My dive buddy and guide for six dives at South Murion island was Norm Yixvan who kindly took video clips of our time together. Our dive boat was Mahi Mahi II, a spacious and comfortable day boat. I had been disappointed with the Murion Islands diving in 2005 but far less so in 2022. This time the crossings were fine, the underwater visibility excellent and the huge array of healthy corals stunning. However, there was not a lot of large marine life and of course large marine life always provides a wow factor. My somewhat negative mood was also doubtless influenced by some camera woes! I was startled to see some droplets of water in my dome port during our first dive. Neither the camera housing’s vacuum alarm or leak sensor had been triggered but the droplets were very real. I had to nurse the housing back to our dive boat, to ensure the droplets did not touch anything in the housing that could be damaged by them. I left the housing on Mahi Mahi II for our second dive and later back in Exmouth, discovered that my Domeport’s o-ring was damaged. As I did not have a replacement with me, any further wide-angle shots would have to be taken through my flat port, adversely affecting the image quality.
Over two more days at South Murion island I did see some large marine life, namely several Whitetip reef sharks, a wobbegong shark and for me the highlight, a long encounter with a Blotched Fantail ray.