Manta Queen 1 4 days and 4 nights liveabaord Trip Number 235.
Manta Queen One sets off on another 4 day 4 night diving adventure, we left the Khao Lak pier with only 16 excited divers and after a smooth departure we arrived in the beautiful Similan Island National Park during the night and were ready for the first dive at Anita's Reef bright and early. 1 Gigabyte Rock was buzzing with life, we saw an Octopus, and many other reef fish, the resdient Gardens Eels were poking their heads out and one group bumped into a Turtle. The 1 Gigabyte Rock name originates from the massive concentrated marine life presebnt at this single coral bommie in Anitas Reef.
Dive 2 at West of Eden, and dive 3 at Deep Six, with swim throughs and beautiful sea fans, we had great visibility and little current which made for enjoyable dives for all groups. Octopus, Spearing Mantis Shrimp, Peacock Mantis Shrimp, Nudies, Trevallies, Puffer Fish, Grouper and Parrot Fish have been some of today's highlights.
Day 2 at Similan Islands. We've moved slightly north, our first dive at Elephant Head Rock, groups saw a massive Barracuda, Octopus, a free swimming Moray along with many other residents of this beautiful Boulder dive site. After breakfast we took a trip to the stunning Donald Duck bay and everyone enjoyed the view from the top of sail rock and took a swim in the crystal clear water to cool off. North Point was where we had our 6th dive of the trip, strong currents made it a little tricky, but we still saw the Pigmy Pipe Horse, Pipe Fish and enjoyed the lovely gorgonian Sea Fans. Koh Bon Island, West Ridge was our 7th dive, lots of Shrimp, the Maldives Sponge Snail, Grouper, one group were lucky enough to see the resident male and a female Napoleon Wrasse, we had great conditions and a lovely dive. Dive 8 at Koh Tachai Island was also beautiful, lots of sea traffic, lots to see, among the beautiful coral bommies, sea fans and boulders we saw a large school of Great Barracuda, Octopus, Lobster, Cleaner Shrimp, Grouper, Parrot Fish and with little current we enjoyed a peaceful sunset dive to end day 2.
Day 3, another early start, and our most northern point of the trip, Richelieu Rock, the famous horse - shoe pinnacle, we did 2 beautiful dives here, where we saw a Turtles, the lovely Flabolina Nudies, Scorpion Fish, a female Napoleon Wrasse, Harlequin Shrimp in the cracks and crevices but the highlight has to be the 7 Cuttlefish, all hanging out together. We then moved back to Koh Tachai Island for another 2 dives, the first of which we had little current, so the perfect opportunity to go west and dive the 2nd and 3rd pinnacle of The Dome of Doom. We saw Morays, a Turtle, lots of Barracuda, Trumpet Fish, Potato Grouper, Sweet Lips and many more. After dinner we made our way back to Koh Bon Island, where we stayed the night, ready for the early start of our last day.
Day 4, our first dive of the day was at Koh Bon Hin Luang, even though the resident stone fish has moved Gary managed to find him so everyone got the chance to have a little look. We stayed at Koh Bon Island for our next dive, this time at North Ridge, groups saw a Turtle, Nudies, Scorpion Fish, Barracuda, Tuna, Grouper, Sea Snake, Peacock Mantis Shrimp, a great way to finish our time at Koh Bon Island.
Our last dive of the trip was at Boonsung Wreck. We saw lots of big Puffer Fish and a curious Cattle Fish who hung around with us. The wreck was covered in Scorpion Fish so we really had to watch our position in the water! Many nudies and Anemone Shirmp were parading the Wreck. The Boon Sung Wreck was a colorful steam of Fusiliers and Snapper which was very pleasing to the eye! It was such a pleasurable last dive of the trip.
From Manta Queen 1, we would like to thank everyone for such a great trip. Happy diving for the future, may the winds be in your favor.
The Dive Team of Manta Queen 1 powered by Khao Lak Scuba Adventures.
