Author: Andrew Baird

If you only have one chance to go snorkel on Norfolk Island, the place to go is the Crystal Pool. This series of rock pools are almost completely isolated from the Ocean at low tide. The rock pools measure approximately 50 m in length, 3-4 m in width and 1-2 m in depth at low tide, yet this small area contains almost 50% of the species we have collected to date on Norfolk Island. The walls are covered in corals that include individuals of 27 of the 60 species in the Project Phoenix collection. In addition, the rock pools contain two species, Acropora aff. digitifera and Lobophyllia cf. vitiensis, that we had not previously collected. The species missing from the Crystal Pool are mainly from the genera Acropora, Montipora and Turbinaria, although all these genera have representatives in the Crystal Pool. This is truly an amazing spot.