Lucky us! Two Whale Sharks at Richelieu Rock!
While the visibility was not the best at Surin on our first two dives, at around 10 to 15 metres, several groups were happy to spot two turtles, a pipefish, a baby boxfish and plenty of colourful angelfish and butterflyfish.
On the agenda for that afternoon was a visit to a Sea Gypsy village followed by a night dive at Surin, before departing for Koh Bon in the morning… or so we thought!
Instead, after our second dive, we received a tip that a whale shark had been spotted at Richelieu Rock. We put the change of itinerary to a vote, and the decision was unanimous: we would sail to Richelieu Rock that afternoon for two more dives.
We were excited and had high hopes of encountering the much sought-after sea giant. We were rewarded almost instantly after jumping into the water. It took us a few minutes to realise, from the frequency of the sightings and the trail of fish following the whale sharks, that it was not one but two whale sharks swimming around Richelieu Rock. How amazing!
By managing our depth for better air consumption, we were able to spend the whole hour with the whale sharks as they came and went, while we watched in awe. Needless to say, that made for some very happy divers!
As we also had two snorkellers onboard, we used the surface interval between dives three and four to snorkel above Richelieu Rock. Once again, we were lucky enough to spot the friendly giants from the surface.
For our sunset dive, we were pleased to spend another 60 minutes underwater with regular whale shark encounters, while also admiring barracudas and giant trevallies.
Koh Bon and Koh Tachai: Octopus, Barracudas and Giant Trevallies
In the evening, we decided to follow our planned dive schedule for the next day and sailed for Koh Bon, where we completed two morning dives. We then continued to Koh Tachai for one afternoon dive and one sunset dive.
At Koh Bon, the highlight was spending some time diving with a very friendly octopus. We were mesmerised as it moved through the water, and we watched it change colour several times.
At Koh Tachai, there was a decent amount of current, ensuring plenty of action. It is always a pleasure to watch schools of barracudas and giant trevallies hunting, along with the more peaceful batfish.
Back to Surin and a Final Visit to Richelieu Rock
After a full day of great diving, we went back to Surin for two morning dives, drifting with the current at Torinla. We then finished the trip with two dives at Richelieu Rock.
By then, the currents had cleaned much of the plankton from the water, considerably improving the visibility and bringing it back to its normal conditions. We enjoyed two great dives, visiting some of our regular friends: the giant frogfish, ghost pipefish and harlequin shrimp. We even found a new baby seahorse!
Celebrating a Fantastic Songkran Trip
In the evening, we celebrated our successful trip with a barbecue and Ti’ Punch cocktail before sailing back to Ranong in the morning.
What a lovely way to spend Songkran! We are so glad we were lucky enough to have you all with us on this trip.
