Diving in the Similan and Surin National Parks

It's a tough life spending 3 days and nights on board a 27 metre boat scuba diving. Especially when it's 32 degrees outside, the sea is a balmy 28 degrees, the sun rises and sets as a burnt orange, firey ball and by night the moon looks like a pure white orb amidst thousands of stars. 

The Mariner

Sunrise - yes I'm up to see plenty of them!!!

Just one of the many sunsets I've seen

The Similan and Surin national parks lie about 70 km off the west coast of Thailand in the Andaman Sea. The Similans have 9 islands while Surin has 5. There's also Koh Bon, Koh Tachai and the world renowned Richelieu Rock nearby. We spend each trip doing 9 dives at different sites including 1 night dive each trip.

Richelieu Rock - it's only above water for about an hour at low tide!

I've had huge manta rays, green and hawksbill turtles and rays swim within metres of me. Nemo-style anemone fish, octopus, all sorts of different nudibranchs and a multitude of colourful tropical fish are common sights. We occasionally spot dolphins and whales as we motor along. But most impressive is hanging motionless in the water as a 5 metre whaleshark lazily cruises by! 

WHALESHARK!!!!

Breaching whale

I've spent hours flicking through fish ID books getting to know the names of many of them. And it feels pretty cool to be able to tell someone the name of the 'black fish with the blue tail' they saw underwater. 

Lionfish

Anemone 'Nemo' fish

Rabbitfish (the yellow ones)

The Rabbitfish sign

Christmas tree worms

I enjoy getting to know people too. They come from all over the world, from any occupation and all ages. Some divers only want to see "big stuff" (whalesharks and manta rays) while others get excited by a brightly coloured nudibranch or tiny juvenile sweetlips that can't stop wriggling.

Flatworm

Warted slug nudibranch

Chromodoris nudibranch

Glossodoris nudibranch

Some divers can easily last an hour underwater, while others barely make 30 minutes on the same size tank. Some divers are brand new having done only 4 open water dives while others have been diving for years and have hundreds of dives under their belts. Some people want to learn more and ask loads of questions after each dive. Some are simply happy to jump in the water, swim around and look at critters that get pointed out.

One afternoon each trip, we visit a beach somewhere. Donald Duck Bay is named because of a rock shaped like Donald Duck's head. There's a lookout with stunning views out to sea and the nearby islands. And it's pretty magical to be sitting on top of the rocks watching the sun set and the golden light glisten on the sea. 

Donal Duck Bay

Looking up at Sail Rock

The trek up to the top of Sail rock with sticks holding up the rocks...

The view from the top is worth the walk - overlooking Donald Duck bay

Sunset at Donald Duck Bay

My favourite beach is on Koh Tachai. The beach is perfect white, soft sand, it's generally quiet and secluded and the water is always warm. There's a couple of tracks where we can wander along and find coconut crabs, burnt red fruit bats, Nicobar Pigeons...and mosquitoes.

Wandering along Koh Tachai beach

Nicobar pigeon

Frisbee games on the beach

And while I still suffer from the odd bout of sea sickness, I remind myself frequently how lucky I am to be able to dive most days, meet loads of cool people and visit some beautiful islands. (It sure beats sitting in an office!!!)

Loving life