Shark Point and Anemone Reef
By far the best and most popular dive sites by day trip from
Phuket or Phi Phi, these two pinnacles are located approximately
25 kilometers East of Chalong Bay in Phuket. Given official Marine
Sanctuary status in 1992, these two dive sites are the only day
trips in Thailand that offer truly world-class quality diving
and except for the limited visibility, these are two of the best
dives in the world. The rock explodes with life; the sheer density
of fish and other marine life makes diving here a wonderful, sensual
experience.
Shark Point, or Hin (Rock) Musang rises out of
the water from surrounding depths of only about 18-20 meters.
Considering the small extent of the rock above the water, the
actual size of the reef underwater is a big surprise to most divers.
Beginning from the relatively steep main rock pinnacle, the reef
flattens out to the South until it rises towards the surface again
about a half kilometer away. This second rock does not break the
surface, and depending on the current, is an excellent place to
begin the dive.
Like many places in Thailand, Shark Point's most colorful features
are the profusion of purple and pink soft corals that cling to
the rocks. The strong currents that sweep over the pinnacle provide
food aplenty for hundreds of different species of hard corals
and Indo-Pacific tropical fish. Literally every square centimeter
is covered by something living, and at times it seems that every
square centimeter of water surrounding Shark Point is filled with
fish!
The name of the site comes from our common leopard (zebra) shark
(stegastoma varium), a docile creature that hangs out in the sand
surrounding the pinnacle. These completely approachable, trusting
sharks grow to lengths of a little over two meters, and most divers
think that they are one of the cutest sharks in the ocean. Divers
who are not accustomed to seeing sharks are genuinely surprised
at how big and approachable they are. Unfortunately, many times
these sharks are taken advantage of and handled unnecessarily.
Handling by divers can injure the animal and expose it to infection.
Touching an animal in no way benefits it and-more often than not-seriously
harms it.
Anemone Reef or Hin Jom (Submerged Rock) lies just underwater,
about 600 meters to the North of Hin Musang. As the Thai name
makes clear, no part of the pinnacle is exposed, and underwater
the rock drops off more dramatically to a depth of between 20
and 27 meters until reaching a bottom of sand and oyster shells.
Although not as colorful as Shark Point, the fish life here is
excellent as well and our friends, the leopard sharks, often are
seen free-swimming at the top of the rock in six meters of water.
A couple of years ago, my dive buddy and I counted 92 lion fish
in less than 20 minutes at this dive site! Although this is not
an everyday occurrence, as lion fish seem to move around from
place to place, I know people that have spent years diving without
seeing this many in total-much less on one dive. This gives you
the idea of just how dense the marine life is in these areas.
Located just South of Ao Phang-nga and all of its fresh water
rivers, visibility averages around 10 meters, often less. Although
conditions such as this are not what divers dream of when they
think of perfect visibility, the amount of marine life more than makes
up for the often limited visibility. On days when the water becomes
so clear that you can see the bottom, diving here feels like taking
a breath of fresh air and even the fish seem to be happier. Unfortunately
for the local diving community, conditions are virtually impossible
to predict so I can offer no advice about the best times to go.
The only downsides of these sites are the visibility and the occasional
strong currents, making both locations intermediate to advanced
level dive sites. Beginners should be closely supervised by trained
professionals and this is certainly no place to conduct beginning
diving courses.
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