Something pulled me out of bed at the crack of dawn. Normally I like to get up sloooooowly, but on this day my eyes popped open and I leapt out of bed, quickly washed up and pulled on my wetsuit in the darkness outside. The island was just starting to wake up. The black noddies (birds) were heading out to the open ocean in the thousands. I followed them clumsily on land.
We were scheduled to depart that morning on a tiny plane from Lady Elliot Island, a coral cay in the Southern Great Barrier Reef. The night before I declared to my family that I was done snorkeling, and they breathed a sigh of relief. I am notorious for trying to squeeze in one last adventure before leaving a fun place, making everyone stressed as I hurriedly come back to pack up and leave. I wanted them to relax and not fret about my punctuality … but I also woke up with an irresistible force, leading me to see the reef underwater one more time.
The sun was starting to illuminate the reef as I scooched into the ocean. I saw some other early morning snorkelers swim towards a group of reef sharks hanging out in the shallows. As I headed their way, a beautiful green sea turtle swam towards me. She looked at me, getting within a few feet, as if to communicate something. I turned and swam with her for a while, watching the morning sun sparkle in the clear waters and reveal the bright colors of the reef. Suddenly I saw something weird move below her.
A reef octopus!
I stopped to observe more closely. The octopus was a deep maroon red with bright white spikes all over. Why is this octopus fully out in vivid colors in broad daylight? He moved down on the coral.
Another reef octopus!
Oh, and what’s that…?
Deep red Octopus 1 had a tentacle under the mantle of Brown Octopus 2. I hovered in the reef waves in disbelief. If I wasn’t depending on the snorkel to breathe, my jaw would have dropped in awe. I was witnessing an octopus mating.
Words would not do justice to this experience. The video comes closer. I decided to keep the original ambient sounds of the reef (along with my snorkel breathing, sorry!) so you can hear what it was like to be in this cacophonous underwater wonderland.
Here are the key moments in the video:
- 0:05 – Meet my green sea turtle guide.
- 0:30 – Two reef octopuses mating!
- 1:05 – Octopus 1 chases off a competitor.
- 2:20 – Octopus 2 waits for Octopus 1 to come back and reinsert his hectocotylus (sexual tentacle).
- 3:20 and 4:30 – Octopus 2 shape-shifts and enjoys the moment… psychedelic octopus orgasms!
- 5:30 – Octopus 1 chases off a competitor again while Octopus 2 waits for him. Guess he’s worth it.
- 6:15 – Check out the shape-shifting and color-changing magic as he swims back to her!
No wonder I was pulled out of bed at the crack of dawn. Something in the universe told me I had to go in and witness this miraculous event. Maybe for the reef animals it was whatever. For me, it was transformative. I am hooked on the wonders of nature, especially among our underwater friends. And we didn’t miss our flight.