Hin Dueng Hin Mueng Liveaboard MV Scuba Adventure March 2012
Peter and Bente from Denmark, who completed the Northern trip were joined by three French men, Alain, Bertrand and Sylvian.
The first dive of the trip was at Shark Point. Captain Pu dropped the customers on the “shallow rock” on pinnacle two. As soon as we hit the water we were surrounded by fish. Shark Point is a beautiful dive with gorgeous soft corals, huge gorgonion sea fans and massive barrel sponges. The pinnacle was full of schools of fusiliers, snappers and yellow fin barracudas. The site lived upto it’s name by giving us the opportunity to see a large leopard shark sitting quietly on the bottom. A great photo opportunity for the divers with cameras.
Our second dive was on Koh Bida Nai. We entered the water on the north side of the island where we dived along the wall. An ideal place for macro with many different types of nudibranch. Koh Bida Nai has a combination of sloping reef and walls, so it offers a great variety of life. There are some amazing coloured magnificent anemones all swaying in the current. The third dive was Koh Haa Islands 2 and 4. Again, a variety of topography with the walls of the Islands with a sandy patch in between. The customers, all keen photographers except Bente took the opportunity to slowly scour the walls for nudibrach, shrimps, hermit crabs and other macro critters.
The night dive was in the lagoon. Albeit a shallow dive the life was incredible with large hermit crabs walking along the bottom, flounders laying in the sandy bottom, red reef crabs and numerous lobsters. The harlequin crab was also spotted. At the back of the boat there was a huge bait ball that was attracted to the light. A perfect ending to the days diving.
Unfortunately, the weather was not kind to us and we were unable to go to Hin Daeng and Hin Muang, but this did not detract from the great diving that was to be experienced. The first dive on day 2 was the caves on Koh Haa Yai. The Cathedral has a wonderful entrance.
From inside the cave as you look out there is a wonderful contrast of colour. The group had a great time posing for silhouette shots in the entrance of the cave. The reef has some fantastic whip and stunning soft corals. Lobsters were seen hiding in the cracks on the rocks. Nudibranchs and wart slugs were plentiful. The reef cuttlefish was also seen. The second dive was Koh Haa Neau (North Island) The corals here are unbelievable. There is a swim through that opens onto a field of lilac soft corals that look as if they have been on steroids as they are so huge. This site offers boulders with soft corals in the initial part of the dive and then onto a plate coral reef with a huge school of resident snappers. For dive 3 we headed back to Koh Bida Nok, the sister Island to Koh Bida Nai. The topography offers a combination of sloping reef and walls, so the marine life is diverse. A turtle made his appearance and was posing for the cameramen!!! The group decided to do a night dive. This was on Koh Bida Nai. The night dive was wonderful with large hermit crabs, decorator crabs were found on the walls. There was an abundance of crabs in various shapes and sizes. A huge barracuda graced us with his presence as he was hunting around the rocks.
Day 3 and the first dive was on Hin Dot. This dive site is an undived treasure, definitely worth doing. The rocks are surrounded with huge amounts of fish. Often you have to part the fish to see the walls. There is a huge variety of nudibranch on this site. The highlight however, was the stone fish that was found on the wall at 9m. Talk about master of disguise!!!!!
This site will be dived more often by us on MV Scuba Adventure. It is a gem waiting to be opened!!! Our final dive of the trip was on the West side of Koh Doc Mai. The gentle slope here with numerous crevices are homes for bamboo sharks. We managed to find 2 tucked away. In the shallows there were multiple glossidoris nudibranch . This dive was enjoyed by all and it was agreed that it was a good choice for the end of the trip.
Tags: Hin Dot, Hin Dueng, Hin Muang, Koh Bida Nai, Koh Bida Nok, Koh Doc Mai, Koh Haa, Leopard Shark, Liveaboard, MV Scuba Adventure, Phuket, Scuba Cat Diving, Shark Point, Thailand
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