Critter Spotter

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐒𝐞𝐚 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐲 — 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐰𝐤𝐬𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐥𝐞

Few underwater encounters capture people's hearts quite like a sea turtle.

Here in Vanuatu, we are fortunate to regularly encounter Hawksbill turtles while diving and snorkelling. Some are large adults that have likely spent decades navigating these reefs. Others are younger individuals just beginning their journey.

What many people don't realise is that the Hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Despite being one of the most recognisable animals on our reefs, they remain under threat in many parts of the world.

Hawksbills are more than beautiful animals — they play an important role in maintaining healthy coral reef ecosystems.

At Critter Spotter, we believe wildlife encounters should always be on the animal's terms. We never chase, touch or interfere with turtles. Given space, they will behave naturally, and those moments are always the most rewarding.

We also believe marine turtles belong in the ocean — not being handled for photographs or displayed for human entertainment.

One of the great things about Vanuatu is the opportunity to encounter turtles in their natural environment. Watching a turtle glide across a coral reef or pause beneath a bommie is an experience no captive display can replicate.

As citizens of the sea, we all have a role to play.

Respect them.
Protect them.
Give them space.

And if you're lucky enough to encounter one underwater, take a moment to simply appreciate what an extraordinary privilege it is.

Happy World Sea Turtle Day.

📸 John Warmington

𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐰𝐤𝐬𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐝?
Message or visit our webpage for more details at:

https://critterspotter.com

Why not relax and spend a few days away — dive and stay at Karma Waters Villa – book direct:

https://book.securebookings.net/roomrate?id=fc0138cd-77e8-1779045082-4ce1-b087-4cfa701db842

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐓𝐨 𝐘𝐨𝐮?

Every now and then we find an animal that leaves us with more questions than answers.

This Peacock Mantis Shrimp (Odontodactylus scyllarus) was living deep within its burrow on our reef at Havannah Harbour.

At first glance it looked perfectly healthy. Then we noticed something unusual.

It only had one eye.

Mantis shrimps possess some of the most remarkable eyes in the animal kingdom. Their vision is so specialised that scientists have studied them for decades, fascinated by their ability to perceive the world in ways very different from our own.
Yet somehow this individual had lost one of its most important tools for survival.

What happened?

A fight with another mantis shrimp?

An encounter with a predator?

An injury sustained while defending its burrow?

We'll never know.

What we do know is that it survived.

It had secured a home, remained alert to our presence, and appeared to be living life much as any other mantis shrimp would.

Nature can be brutal at times, but it can also be remarkably resilient.

Sometimes the most memorable encounters are not with perfect animals, but with the ones that carry a story written across their bodies.

This one left us wondering.

Cheers

John & Sandy

📸 John Warmington

Links in Bio

𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐎𝐧𝐜𝐞

One of the questions we're often asked is whether we ever get tired of diving the same reefs.

Photos like this are the answer.

This is a Ghost Boxer Shrimp, also known as the Flameback Coral Shrimp (Stenopus pyrsonotus).

We found it living deep on a sponge-covered bommie at around 33 metres, tucked away amongst the folds of its host. At first glance it resembles the much more common Banded Coral Shrimp that we regularly encounter around the reef, but look closely and the differences become obvious. The body is far more translucent, the colours softer, and the overall appearance almost ghost-like.

Despite thousands of dives in Vanuatu, this is the only individual we have ever encountered.

Just once.

One dive. One moment. One photograph.

That's one of the reasons we continue to explore these reefs with the same excitement we had years ago. There is always the possibility of finding something you've never seen before.

Or perhaps something you'll never see again.

This photograph was taken several years before the December 2024 earthquake reshaped parts of the reef. Whether this particular shrimp still resides somewhere on Havannah Harbour's reefs remains a mystery.

We're still looking.

📸 John Warmington

𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬?

Message or visit our webpage for more details at:

https://critterspotter.com

Why not relax and spend a few days away — dive and stay at Karma Waters Villa

https://book.securebookings.net/roomrate?id=fc0138cd-77e8-1779045082-4ce1-b087-4cfa701db842

𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠

Every nudibranch seems to have its own signature style. Some rely on bold colours. Some wear intricate patterns, and some look as though they've been hand-painted.

This spectacular Reticulidia fungia is one of those species that never fails to stop us in our tracks.

At first glance, the striking black-and-gold network pattern draws all the attention. But look a little closer and another detail emerges. The white mantle is covered in countless tiny speckles, creating a texture that almost resembles frost, fine porcelain, or delicate engraving.

It's an extraordinary level of detail packed into an animal only a few centimetres long.
proving that some of the ocean's most remarkable creatures aren't the fastest or the largest.

It's details like these that keep us looking closely, dive after dive, year after year.

Cheers

John and Sandy

📸 John Warmington

𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬?

Message or visit our webpage for more details at:

𝙬𝙬𝙬.𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙚𝐫𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫.𝐜𝐨𝐦

Why not relax and spend a few days away — dive and stay at Karma Waters Villa

https://book.securebookings.net/roomrate?id=fc0138cd-77e8-1779045082-4ce1-b087-4cfa701db842

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐎𝐜𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐲 — 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐜𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐈𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐀 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞… 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐀 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝

The ocean covers more than 70% of our planet and supports life in ways many of us rarely stop to think about. It helps regulate our climate, produces much of the oxygen we breathe, provides food and livelihoods for millions of people, and supports an astonishing diversity of life.

The ocean is not separate from us. Our lives depend on healthy marine ecosystems whether we realise it or not. Yet for many people, the ocean remains something viewed from the shore.

Every time we enter the water, we are reminded that beneath the surface lies an entire world that most people never get to see.

Tiny lives. Complex relationships. Extraordinary behaviours. Entire ecosystems hidden in places that many people swim straight past without ever noticing.

This is why we continue to photograph and document the underwater world.

Not simply to create images, but to build a connection between people and the ocean. To share its beauty, reveal its hidden stories, and help others understand what is at stake if these ecosystems are lost.

As residents of Vanuatu, we are also proud to see our nation taking a leadership role in advocating for climate justice on behalf of small island states and pursuing initiatives aimed at protecting our oceans for future generations.

For countries like ours, the health of the ocean is not an abstract issue. It influences our environment, our communities, our food security, our livelihoods and our way of life.

While the challenges facing our oceans can sometimes feel overwhelming, positive action at every level — from local communities to national leadership — gives us reason for hope.

Because once you truly see what lies beneath the surface, something changes, you begin to appreciate just how remarkable this underwater world really is.

And once you understand it, you can't help but care.

People protect what they value.

And they value what they understand.

Happy World Oceans Day.

Cheers

John and Sandy

📸 John Warmington

𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬?

Message or visit our webpage for more details at:

https://critterspotter.com

Why not relax and spend a few days away — dive and stay at

https://airbnb.com/h/karmawaters

𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐛𝐢𝐠 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐭?

One of the questions we are asked most often after showing people photographs of reef critters is:

"How big was it?"

The answer, in this case, usually surprises people. These juvenile Yellow Boxfish (Ostracion cubicus) can be just 2 cm's long -- really tiny.

The close-up portraits make it look like a bright yellow cartoon character floating through the reef. But when you step back and see it in its surroundings, you realise it is barely larger than the first joint of a finger.

Despite its size, it somehow manages to steal all the attention. With its bright yellow body, perfectly spaced black spots and permanently puzzled expression, it looks less like a fish and more like something a toy designer might invent.

Yet this little box-shaped traveller is completely real.

These tiny marvels are, if you are patient, among the reef's most photogenic residents. They dart in and out of gaps in the coral and the trick is to follow them and just lock the focus on the area and fire away - hoping at some stage it will stay still long enough to get a face on shot.

Another way is to wildly wave at you dive buddy and have them stay on the other side of the rock to give you a fighting chance that it will turn and come towards the camera.

And that is one of the things we love about underwater photography.

The camera has an incredible ability to reveal worlds that are easy to overlook.

Tiny subjects become larger than life.

Small details become extraordinary and such a tiny critter becomes the star of an entire dive.

Cheers

John and Sandy

📸 John Warmington

𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬?

Message or visit our webpage for more details at:

https://critterspotter.com

Why not relax and spend a few days away — dive and stay at Karma Waters Villa

https://book.securebookings.net/roomrate?id=fc0138cd-77e8-1779045082-4ce1-b087-4cfa701db842

𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬

If somebody painted this colour combination onto a fish, most people would probably say it looked unrealistic. Yet nature got there first - vivid greens, electric pink markings and intricate maze-like patterns running across its face.

This is a Cheek Lined Wrasse (Oxycheilinus digrammus) Wrasse, one of many species of Wrasse we find here at Havannah Harbour, and like so many reef fish, it wears colours that seem almost impossible to believe until you see them for yourself.

One of the great joys of underwater photography is discovering just how creative evolution can be. Every reef seems to have its own artists, each working with a different palette of colours, shapes and patterns.

Some species rely on camouflage. Others appear to have decided subtlety is overrated. This individual certainly falls into the second category.

Sometimes the reef feels less like a natural ecosystem and more like an underwater art gallery. And every now and then, a fish like this steals the entire exhibition.

Get in touch with us at Critter Spotter to visit the gallery!

Cheers

John and Sandy

📸 John Warmington

𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬?

Message or visit our webpage for more details at:

𝙬𝙬𝙬.𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙚𝐫𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫.𝐜𝐨𝐦

Why not relax and spend a few days away — dive and stay at Karma Waters Villa

𝗵𝘁𝘁𝗽𝘀://𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗯𝗻𝗯.𝗰𝗼𝗺/𝗵/𝗸𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐞𝐟 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐲 — 𝐀 𝐑𝐞𝐞𝐟 𝐖𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐇𝐨𝐦𝐞

Just metres from our home lies a reef that has become part of our lives.

Over the years we have spent hundreds of hours exploring it, photographing hundreds of species and learning its hidden stories. We know where certain shrimps live, where gobies shelter, where turtles rest, and where favourite critters return year after year.

But we have also watched it change and we share this with a trigger warning that these photos may disturb some viewers.

We have seen warmer waters arrive, cyclones reshape sections of reef, outbreaks of Crown-of-Thorns starfish, and the impacts of the earthquake of 17 December 2024.

Some changes happen overnight. Others are only revealed when you compare photographs taken years apart. Some changes bring us to tears and yet the reef holds on and continues to surprise with new discoveries and old friends. We will never give up on her.

That is why we continue to document what we see.

Photography is not only about creating beautiful images. It is a record. A moment in time. Evidence of what was here, evidence of what is happening in the "real" world, the parts that are not shown in the glossy magazines.

In a world increasingly filled with artificial images and videos of oceans and marine life, we believe there has never been a more important time to document the real ocean — real species, real behaviours and real ecosystems, for better or worse.

These photographs are a bridge between people and the underwater world. A window of reality, because once you truly immerse yourself in a reef, you begin to care about it, and once you care, you want to protect it - and we love our little patch of reef!

On World Reef Awareness Day, we are reminded that reefs are living ecosystems that deserve our respect, our attention, and our protection — for the generations that will follow us. Let's save our reefs!

📸 John Warmington

𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬?

Message or visit our webpage for more details at:

www.critterspotter.com

Why not relax and spend a few days away — dive and stay at Karma Waters Villa

https://airbnb.com/h/karmawaters

𝐀 𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐨

This is the eye of a Coral Cod.

One of the things we love about underwater photography is how it allows us to explore familiar subjects in completely different ways. Move in close enough and a fish becomes a collection of colours, patterns, textures and shapes that most of us never notice.

The electric blues, oranges and golds surrounding the pupil aren't the result of creative editing or artificial effects. They are simply the remarkable colours found on a living reef fish.

Sometimes the most interesting photograph isn't the whole animal, a tiny detail that tells a completely different story.

📸 John Warmington

𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬?

Message or visit our webpage for more details at:

𝙬𝙬𝙬.𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙚𝐫𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫.𝐜𝐨𝐦

Why not relax and spend a few days away — dive and stay at Karma Waters Villa

𝗵𝘁𝘁𝗽𝘀://𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗯𝗻𝗯.𝗰𝗼𝗺/𝗵/𝗸𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀

𝐎𝐜𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐆𝐨𝐥𝐝

At first glance it looks like a nudibranch, but this is a Gold-Spotted Flatworm (Thysanozoon nigropapillosum), and it actually belongs to an entirely different group of animals known as polyclad flatworms.

And what a design it is. Just stunning - a velvet-black body edged in brilliant white, scattered with hundreds of tiny golden spots that shimmer like flecks of precious metal across its surface. They move like a "magic carpet" undulating across the substrate.

Flatworms have no protective shell and rely on camouflage, warning colours and chemical defences to survive.

It's easy to understand why they are favourites amongst underwater photographers.

The colours.
The contrast.
The elegant movement.

Proof once again that some of the reef's greatest treasures are measured not in size, but in detail.

📸 John Warmington

𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬?

Message or visit our webpage for more details at:

𝙬𝙬𝙬.𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙩𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫.𝐜𝐨𝐦

Why not relax and spend a few days away — dive and stay at Karma Waters Villa

𝗵𝘁𝘁𝗽𝘀://𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗯𝗻𝗯.𝗰𝗼𝗺/𝗵/𝗸𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀