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Early this morning, the treetops of Oeno atoll appeared on the northern horizon, welcoming us to the fourth and final study area of the Pristine Seas: Pitcairn Islands Expedition.
Pitcairn was rough, with murky water and rocky bottoms, full of the herbivorous rudderfish. Ducie was a coral paradise with crystal-clear water and lots of sharks. Henderson had less coral cover but more diversity, and sharks were abundant too.
We were surprised by our two first dives at Oeno. We saw only one shark, but instead saw hundreds of groupers. Everyone loves seeing these big fish with so much personality.
Manu San Felix, Nathan Lefevre, and I were diving with rebreathers. We laid on the bottom, not moving or making bubbles – and the curious fishes came to check us out as though we were aliens from another planet, swimming around us and looking at us with big, amazed eyes. What a first impression of Oeno! We cannot wait to dive again tomorrow morning.
