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUh7sapThkk

So this is the incredible Giant Cuttlefish. To quote from The Australian Museum website…

– See more at: http://australianmuseum.net.au/giant-cuttlefish-sepia-apama-gray-1849#sthash.GCWWt0E8.dpuf

Click on the link below to see a short video I took last year of a Cuttlefish swimming. You can see how it changes colour and texture as it swims over rocks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cXOvpzfYpM