I never grow tired diving with these beautiful creatures and I still give a quiet yelp of delight when I find my first one on a dive.
Last weekend I was fortunate enough to see several of these gorgeous leafy seadragons during my dive at Rapid Bay.

This male is carrying a fresh batch of eggs which his female partner has left in his care while she goes off to do what ever females do when they don’t have to nurture their young. He will protect them from predation while they develop but in a few weeks when they hatch they will emerge into a world where they will have to start fending for themselves and our male gets his leafy seadragon life back.

We are so lucky to live in a part of the world with such amazing critters as these.

Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Dragon Fruit’, 1/80s f/8 ISO320 15mm