Kusu reef welcomes NY staff
27 October 2007.
About 30 NY staff, some accompanied by spouses and children, descended upon the tidal pools of Kusu Island to observe life on the reef at low tide. Guided by volunteers from Blue Water Volunteers, this was the last trip to the island the group is organizing for the year.
The initial view of the artificially sheltered beach at Kusu looks desolate, but it's amazing how much life flourishes on closer inspection. To begin with, the entire beach is practically covered with small conical sea-snails. It was difficult to walk without treading on a few with every step, even with care.
Wading through the salt-water pools brought encounters with crabs of the hermit, fiddler and flower varieties. One guide found and put one small, hairy crab in temporary captivity so that the other groups could could view it first-hand. Other creatures observed included sponges and corals, a couple of sluggish sea cucumbers, a galaxy of armorous sea stars, camouflaged gobis, and a deadly stonefish which provided the rarest sighting of the day.
Guides, Dionne and Yvonne, were entertaining and lively, and took the staff's boistrous questions and comments in their stride. They were informative and strongly encouraged a hands-on experience with some of the creatures. "We felt the suction of the carpet anemone's stinging tentacles (our skin is too thick to be hurt by the stings), and had snails and small crabs crawling over our palms," enthused EL Dept's Ms Peh.
The trip was fascinating for Judith, Mrs Joanna Gan's small daughter. "It was wonderful for her to see in real life what she had only seen before in books and television," said Mrs Gan.
There was time for a quick self-prepared dinner as the sun went down, while awaiting the ferry's departure. Ms Kwok put together a small feast of egg mayo and chicken mayo to spread on bread. Various other staff opened bags of chips, while trip organizer, Mr Mao, opened a bottle of red wine that went perfectly with the sunset.
Story and pix by NYconneXions
More pix here.