New pictures from Koh Tao, Thailand

[ssra30]

Hi, I just got back from Koh Tao and thought I share some pictures with you all. All I can say is that I wish I have a WAL. I ordered one but it did not arrive in time before I left for my trip :-(
I have an Olympys 4040, Ikelite housing and DS 125 strobe.
Of course my friends told me that if I have my WAL, may be those whale sharks would not have come in!

link to my Koh Tao pictures

 

[Dee]

That poor little worm at the last looks like an appetiser being served on the spines of the Urchin! The shrimp and gobie photos are excellent.

Your friends are right, if you'd had the WAL, you'd never had seen the whale shark .

Great job!

 

[ssra30]

Dee, I think that poor little worm somehow managed to climb on all those spikes on the sea urchins. First I thought it was impaled but it seemed to be doing ok, I think.

 

[mdr231]

Amazing pictures of the shark.
What's a WAL, btw (I'm a newbie).

thanks,
Michael

 

[Dee]

mdr231 once bubbled...
Amazing pictures of the shark.
What's a WAL, btw (I'm a newbie).

thanks,
Michael

WAL = Wide Angle Lens

Get ready to learn a whole other language!

 

[mdr231]

Thanks!

 

[ssra30]

Here are a few more shots.
Of course now I am sitting at home looking at this Epoque DCL-20 WAL and wish...
Well, I'll try it out in a couple of weeks sans whaleshark

 

[ssra30]

Here is one more.

 

[frogfish]

Very nice whale shark pictures ! Hope I'll be as lucky as I am going there later this week ! Any advice in terms of dive sites / operators ?

 

[ssra30]

frogfish once bubbled...
Very nice whale shark pictures ! Hope I'll be as lucky as I am going there later this week ! Any advice in terms of dive sites / operators ?

Hope you have a good trip. I use only Ban's Dive Resort since they have everything from accomodation to restuarant to dive trip, transportation from Bangkok to Koh Tao etc so I don't know other operators all that well. You can check them out at www.amazingkohtao.com

I was there for a week and on the first day, a whaleshark was spotted at Southwest Pinnacle (4/19). The 2nd to 6th (4/20-25) day, the shark was at Chumporn Pinnacle. By the last day, there were 3 sharks there. I think any dive operators there will at least know where the sharks were spotted the day before and will try to arrange to go there again. Some operator leaves the island as early as 6am. Ban's does not leave until about 7.45am so by the time we get to the site, there were already a few other boats. Our captain would radio those boat in advance and tell us if anyone has already spotted the sharks. The water in the morning tends to be a bit better but the site is also more crowded, often up to 10 boats but with 3 sharks to see, most of the time it is not too crowded.

When whalesharks come to Koh Tao, they tend to hang around for a couple of weeks and I was told that the best chance to see them are probably right now and again in August. However last year they did not come in at all.