Hidden treasures

Ningaloo Reef is famous for our largest visitors - the mighty whale sharks - cruising through the deep blue water but we also have an incredible reef system supporting zillions of hidey holes for all manner of cool critters. Those divers who take the time to slow down and check out the corals and ledges and those who try to dive a site more than once during their stay are routinely treated to sights many miss. Here are just a few from two dives we did in Lighthouse Bay last weekend

A little polkadotted crab peeking out from deep inside a small coralhead

Spending a little more time watching it paid off - check out all the eggs!

Teeny hermit crabs peek out of their shells once they get used to you

Bubbleshrimp are not only tiny, but their translucent bodies make them hard to see unless you really stop and look!

Clear shrimps also hide down inside bits of hard corals

Anemonefish (also called clownfish) are everyone's favourites as they dart in and out of the anemones. Check out the reef and rocks right next to the anemones as there are often clusters of eggs being hidden behind the tentacles. You can even see the baby fish inside!

Nudibranchs often blend in pretty well with their surroundings despite their often garish colours or frilly bits. We always have a good variety of nudibranchs on our dive sites and it's unusual to see fewer than four or five different ones!

Even on our mooring ropes you can find cool things hiding, like these "bubblebutt" slugs

or these little crab guys that hide in the weed growing on the rope. He jumped on to my arm as I was doing my stop

Not everything hidden is tiny...octopus are everywhere if you look

and Crocodilefish hide in plain sight, right on the sand