As I now have an open water diving certification, I thought it might be fun to dive here in Koh Tao.
As I didnt have a camera under the water with me, I have found a great website where you can see images of common marine life found around Koh Tao. Master-Divers has a great page on the marine life of Koh Tao.
Outing Number 1: 3rd May
The first dive took me to a place called Shark Island…not because there are lots of sharks, but because the island itself is shaped like a shark fin. There are sharks around, but just not here. The dive itself was a really good dive, with visibility at around 12 metres for most of the time.
It was actually really great because I saw a small Jenkins Ray, no-one else saw it, so I was excited!
I love Parrotfish! I know that is a fairly random statement to make, but they just look so bright and funny and when you see them they really do come across as if they are happy fish. They nibble the coral all day, basically making them the cows of the marine world…brightly coloured cows i’d say!
Other marine life that I saw: Angelfish, Butterflyfish, Harlequin Sweetlips, Long Finned Bannerfish, Black Tipped Grouper, Triggerfish, Pink Anemonefish, Parrotfish, Squirrelfish and Christmas Tree Worms!
Our second dive of the first outing took me to the Junkyard Reef, which is an artificial dive site that consists of bits and bobs that have been sunk so that the marine life can attach itself and create an artificial reef. Here I saw a lesser spotted Toyota Pick-Up Truck, a common children’s playground and lots and lots of toilets! There is also a small Sydney Harbour Bridge and some windmills, gym equipment and various other random metal shapes.
As well as the fish that I sighted on the first dive, I also saw: Juvenile Harlequin Sweetlips, Bartailed Goatfish, Long Finned Batfish, Rabbitfish, Golden Trevally, Pufferfish, Yellow Prawn-Goby and Red Breasted Wrasse.
Personally I love the Yellow Prawn-Goby because they actually live their lives helping out others…they live with little shrimps in a hole and as the shrimps are blind, they help them out by looking out for danger! How funny is that, and how lovely!
Outing Number 2: 5th May
This first dive took me to Nang Yuan Cave, around the Japanese Garden site. It was a mega-swim, and I ended up really tired, but it was definitely worth it. I was, as usual, having issues with my ears…so by the end my head hurt and my legs from all the swimming!
I saw: Butterflyfish, Bannerfish, Triggerfish, Parrotfish and we swam through a cave! Scary!
The second dive I did not do. I felt really sick and thought that it would not be great idea to need to vomit at 12 metres under the water, so instead I took the fins and mask and went for a snorkel whilst everyone else went diving. I still saw loads!
I was a little scared as you have to jump off of the boat and then through a small section of sea where lots of boats are all moored up, so i swam through there quickly and got to the snorkel area (which is sectioned off with lots of buoys) and had a lovely snorkel.
I saw absolutely hundreds of Crocodile Needlefish, Parrotfish, Long Finned Bannerfish and some scary looking Titan Triggerfish.
As I didn’t go on the second dive of the day, that obviously meant that the rest of the dive group saw loads.
One of the things that you are particularly warned about when swimming in South East Asia are the Triggerfish…they are basically big, grumpy fish who like to chase and bite people! There is a rule that you shouldn’t swim above them as this is where they are likely to attack, but swim at their level and away from them…The dive gourp saw someone actually getting attacked by a very large Triggerfish on their fins, the same fish was swimming around below them ominously as they did their three minute safety stop before surfacing.
It was good fun though 🙂
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