It’s our last day on board the Colona VI. Our last dive is Anita’s reef, and it’s a great way to finish the trip. The giant stack is indeed very interesting, but I actually have the most fun “riding” the currents over the boulders during my safety stop. It’s a bit of a thrill ride. When we surface, the clouds are gathering and it begins to rain. It’s just a short shower, but it’s a good sign that our trip is over. We return to Phuket via Khao Lak.

About the trip: The boat for this trip was the Colona VI, from the Colona Group. The Colona was comfortable enough, with twin bunk rooms that had en-suite bathrooms. The crew and the dive masters were excellent, which makes the Colona an excellent value for money. The boat makes regular trips to the Similans in season. See their web site for the schedule.

We wake to another calm morning, although the horizon is looking a bit cloudy. The hope was that we would be able to make the run up to Richelieu Rock today, but the seas are too rough. The Rock is very exposed, and can only be safely dived in calm seas. So, we’re going to have to skip the best site in the region for now. The dive master gives us the option of diving Tachai Pinnacle again, but those that dived it yesterday are in no mood to repeat it, so there was unanimous agreement to return to Koh Bon and dive the West Ridge again.

The currents are running in a different direction this morning, so even though we dive in at about the same spot, we see a completely different side of the reef. The thermoclines are still there, and in addition to the other fish I saw yesterday, I see my first blue-spotted ray skirting the edge of a patch of staghorn coral.

From Koh Bon we head back to Similan 8 for another drive on Three Trees. In addition to the fish I saw on the first dive here, this time I spot a large, lone crown of thorns starfish. It’s quite a sight. The last dive of the day is another visit to East of Eden.

We woke this morning to another beautiful day. We head back to Similan 9 for our first dive. We dive North Point, just a little west of the Three Trees site we dived yesterday. I’m doing my Advanced Open Water course on this trip, and this is going to be my deep dive, so we head down to 30 meters first. After the mandatory deep dive exercises, we head back for shallower water and enjoy the scenery. There are more clown triggerfish, as well as Moorish idols and bannerfish. I also spot a lion fish or two.

After breakfast we head off to Koh Bon for our second dive of the day. We go down on the west ridge. The currents are brisk, as are the thermoclines. I pass through several of these as we drift up and down over the boulders. They don’t affect visibility, which is excellent, they just make the dive a bit more “refreshing”. The actual temperature difference is not much – just a degree or two. Enough to feel, but it won’t give you the chills. We see many varieties of surgeonfish, as well as more Moorish idols and some sweetlips.

Next we head of to Koh Tachai. I decide to skip the Tachai Pinnacle, as I’m still not very good in strong currents, but we do have enough time in the day to dive Leopard Shark Reef on the north side of Koh Tachai. It’s near dusk, too late for the reef fish to be out and about, and too early for the night critters to be around. But the thick forests of staghorn coral are a fantastical sight.