Rob: This video was taken at Koh Ha Lagoon. Normally you just get to see Moray Eels poking their heads out of rock crevices so i was fortunate to see this moray eel out swimming. Look how it uses its body to swim. Pretty amazing.
Rob: Normally we find octopus hiding in crevices and when we get closer they simply retract into the smallest holes imaginable. This one was changing colors so quickly in front of my eyes it was amazing to watch. The video was filmed at Koh Bida.
Rob: Wow what a day diving I’ve had. I had gone to the Koh Bida Islands doing my last day of an Advanced Course with Paul my student. On the first dive at Koh Bida Nok we had planned to do a drift dive. Twenty mins into the dive we looked up and had the best surprise ever! A whale shark around 6 metres long came swimming towards us. A mere baby in comparison to the adult but to us it was a giant. It wasn’t hanging around playing today but just cruising past. Luckily it doubled back on itself and we got another glimpse. We had the biggest smiles ever under water and on the boat. But not everyone was so lucky.
The people who didn’t see the Whale Shark were doing an Open Water Course and had been doing skills in the bay area. Thankfully though when they did the next day’s diving in Koh Ha they were rewarded by the Whale Shark cruising past. We spent our dive in the blue waiting but missed it, but we were more than happy that everyone on the boat had seen it. The whale shark was spotted for several days after in Koh Ha and another boat in the same week had stopped next to four (!!) on the surface.
Anyway after the first dive and my adrenalin buzz after the sighting I didn’t think the next dive could compare. I was mistaken. We dropped in as usual at Koh Bida Nai where we stay shallow. We went to find two Tiger Tail Seahorses. I have been wanting to take a nice photo or video or these for ages but never had the opportunity. Today was my lucky day as the Sea Horse wasn’t hiding, holding onto the fan with his tail but out having a bit of fun.
It was one of the best days of my life.
Rob: We have a serious danger on Koh Lanta. Motorbikes! Now if these are driven sensibly you will have no problems. Unfortunately many people come to Thailand and have never driven one before. The roads on Koh Lanta are very good which means many people decide to drive quickly. Sadly when exploring the island and going over some mountain ranges a sharp unexpected bend occur and some people fall off.
The biggest mistake is most people ride the bike without a crash helmet, ride in their flip flops and shorts and most people don’t even wear t-shirts in the day. If you come off the motorbike with little protection your skin will soon to be removed and more serious injuries can occur. So take it easy and drive slowly or hire a jeep or a tuk tuk. After having an accident you will have to wait for the skin to heal. So there is no diving for you! Also be careful when dismounting the bike. Always dismount on the left side where there is no exhaust. I have been riding bikes here for years and even I forgot this week with the unwelcoming burning sensation of my skin as it touched the super hot exhaust. So take care!
Rob: One of my favorite sightings underwater has to be Cephalopods. The one’s we see on a regular basis are better known as Octopus and Cuttlefish. They have developed some fantastic defense techniques for protection. They can change body shape and texture to help them blend in with the environment and right before your eyes they can change color within a split second which is spectacular to watch. I have added two of my videos to watch which catch some brilliant octopus and cuttlefish behaviour.
This video of an octopus swimming is one of my personal favorites. I have watched it many times and each time I am amazed at the speed of the color changes but also the agility of how it moves in the water either by crawling, swimming or propulsion. Normally you just see an octopus’s head sticking out and when you get closer they soon disappear into the smallest holes imaginable . So it was nice to see one on the move so much. It was taken at Palong Bay, a beautiful reef wall on the West side of Phi Phi Ley. It’s not very deep here with a maximum 16 metres and in the afternoon makes for a great dive site as the sun penetrates the corals. My friend Anya had the camera first but I selfishly took it from her and followed the octopus.
This is a video of a cuttlefish face-off! The cuttlefish is a slower mover which is perfect so you can get very close to these animals. Through out the season its amazing as we get to see them mating and January is great as we can spot them placing their eggs safely in crevices in the rocks. The video of the cuttlefish was shot at Hin Daeng at around 10 mtrs. The Cuttlefish had all its tentacles under a crevice was it eating or placing eggs - I could not see as the Lined Butterflyfish kept biting him. How amazing to watch the change of colors and the reaction of the cuttlefish. If you watch the video clip closely at around 1 minute 30 it looks like the Cuttlefish eats the two Butterflyfish.
Also at Hin Daeng we spotted a Leopard Shark, Ghostipefish, a school of 50 Batfish and a circling school of Yellowtail Barracuda, not to mention a 15 minute display from a Manta Ray which was a perfect ending for me. This dive was all in 18 meters of water, who needs to go deep hey?
