SHARKS!

Danger! Danger, Mate!
We saw a lot of sharks in Australia. Rays and sea snakes were also seen on many dives.
aus55sh.jpg (106287 bytes) Hello! This guy came right up to me for a close look. This girl is a Gray Reef shark. She has an injured gill.
aus54sh.jpg (71023 bytes) Another one comes in from the left. This one is a White Tip Reef Shark.
aus51sh.jpg (162460 bytes) This White Tip Reef Shark swam right up to Johnny on a night dive.
aus53sh.jpg (72581 bytes) This girl went cruising overhead. This is a pretty safe position. Most sharks like to attack from below.
aus52sh.jpg (158416 bytes) By dangling some bate over the back of the boat, the crew showed us that there always sharks out in the ocean whenever you dive. You may not see them but they are always watching you. Within a couple of minutes the bait attracted several hungry sharks.
aus56ray.jpg (91278 bytes) This ray went swimming off when he saw us coming.
We saw some rays that were huge. One Bull Ray that we saw hovering on a night dive must have been 12 feet wide. He let me swim right over him.
aus57ray.jpg (128799 bytes) This spotted Eagle Ray was much friendlier. He wanted to swim with me for a while. On one dive some of the divers saw a huge Manta Ray (sometime called a Devil Ray).
aus57sn.jpg (29795 bytes) This is about as close as I wanted to get to this guy. He is a Sea Snake. His venom is 10 times as potent as a King Cobra. He is staking out a hole where a fish lives. His flat paddle tail is towards the left side of the picture.