Hamlin Bay Stingrays

The main reason that I wanted to go down to Hamlin Bay was because I have read a few blogs about people going there and having the rays swim around their feet.  I thought that would be pretty cool but wasn't completely sure if it actually happened.  I mean, stingrays?  Being friendly...It was too cool to not go and see for myself.   Husband and I had called into here a couple of years back but it was a wet and windy day then and we couldn't see anything in the water so we went home and I promptly forgot about it.  But lately I have again read different blogs where the rays were mentioned and once my plan A birthday trip was not going to happen I started thinking of another one that we could do. Plan B, Hamlin Bay to see the stingrays.  And this time, see them we did.

The rays down here are stingrays and eagle rays.  The rays have been coming to Hamlin Bay for a long time, they come right up into the shallows.  They are protected in this area now but that hasn't always been the case and there are stories of them being caught and killed by fishermen.  Now there are signs saying to release them carefully if they get on your line.  Husband fished a few times while we were there and they didn't go near his line but did come up and over his feet as he was fishing.  

The rays come to this area to feed on the fish scraps that fishermen throw in the water. While we were there bucketful's were thrown in and this must happen most days. I'm actually surprised that here aren't more rays here.  Glad that there aren't any sharks...Hundreds of people come here to see these rays and as long as we respect them and don't harm them I think it is pretty darn cool.

There were different sized ones and the biggest that I saw was over a metre across.  That one too would come up and allow you to touch it.  You can feed them fish, they seem to like that.  

 

What do you think they would feel like?  Rough like a shark?  Scaley like  fish?  They are actually slimey.  A slippery feel and not what I was expecting.

 

This is one of the coolest things I have done in a long time and something that I would really like to do again.  Have you been down to Hamlin Bay and touched the stingrays?  Done anything as cool as this?  Tell me...