The local currents and underwater topography of our house reef come together in a very special way, creating many different habitats and a world class macro life.
World class macro life and Spectacular nudibranch
The house reef at Gulen Dive Resort is home to a staggering 73 species of nudibranchs – all found in one and the same place. No other place in Norway has more nudibranchs than we do! And who said it was better in the tropics? The number of species has been confirmed by the scientists who take part in the annual Nudibranch Safari which is held every year. Nudibranchs can be found sometimes in the thousands.
Our fishlife
The sandy areas of the house reef are home to several species of rare gobies, and clingfish and snailfish are hiding under rocks and seashells.
Larger predators like cod, hake and pollock are very common, and wolffish and monkfish may be seen at certain times of the year.
Gladiators of the Sea
The crustaceans are the biggest animal group found in the oceans. From microscopic plankton to huge lobster and spider crab they can be found in almost any habitat. the house reef has an exceptional diversity of crustaceans –, especially in the autumn. You can expect to see lobster, stone crabs, swimming crabs, camouflage shrimp, cleaner shrimp, sea spiders, barnacles, decorator crabs, squat lobsters and many other varieties. Many crustaceans are active at night, so donning your gear a little later in the evening leaves you the best chance to observe them up close and personal. This is a site for World class macro life and photography so bring your camera.
Grumpy
Small swimming crabs are very common at the house reef of Gulen Dive Resort. They typically hide between small rocks and underneath empty seashells. If you have a keen eye and take your time, your bound to find lots of these cute little fellows.
Echinoderm heaven
For some reason, echinoderms seem to love Gulen. There is an abundance of different sea urchins, starfish
and brittle stars, and even some sea cucumbers. We’re especially proud of all the beautiful feather stars found on the house reef. These graceful filter feeders are usually found at 40+ meters, but at the house reef, we have plenty of them in just 15-25 meters depth. Sometimes they perch camera-friendly on the kelp stalks, and they may even have small squat lobsters or other crustaceans hiding at the base.
Anemone bonanza
Anemones come in many shapes and sizes. They often have brilliant colours and come in a wide variety of patterns. We find anemones from the surface all the way to the bottom of our deepest dives. Some of them are petite and wax-white in colour, others huge and bright pink – or anything in-between. Beneath some anemones, you can be lucky and find whole families of tiny, bright red shrimp. Other may offer its stinging protection to a stone crab that has just moulted.
Read more about world class macro life that is the host for our Nudibranch Safari every year
Attending the Nudibranch safari gives you a whole new perspective on how to find and take pictures of these sea slugs that we love so much. This event is going on one time of the year, read more here:
Nudibranch Safari
Download the book of GULEN and our world class macro life as PDF
The book will give you tons of information about our world class macro life and our resort and what you can find and more, share it with your dive buddy’s as well. We hope it will give you inspiration for a trip to Gulen. Gulen Book PDF
Read more on these pages
Supplementary information on the topic