In season the schools of Glassfish can make this site magical with the huge movements of millions of tiny fish. Just watching them dart back and forth in reaction to predators is an amazing site to see.
This site has become far more popular since it’s inclusion in a popular dive book. While it is located on Island #7, directly West of “East of Eden” it is a very distinct site. Rather than sloping reef with fields of stag horns and all the coral reef fish – The site is very typical of the Western Dive sites with large rocks and many nooks and crannies. Different marine life dominate these sites.
While a simple boulder site, it has some great soft corals and Sea Fans to add coral and detail. In addition are lots of nooks and crannies to find little creatures like Nudibranchs, Ghost Pipefish and even the elusive Frogfish. This is also a site to find Red and Purple Fire Goby’s.
For the large fish fanatic – the deeper edges of this site add some thrills – Black-Tip and White-Tip Reef sharks are plentiful. Green Sea and Hawksbill Turtles are also spotted here.
The site slopes from 5-7 meters down to 40 Meters and more. Be aware of currents and go with them. This site is suitable for Beginner to Advanced divers.
In March and April 2010 the Similan Islands suffered from a naturally occurring event called the Reverse Indian Ocean Dipole. This is very similar the “La Nina” that changes water temperatures and currents in the Pacific ocean. In this case, the water temperatures in the entire Andaman Sea were raised between 2 or 3 degrees above median. This was enough to damage the living corals in shallower sites and those with limited tidal interchange. On the Western facing side of the Similan National Park, the affect on the sites was minimal. On the shallow sloping reefs of the Eastern side , there was a more noticeable impact on the corals. His has caused some bleaching, and on two of this sites a – a noticeable impact. The National Park system shut down several sites throughout the Andaman regionto protect the reefs from potential human impact (diving, snorkeling and fishing). These sites are already showing regrowth and at least two of the sites have re-opened at this time.
Plus understand that the bleaching is not the result of direct human impact, or over use. It is the results of vast climactic changes that are happening on our globe. The reefs are accustomed to these temperature changes and can easily adapt and regrow. They can not regrow from the damage done to them physically or chemically by inconsiderate divers and snorkelers.
As with all dive sites in the Similan Isiands, it is strongly recommended that you go with only registered and reputable dive operations, carry suitable travel insurance that covers diving accidents and evacuations as well as trip cancellations insurance due to the potentially erratic weather conditions.
