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27 August 2025 | Wed THE RZ TIMES Issue 007

TRAVEL Australia’s X-rated underwater show

Each year, the small South Australian town skin to distract and stun an unsuspecting crab or According to Gillanders, Whyalla attracts
of Whyalla becomes home to one of the most fish. Their camouflage skills put chameleons to cuttlefish due to its unique marine landscape,
spectacular underwater events: the spawning of shame, and have even attracted
the giant Australian cuttlefish. the attention of the US military,
“First time you go and put your head under who have researched the colour-
the water and see hundreds and hundreds of changing abilities of cuttlefish
cuttlefish in this one little area, it just looks like with the hopes of replicating
a chaotic kaleidoscope. What the hell is going on their techniques for army use. If
here?” said Tony Bramley. that’s not unusual enough, their
As owner of Whyalla Diving Services and a mating behaviours are strange,
decades-long advocate for the Giant Australian to say the least.
cuttlefish, Bramley has observed the frenzied and From May to September
each year, hundreds of
thousands of Giant Australian
cuttlefish gather in the waters
just off Point Lowly, in the
Upper Spencer Gulf, for the
sole purpose of mating. Welcome to nature’s most with the Upper Spencer Gulf offering plenty of
flamboyant underwater sex show. The largest rocky ledges that the females use to lay their
cuttlefish in the eggs. While cuttlefish mate
world are found elsewhere, the Spencer Gulf
throughout is home to the largest-known
southern aggregation on the planet –
Australian there’s nowhere else in the world
colourful cuttlefish mating that occurs in South waters, but only where swimmers can observe
Australia’s Upper Spencer Marine Gulf Park for in Whyalla do such spectacular and strange
years. Once only of interest to fishermen and local they gather in mating behaviours en masse,
scuba divers – who would spread the word to high numbers including pulsating colour
one another that “the cuttles are in” – this marine for mating. changes and males disguising
phenomenon now attracts tourists and researchers “An estimate themselves as females.
from across the world. It’s a welcome boost to of cuttlefish No-one ever said finding a
the small steelworks town of Whyalla, on South numbers on partner was easy – and these
Australia’s Eyre Peninsula. the breeding Source : BBC NEWS cuttlefish are single and ready to
A type of marine invertebrate closely related aggregation for 2020 was 247,000, the highest on mingle – but first, these unusual creatures need
to the octopus, cuttlefish are whip-smart molluscs record,” said Professor Bronwyn M Gillanders, to get here. Bramley explained that some of the
that can change colour and texture instantly. a prominent cuttlefish researcher and Head of cuttlefish have been tagged, revealing that some
They’ve been known to solve puzzles, and can School, Biological Sciences at the University of are travelling from at least 65km south of the
hypnotise their prey by turning their bodies into Adelaide. “This number is reported but we know town and others 35km to the north to get to the
strobe lights, rapidly pulsing colour through their that it’s likely an underestimate.” breeding grounds in the Upper Spencer Gulf.

DESTINATION
staying at the island’s 1850s, Francis Drake,
Isla de la Juventud: Cuba’s remote nature paradise one hotel. Or, they tour Henry Morgan and

the island’s panopticon their ilk ransacked
prison, Presidio the Spanish Crown’s
Modelo (now an eerie treasure fleet as ships,
museum), where bulging with gems,
Cuba’s late Communist silver and spices, sailed
leader Fidel Castro was past La Isla enroute
incarcerated in 1953 from the tip of South
for attacking army America to Havana.
barracks – an event Because of this, La
that triggered the 1959 Isla was dubbed both
Cuban Revolution. “Island of Pirates” and
But beyond its few “Treasure Island”. It
attractions, the island’s was even thought to
sugar-soft beaches, have inspired Robert
unique culture and Louis Stevenson’s classic
history, and protected book, Treasure Island.
wildlife havens offer a In the late 1970s,
vastly different Cuban Fidel Castro opened
experience than the dozens of universities
crumbling colonial on the island for
facades and raucous foreign students, and
From pirate haven to ecological hotspot, few visitors ever see. In centuries past, real pirates rum bars of Havana. in 1978, the island
Cuba’s “Treasure Island” is a far-flung gem home of the Caribbean slipped into the island’s coves, When Christopher was renamed Isla de
to some of the Caribbean’s rarest animals. with boats bearing illicit booty. Today, visitors Columbus crossed la Juventud (Isle of
A pirate hideaway, a one-time US colony come from the port of Batabanó, 56km south the Atlantic for a Youth) from Isla de
and a biodiverse hotspot home to endangered of Havana, on a three-hour ferry ride that costs second time in 1493, Pinos (Isle of Pines).
crocs, parrots, sharks and turtles, Cuba’s Isla de $0.50 Cuban Pesos (£0.35) and requires reserving he dropped anchor The schools closed
la Juventud is an enigma. The Caribbean nation’s a month in advance, or securing a seat on irregular close to the island that in the late 1990s, but
largest offshore island lies 60 miles south off the flights. would later prove to their legacy remains in
mainland and is a comma-shaped arc of palm Those who make the journey usually come be the perfect refuge the island’s name.
and pine trees, citrus groves and marble hills that to dive off the south-western tip, Punta Francés, for pirates. From the Source : BBC NEWS

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