North Andaman Liveaboard Diving: Similan Islands, Koh Bon, Koh Tachai and Richelieu Rock
We set off on a full North Andaman liveaboard cruise from Thap Lamu to Ranong, with a fantastic group of guests from France, America, Canada, Germany and Australia.
Congratulations to Britanny for completing her Advanced Open Water certification, and to Olivier, Emmanuel, Luc and Carole for completing their Enriched Air Nitrox certifications.
Diving the Similan National Park
We spent the first days diving in the Similan National Park, starting with Shark Fin Reef, West of Eden and Elephant Head Rock before finishing the day with a night dive at Turtle Head Rock.
There was plenty to discover underwater, with many crustaceans, beautiful reef fish, nudibranchs and ribbon eels, while the reefs were full of schooling fish.
Apart from their gorgeous colours and incredible variety of shapes and sizes, nudibranchs have some special tricks up their sleeves that really set them apart. Although they are small, they have developed some very industrious techniques to protect themselves.
Many nudibranchs display bright colours for a multitude of reasons. Some practise what is called aposematism, a form of colouration that warns predators that they may be unpleasant or toxic to eat. This is a strategy used by members of the Phylidiidae family, which we often encounter in the Indo-Pacific.
Exploring the Northern Similan Islands
We then cruised north to explore the northern side of Island Number 9, with dives at beautiful sites including Three Trees, North Point and Christmas Point.
We were lucky enough to encounter four whitetip reef sharks, a turtle, plenty of bluespotted stingrays, a school of barracuda and garden eels.
Do you know garden eels? They are strange tropical fish with snake-shaped bodies and puffy faces with big eyes, making them, overall… super cute.
They live in large colonies, gently oscillating in the current like whip coral, and disappear like a mirage whenever you get too close. Take a look at this garden eel FAQ…
Koh Bon and Koh Tachai
The following day, diving around the two islands of Koh Bon and Koh Tachai was incredible.
We witnessed six octopus matings, turtles swimming around the pinnacle and a pregnant lobster still carrying its eggs. Huge groupers were hiding between the rocks, while there was plenty of action during the sunset dive on Tachai Pinnacle.
Finishing at Richelieu Rock
To finish the trip, we were lucky enough to dive at the famous Richelieu Rock.
Among the highlights were pregnant ghost pipefish, seahorses, peacock mantis shrimp and an amazing amount of glassfish.
The huge schools of trevallies, emperors and rainbow runners were hunting around the rock, creating plenty of action and making a spectacular finale to the cruise.
Thank you for choosing us, and we look forward to diving together again soon.
