Manta Ray Bay is one of our favourite bays to visit here in the Whitsundays. It is located on the
northern end of Hook island, the second largest largest of the 74 islands that make up the
Whitsundays.
Although heavily damaged in Cyclone Debi back in 2017 this bay is on its way to recovery , still
holds a special place in our hearts and is home to an incredible array of fish life including our
best mate George the giant Humphead Maori Wrasse.
George is a local celebrity here in the Whitsundays almost everyone stops by his bay to visit. He
loves to swim up to our boat and our snorkelers to say hi and check us out. It is an incredible
experience to meet him. George also has many lady friends and if you are lucky enough George
might even bring them around to see you.
The Humphead Maori wrasse is the largest species in the wrasse family reaching a massive size of
up to 2m long. A size which our George has yet to achieve. They also start their life out as a
female who then has the ability to turn into an adult male, this is called sequential
hermaphroditism, weird huh.
These big beautiful fish are found throughout the Indo-Pacific oceans, but despite their wide range they are now listed as Endangered by the IUCN. Because of this our mate George is even more special and we do our best to make sure he stays healthy by educating our guests before they meet him. George, like most Maori wrasse are really friendly and quite curious fish,. This means they approach as in extremely close proximity and although it is really tempting to pat them it is important that we keep our hands to ourselves. Touching fish like George can have a detrimental effect on their health and cause wounds and invite infections and parasites into their body.
Along with the Humphead Maori wrasse there are many other species you can meet in Manta Ray Bay. Some of our favourites are the yellowtail fusiliers, giant trivially and batfish. The yellowtail fusiliers are small fish that number in the hundreds, they love to get amongst or snorkelers and immerse them in a fishy world. The Giant Trevally are Manta Ray Bays resident jocks, large fast fish that speed and splash all over the place. The mature male Giant Trevally Trevor is almost as famous as George. Lastly the batfish put a smile on everyone's face as their comical facial expressions and silly antics are a bit of an underwater comedy.
Join Wings on your next tropical adventure and stop in at Manta Ray Bay to meet the fishy gang.
