Just beneath the water’s surface, walls of iridescent fish hovered and bobbed in the current, the filtered sunshine reflecting off their fins. Below them, colourful parrotfish made their rounds, while a school of big-eyed trevally moved slowly along the seabed, unaffected by my presence. To them, I was just another small fish in the big azure sea surrounding Queensland’s Lady Elliot Island.
A short flight from Bundaberg, this remote island off Australia’s east coast marks the southernmost coral cay of the Great Barrier Reef. It’s best known for its large marine species. The deep waters of the continental shelf are just kilometres away and an upwelling of nutrients attracts humpback whales, sea turtles, sharks and manta rays to the area. Included among this collection is the bizarre Inspector Clouseau, a rare rose-coloured manta named after the Pink Panther detective. I, however, was here for the coral.
Rising up in columns around and below me, hues of earthy yellow, terracotta pink and shades
