4 days and 4 nights liveaboard on-board Manta Queen 3 to Similan Islands, Koh Bon, Koh Tachai and Richelieu Rock.
Such a smooth beginning to a wonderful trip. Following Thai tradition, we lit the firecrackers at the bow of Manta Queen 3 as we left the harbour of Khao Lak, to bless the trip and give us many big fish. And big fish we got!
A beautiful female whale shark, a juvenile, 4.50m long, surprised us during our sunset dive at Koh Tachai at the end of day 2. And not just by swimming casually past, either. She circled time and again, getting her teeth cleaned while curiously checking out our divers. For many of our guest on-board, this was the first time they had the chance to encounter such a wonderful creature. This encounters are not rare on a 4 days and 4 nights liveaboard at the Similan Islands but what was up to follow made it very special!
Not that any of the other sites disappointed us either. The rare sighting of two Devil Rays - or Mobula Rays - entertained us at a safety stop. An Eagle Ray flew past at Koh Bon. And sharks came by to say hello - white tips at Deep Six and black tips at Koh Bon’s North Ridge. The pygmy pipehorse at North Point showed off its baby belly. Turtles passed by on their way to breakfast and the huge schools of snappers, fusiliers and trevallies at Richelieu Rock amused us almost as much as the barracudas that were hunting them.
Many divers took the opportunity to improve their diving during the trip: Congratulations to Beata for becoming a PADI Open Water diver (imagine seeing a whale shark and so many Ray's during a training dive!). A huge well done to Kendra, Ben and Alexander for becoming Advanced Open Water divers and to Nikki, Rena and Guido for finishing the PADI Enriched Air Nitrox diver course.
Be safe under water and come back again soon!
The Team of Manta Queen 3 powered by Khao Lak Scuba Adventures!
