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transports warm water from the Coral Sea and Great
Barrier Reef. The two collide at the Solitary Islands,
producing a unique environment with features and
marine life from both regions, key to why this marine
park is so fiercely protected.
Sure enough, 24 miles offshore the water is as warm
and blue as any emblematic tropical destination, with
not a shred of kelp in sight. Conditions prevent us from
mooring at North West Rocks (the location of legendary
site
Fish Soup
), but we’re able to moor at the northern
tip of North Solitary Island to explore equally famous
Anemone Bay
, a sloping, boulder-strewn reef with
a maximum depth of 80 feet. Two large shovelnose
guitarfish are patrolling the area, so I spend most of the
dive hoping to come face-to-face (or better yet, camera-
to-face) with one of these bizarre sharklike rays. When
I finally throw in the towel on that endeavor, I begin
to truly appreciate the beauty of the site’s namesake
invertebrates. Overlapping anemones carpet the
seafloor, forming a veritable field of McMansions for the
exceedingly prosperous local clownfish.
Nearby
Mackerel Run
, a rocky, soft-coral-covered
finger that juts into the open ocean, is no less striking.
The medium depth (75 feet) is tame enough, but the
current off the point is fierce. I squint into it, knowing
that on any given day this spot probably bears witness
as hordes of amazing marine wildlife swim past. No
sooner has that thought entered my mind than a large
eagle ray whizzes by, soon followed by a school of
barracuda, another eagle ray and a huge black cod.
Elbow Cave
, on the protected side of the island,
grabs my interest as soon as I see a free-swimming
wobbegong. Wobbegongs! I’ve completely forgotten
to admire this area’s wobbegongs, and they absolutely
litter the site (although most are represented by tails
sticking out from under ledges). The namesake cave
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Left:
During the summer, mantas sometimes
congregate at Northwest Solitary Island.
Below:
Soft corals adorn the rocks at Mackerel Run,
a dive site at the tip of North Solitary Island.