A small group for a big trip! This week, the MV Smiling Seahorse welcomed just seven lucky guests from the United States, France, Singapore and Israel. Franck, our co-owner and onboard photographer, wasn’t onboard this time, so a big thank you to Boris Mekler for illustrating this blogpost with his fantastic photos. And thank you once again for coming back to dive with us for your sixth trip in just one year! It is always a pleasure having you onboard and sharing the underwater world with you.
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We started the trip cruising south from Lanta National Park, Hin Daeng and Hin Muang before continuing towards Tarutao National Park. Our first night dive at Hin Daeng delivered a fantastic selection of marine life, including harlequin shrimps, while a large school of barracuda and colourful nudibranchs added to the action. At 8 Mile Rock, near Koh Lipe, a Mobula ray flew past us, and we also discovered a sneaky frogfish hiding in plain sight on the reef.
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Blackwater diving was fantastic this week, so several guests asked to make a second blackwater dive during the trip. We encountered an incredible variety of tiny and unusual creatures. The first blackwater dive was filled with baby pufferfish, some of them blowing up right in front of our masks, as well as a tiny baby stargazer. The second blackwater dive was dominated by baby moray eels, with their long transparent bodies and incredibly small, sharp teeth. These energetic babies were fast-moving and extremely difficult to photograph, so unfortunately we can’t show them to you this time – you’ll have to come and see them for yourself! We did, however, manage to photograph a flying gurnard, anemone, baby squid, a baby octopus and a sea elephant.
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After crossing overnight from South Andaman to North Andaman, contouring Phuket along the way, we spent the second part of the trip exploring the Similan Islands and Surin National Parks. Visibility was excellent, particularly around Koh Bon and Koh Tachai, giving us beautiful conditions for exploring the reefs and granite formations of the northern Andaman Sea.
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In Surin National Park, we started around Torinla before ending the trip at Richelieu Rock, surrounded by an incredible abundance of fish. This beautiful juvenile shaded batfish was the highlight of my dives in Surin – they are simply so graceful! Read more about this emblematic juvenile in our article about the shaded batfish.
I also love this photo of garden eels, and it is always a pleasure meeting the wonderfully photogenic cuttlefish! We found another pair of harlequin shrimps at Richelieu Rock, but the site was so incredibly fishy that it was hard to take our eyes away from the reef. Gazillions of trevallies surrounded us, crossing paths with large schools of hunting emperors and barracuda, all charging through the thick clouds of glassfish.
Thank you again, Boris, for sharing your fantastic pictures with us and with the world. And thank you to all our wonderful guests for choosing The Smiling Seahorse and sharing this great adventure with us. We look forward to welcoming you back for more fishy stories!
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