Following up from my day dives in Phuket http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/thailand/326281-phuket-day-diving-pictures.html I jumped on a live aboard for a week diving in the Similan (& Surin) Islands off the West Coast of Thailand.
The Similans are a chain of fairly small islands that run North - South with the Northern end marked by Richelieu Rock (which may be part of the Surin Islands).
The boat route is not fixed, and the boat sometimes goes straight up to the northern end if the weather forecast is good early in the week.
Being further away from the mainland the visibility is (on average) much better than the sites close to Phuket. The sites come in two types, on the East Coast of the Islands are mostly sloping reefs and on the West Coast mostly Boulder sites - the mix of the two gives some nice variety to the dives.
Once again all the pictures were taken during the trip, and I've tried to avoid too many duplicate animals from the Phuket report even though we did see a few Seahorses and GPF's.
We started in the Similans at Barracuda Point, a sloping reef with some large bommies sitting on the slope with white sand in between.
Snake Eel, lying buried in the sand.
Long Nose Hawk fish on a Sea fan
Ceratosoma sinuatum, there were 5 of these in a very small area.
As the weather was good we started heading up to the north immediately. First stop was Koh Bon.
Koh Bon has the reputation of being "the" place to see Manta's on the West Cost - this is true, but while it offers the most regular sightings they are by no means guaranteed. So be prepared to look for small stuff as well.
This guy needs a good dentist
And if you get a little bored then the Worms are also nice.
Chris (Tour leader on the boat) captures something bigger
Next on the list is Koh Tachai, a large rocky pinnacle lying just off the island and usually has good schooling fish.
Chris sneaks up on a Zebra/Leopard Shark
Richelieu Rock is next - people say it's in the top ten worldwide, not sure about that, but it is my favourite site in Thailand. Once again you need to treat the promises of Whale Sharks with caution, while they are seen here more than anywhere else on the west coast the sightings are by no means guaranteed (you have a better chance with the Manta's). Luckily it does have a huge variety of fish and smaller animals that live there as well.
GPF Close up (I had to put one in)
Harlequin Shrimp (we saw SEVEN of these)
We returned via Koh Bon (no Manta this time but did see 60 or so divers) to the north part of the Similans
Breakfast Bend - small fish
Chris Sneaks up on Soft Coral (not much of a challenge compared to the Shark or Manta)
North Point/Turtle Rock/Elephant Head - Boulder sites with swim throughs
Juvenile Clown Trigger
Chromodoris geminus, not the rarest Nudi but nice colours.
Deep Six (First Boulders) then East of Eden, one of the best known fringing reefs.
Crenovolva tigris (I think!)
Hard to find Frogfish at Deep Six
Thecacera sp.
And finally West of Sweden and Sharkfin Reef, mostly boulder sites.
Ribbon Eel changing colour, slowly.....
The most Photographed Frogfish in the Similans at West of Sweden
Shrimp with a big Brain!
To sum it up, had a great week and will certainly go again.
The Similans are a chain of fairly small islands that run North - South with the Northern end marked by Richelieu Rock (which may be part of the Surin Islands).
The boat route is not fixed, and the boat sometimes goes straight up to the northern end if the weather forecast is good early in the week.
Being further away from the mainland the visibility is (on average) much better than the sites close to Phuket. The sites come in two types, on the East Coast of the Islands are mostly sloping reefs and on the West Coast mostly Boulder sites - the mix of the two gives some nice variety to the dives.
Once again all the pictures were taken during the trip, and I've tried to avoid too many duplicate animals from the Phuket report even though we did see a few Seahorses and GPF's.
We started in the Similans at Barracuda Point, a sloping reef with some large bommies sitting on the slope with white sand in between.
Snake Eel, lying buried in the sand.
Long Nose Hawk fish on a Sea fan
Ceratosoma sinuatum, there were 5 of these in a very small area.
As the weather was good we started heading up to the north immediately. First stop was Koh Bon.
Koh Bon has the reputation of being "the" place to see Manta's on the West Cost - this is true, but while it offers the most regular sightings they are by no means guaranteed. So be prepared to look for small stuff as well.
This guy needs a good dentist
And if you get a little bored then the Worms are also nice.
Chris (Tour leader on the boat) captures something bigger
Next on the list is Koh Tachai, a large rocky pinnacle lying just off the island and usually has good schooling fish.
Chris sneaks up on a Zebra/Leopard Shark
Richelieu Rock is next - people say it's in the top ten worldwide, not sure about that, but it is my favourite site in Thailand. Once again you need to treat the promises of Whale Sharks with caution, while they are seen here more than anywhere else on the west coast the sightings are by no means guaranteed (you have a better chance with the Manta's). Luckily it does have a huge variety of fish and smaller animals that live there as well.
GPF Close up (I had to put one in)
Harlequin Shrimp (we saw SEVEN of these)
We returned via Koh Bon (no Manta this time but did see 60 or so divers) to the north part of the Similans
Breakfast Bend - small fish
Chris Sneaks up on Soft Coral (not much of a challenge compared to the Shark or Manta)
North Point/Turtle Rock/Elephant Head - Boulder sites with swim throughs
Juvenile Clown Trigger
Chromodoris geminus, not the rarest Nudi but nice colours.
Deep Six (First Boulders) then East of Eden, one of the best known fringing reefs.
Crenovolva tigris (I think!)
Hard to find Frogfish at Deep Six
Thecacera sp.
And finally West of Sweden and Sharkfin Reef, mostly boulder sites.
Ribbon Eel changing colour, slowly.....
The most Photographed Frogfish in the Similans at West of Sweden
Shrimp with a big Brain!
To sum it up, had a great week and will certainly go again.
