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Shark
Island (Red Rock)
Located just on the South coast of Koh
Tao this twin rock outcrop consists of a steeply slopping
reef going from 4 meters down to 20 meters. One of the
biggest attractions of this dive is the variety of corals
and fish life to be found. On the East side of the rock
you will find a slopping reef covered in brain corals,
vivid pink anemones and large barrel sponges, among the
corals you will see snappers, banded angel fish and blue
spotted stingrays. Whale Sharks are frequently sighted
in season along with the odd Turtle and there is also
the chance of seeing a few Black tip reef sharks. This
site is also ideal for novice and experienced divers and
offers great snorkelling.
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White
Rock
This dive
explores two submerged pinnacles which are only two meters
above the surface but extend between 18-22 meters underwater.
Schools of butterfly fish and angel fish predominate and
colonies of staghorn corals attract breams and damsels
to make their homes here. On any given dive look out for
the more exciting sightings of sea snakes, turtles, morays
and blue spotted stingrays. An interesting and equally
exciting part of your dive will hopefully be an encounter
with White Rock's resident titan trigger fish -- territorial
by nature and supremely erratic.
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Green
Rock
Green Rock provides a
good selection of swim-through opportunities in depths
of 4-25 meters. The rock consists of large archways, caverns,
caves and crevices. Common sightings include harlequin
sweetlips, blue-ringed angelfish and moray eels. Sometimes
you can spot whitetip reef sharks, and further out in
deeper water, large groupers, schools of yellowtail, fusilier
and silver fish.
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Hin
Wong Pinnacle
Located east of Koh Tao,
Hin Wong is a large and varied site, with depths ranging
from 10-30 meters. Unfortunately, the only shortcoming
of the site is the unpredictable water visibility, which
cannot be assured at all times. Nevertheless, the site
abounds with delicate sea fans and spiraling wire coral
and is home to many types of fish including groupers,
filefish, snapper, etc. If you are lucky and keep your
distance, you may even see sea turtles feeding off the
rich variety of food the reef has to offer.
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Chumphon
Pinnacle
Considered
one of the more challenging dive sites with occasionally
strong currents and depths of 10-35 meters, this site
consists of fascinating submerged pinnacles. The highest
of these rocks is approximately 16 meters below the surface.
At
Chumporn Pinnacles , you can swim with man-sized groupers,
Whalelshark, Graysharks, Blacktip and Bullsharks, including
schools of barracuda, tuna and mackerel.
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Southwest
Pinnacle
The Southwest Pinnacles
consist of three rock formations which range from 4-30
meters below the surface, representing a series of short
wall dives. At the top of the pinnacles are blankets of
underwater plant life in a stunning array of rainbow colors.
Between the rocks are many bushy black coral sea whips
and gorgonian sea fans. Leopard sharks are often encountered
and it is even possible to meet an occasional whale shark.
Giant groupers are common here, as are scribbled filefish,
masked porcupine fish, yellowtail, barracuda and snapper.
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Sail
Rock
North
of Samui between the islands of Koh Tao and Phangan is
the internationally renowned dive site of Sail Rock. Although
only 15 meters above the water, the structure extends
40 meters below the surface. The main attraction of Sail
Rock is a naturally formed 15-meter high underwater dive
wall or chimney. Divers can ascend from 18 meters up the
chimney wall to the surface, making this a unique diving
experience.
Visibility
is usually excellent at around 30 meters. The structure
itself is pocked with small holes which are ideal homes
for white-eyed and yellow margin moray eels, as well as
large sea anemones. Sightings of reef sharks and manta
rays are also common, as are large schools of tuna, jacks,
trevally and barracudas. During the winter months whale
sharks can be seen on occasion.
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