Exploring the Underwater Wonders of the Andaman Sea: A Week of Adventure
It was a pleasure welcoming back several returning guests this week and forging new friendships. Our week was a celebration of exploration, discovery and the marvels beneath the ocean’s surface.
A big thank you to our photographers, Greg, Yana and Shelley, for the wonderful photos illustrating this article!
This cruise also welcomed an exceptionally large number of snorkellers onboard. A French family of four decided to join us as non-divers, while another scuba diver had to remain at the surface most of the time due to a health issue. They were all delighted to be introduced to the wonders of the underwater world in the glorious Andaman Sea.
From colourful nudibranchs and tiny seahorses to enormous schools of trevally, sharks, manta rays and the incredible biodiversity of Richelieu Rock, this was a week in which both divers and snorkellers had plenty to discover.
First Day: Koh Haa, Hin Muang and Hin Daeng
Our diving escapades commenced at Koh Haa Lagoon, a haven adorned with an array of nudibranchs and comet longfins. Ghost pipefish enchanted both divers and avid photographers, setting the stage for an underwater symphony of colours and shapes.
At Hin Muang, the dive site unfolded into a spectacle of longnose emperor and trevally in a hunting frenzy. Amid the reef’s nooks, cleaner shrimps, morays, scorpionfish and two bulky stonefish captivated our adventurous souls.
We ventured twice to Hin Daeng that afternoon. On the third dive, we witnessed a fish extravaganza, with yellow fusiliers being hunted by massive giant trevally.
The night dive then turned into a true nudibranch party 🙂 Bornella, pink cowries and flatworms appeared around the reef. And if sea slugs are not your thing, there were plenty of shrimps and crabs too, from decorator spider crabs and old hermit crabs to an abundance of Saron shrimps.
Some morays, including some massive individuals, came out of their holes in search of their last meal of the day.
But not every creature is active at night. We also encountered a sleepy filefish, a dozy porcupinefish and, tucked underneath a coral shelf, a yellow longnose butterflyfish sleeping upside down.
Second Day: Koh Lipe and Tarutao National Park
At 8 Miles, we were greeted by vast schools of trevally and a charming baby tigertail seahorse.
Our second dive at 8 Miles coincided with a huge school of bigeye trevally and giant trevally heading up to the cleaning stations. We also saw plenty of other schooling reef fish, including redtooth triggerfish and quite a few titan triggerfish.
Pattaya Corner in the afternoon was home to another baby tigertail seahorse and many cute nudibranchs. Only one frogfish could be found that day, but who knows how many looked at
