Stingray, stingray (not the Troy Tempest one!)

The stingrays yesterday was a real one off experience, we along with a family of four, with two little ones donned waders, including the kids who could probably have got both feet in one welly, and strode into the sea, with just a bamboo pole to lean on (the kids were towed out in a kayak). 

Mid thigh was the deepest it got, so we were all quite safe as we arrived on the reef. Stand shoulder to shoulder he’d said, forming a barricade. 

He threw bits of fish about and soon some kingfish appeared, big, at a metre/metre and a quarter, they splashed about, making lots of fuss masking the arrival of the gentle, chilled, sting rays. They came to us and swam up and down allowing us to stroke their backs and feel underneath them to their mouths. At this stage we had no food, but they didn’t seem to mind, one of the kingfish got quite excited, and confused as it swept in, tried to gum off my thumb(well he had no teeth) and swept away again. 

Despite having no teeth he gave my lowest thumb joint a good grazing which then started to bleed! I decided at this point that, like Brian, perhaps I’d better go left handed and not put my right hand in the sea, well they are members of the shark family so we didn’t want them getting too excited! He then began to dish bits of fish out to us which as a ray came to you you held under its head and it sucked in the food, really strange feeling! 

They were lovely, kept pottering about back and forth, we had to remember not to step back as you never knew when one was behind you until all the food was gone and the tide was coming in. At that point we beat a retreat back to the shore, sadly waving good bye to our new friends.