Snorkelling off the Sea Scout Hut in Beaumaris
Sunday morning we took a snorkel off the Sea Scout Hut in Beaumaris. This little bay is nice and protected by the pensinula to the north. Although today the wind was near perfect anyway. To get there we parked in Sparks Street and walked down to the jetty. Entry here is easy as there is a concrete boat ramp that is never used.
Swimming out diagonally, in the direction the jetty points, is a large area of coral reef. There is a flat rock plateau dotted with bommies and colourful sponges. There are numerous cracks and crevices, full of urchins and coral (coral reef and urchins are part of the same biotope). What struck us about this area was the diversity of other life. We saw lots of sea slugs, including Short-tailed and a couple of species of sapsuckers. There were pygmy squid, widebody pipefish and painted dragonets.
There are also lots of juvenile fish. An indication of recovery and what these sites could be like, if the fishing pressure was reduced and large reef fish were allowed to mature.
The Orange and White Anemones had me stumped. The white tendrils emanating from their flattened bodies (above) are Acontia which are stinging cells used for defense. Not sure what will have triggered this.
Raja Ampat Last Female Shared Spot
Before I begin, we have one female shared spot remaining to join a group of mostly female snorkelers from 6-17 April 2026 in Raja Ampat. There’s still chance to jump on board this trip. If you can get to and from Denpasar, the internal flights are direct return to Sorong (we’ve just booked these for everyone else).
