Beveridge Reef, Niue
Arriving at Beveridge Reef, we accessed the sea state and anchored the National Geographic Endeavour on the lee side of the prevailing winds. We marveled at this top of a 16,500 foot volcano whose coral reef top is growing fast enough to keep up to the ocean surface. The mid-oceanic reef held promise for a remarkable snorkel and diving site as it is quite rarely visited and is off the main ocean trawling tracts.
Staff gave powerpoint talks on the region's seabirds, with the red, brown and masked boobies being a source of amusement and appreciation. We also had a powerpoint on the structure and composition of the region’s coral reefs with tips for identifying the principal organisms that make up the reef.
The amplitude and direction of the swell and the tidal height made the reef passage unnavigable. But this would be our snorkler’s first opportunity to visit a fore reef environment. Getting our Zodiacs in quite close to the fore reef of the perfectly ovoid atoll, the entire team took to the water. That instant we were visited by a 4 foot grey reef shark and a somewhat smaller white tipped reef shark. The reef’s coral appeared to be rebounding from a series of 2005 cyclones. The debris gullies coming off the reef crest were filled with silt and sand that spilled up on the fore reef slope. Many of us visited were within 50 meters of the reef crest and observed more hummocky seafloor containing a moderate diversity of small hard and soft corals. Rarely, the sun would break through and the fore reef exploded in colors of purple, red, pink and yellow.
The soft corals were feeding, and we counted the polyp’s hairy 8 tentacles and watched them sway with the swell. Black and yellow sponges covered some of the cemented coral rubble. Red, brown and green fleshy algae give roughly a 50% cover to the cemented reef substrate. Fire coral (hydroids) and a pervasive encrusting pink coralline algae were dominant. Tucked in and under the cemented rubble were orange pencil and black spiny sea urchins. Lacking a tall complex structure, the fish seemed to be a bit skittish and were taking refuge in the low cavities. Orange bar surgeons, wedge tail surgeons, 4 spot buttefly and several wrasse species were abundant. Moorish idols, needle fish and the occasional yellow spot trevaly jack visited us.
The diving team was visited quite closely by a gray reef shark, and a loggerhead turtle made a close-in cameo appearance providing for remarkable video clips.
Arriving at Beveridge Reef, we accessed the sea state and anchored the National Geographic Endeavour on the lee side of the prevailing winds. We marveled at this top of a 16,500 foot volcano whose coral reef top is growing fast enough to keep up to the ocean surface. The mid-oceanic reef held promise for a remarkable snorkel and diving site as it is quite rarely visited and is off the main ocean trawling tracts.
Staff gave powerpoint talks on the region's seabirds, with the red, brown and masked boobies being a source of amusement and appreciation. We also had a powerpoint on the structure and composition of the region’s coral reefs with tips for identifying the principal organisms that make up the reef.
The amplitude and direction of the swell and the tidal height made the reef passage unnavigable. But this would be our snorkler’s first opportunity to visit a fore reef environment. Getting our Zodiacs in quite close to the fore reef of the perfectly ovoid atoll, the entire team took to the water. That instant we were visited by a 4 foot grey reef shark and a somewhat smaller white tipped reef shark. The reef’s coral appeared to be rebounding from a series of 2005 cyclones. The debris gullies coming off the reef crest were filled with silt and sand that spilled up on the fore reef slope. Many of us visited were within 50 meters of the reef crest and observed more hummocky seafloor containing a moderate diversity of small hard and soft corals. Rarely, the sun would break through and the fore reef exploded in colors of purple, red, pink and yellow.
The soft corals were feeding, and we counted the polyp’s hairy 8 tentacles and watched them sway with the swell. Black and yellow sponges covered some of the cemented coral rubble. Red, brown and green fleshy algae give roughly a 50% cover to the cemented reef substrate. Fire coral (hydroids) and a pervasive encrusting pink coralline algae were dominant. Tucked in and under the cemented rubble were orange pencil and black spiny sea urchins. Lacking a tall complex structure, the fish seemed to be a bit skittish and were taking refuge in the low cavities. Orange bar surgeons, wedge tail surgeons, 4 spot buttefly and several wrasse species were abundant. Moorish idols, needle fish and the occasional yellow spot trevaly jack visited us.
The diving team was visited quite closely by a gray reef shark, and a loggerhead turtle made a close-in cameo appearance providing for remarkable video clips.
