Khao Lak - our newest dive site

The Divemaster Trainee's spent a day on the newest dive site in the Khao Lak! The Teak Wreck.







This wreck sank about 5 months ago, while transporting a cargo of illegal teak logs in bad weather.






Resting a bit deeper - at 35-25 meters, it is in perfect shape














yet already is hosting plenty of marine life!











































-Similan Islands Diving

Khao Lak's "Secret Reef"

Last year the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) announced the "discovery" of a local reef. This is located about 17 km South of Khao Lak and is easily accessed by longtails.

When we do this trip we usually visit another local dive site - Premchai Wreck. It's a beautiful trip along the cliffs - great just for the ride alone! This trip is usually scheduled for Tuesdays, but is done upon request - a minimum of only 2 guests. And only 2900 Baht for two dives, lunch on the beach and of course one of our guides makes for a great bargain.
Thai Muang park is something like 20km of totally protected white sand beach. This is one of the only Turtle nesting sites for Leatherback turtles on the West coast of Thailand (the other being Golden Buddha Beach). It's extraordinary to see this much protected land, and yet so very rarely visited.

They also feature a a turtle conservation center (of dubious credibility) with a hatchery and usually a couple of giant old ladies in their pools.

The park is all beach on one side, and then is basically a long peninsula with mangrove swamp on the other side. very protected and very beautiful.

The reef itself is in very good shape and has several great fishes as you can read. We have found that visibility usually never gets more than 12m. There is rarely any current and our greatest finds here are unusual Nudibranchs, Flabellina's and corals. It's suitable for all level of divers.

WWF article follows

"A new coral reef discovered in Phang Nga’s Thai Muang area covers some four square kilometres and accounts for about 5 per cent of all the coral areas in the Andaman Sea.

Lying around five kilometres (ed. note - actually 1 KM) offshore are more than 30 genera of hard corals providing home to 12 species of fish from 56 families, said Songpol Tippayawong, head of WWF Thailand’s Marine and Coastal Conservation Unit, which discovered the coral site.

“The fish living there include such rare species as the parrot fish Chlorurus rakaura, which was first discovered in Sri Lanka and has never before been seen in Thai waters. The reef also has a species of the sweetlips fish, the Plectorhincus macrospilus, which was previously known only from the Similan Islands,” he explained.

The Thai chapter of the leading international environmental group first heard about the coral reef from local fishermen, Songpol said.

“We discovered [the new reef] after talking with local fishermen while we were conducting a survey for our Green Coast project,” he said, referring to the group’s tsunami recovery project for indigenous marine life and local fishing communities.

“The discovery helps us understand why sea turtles in the Andaman Sea use the Thai Muang area as their major nest site: the reef is a source of food for turtles and their offspring,” Songpol said.

Nearby Had Tai Muang is known as the only beach in Thailand where sea turtles living in the Andaman Sea lay their eggs. As many as four species of sea turtle lay their eggs on a 14km long stretch of the beach.

“The reef needs special protection,” he said. “Marine life there is in a very healthy condition having suffered only limited interference from humans.”

The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) is in the process of including the site on its Andaman coral reefs map, highlighting it as protected area under the National Marine Park Act, Songpol added.

A source in Phang Nga said that although locals endorsed the idea of keeping the reef free from interference, they were concerned the act’s strict regulations would prohibit locals from gaining access to their traditional fishing sites.

“We should conserve the coral reef, but local villagers who have been earning a living [from fishing] in the area should be allowed to continue their way of life,” the source said. “If tourism activities like diving will be allowed at the site, local villagers should also be allowed to benefit [from tourism].”

Songpol agreed. He said the WWF Thailand was working closely with DMCR officials to set up a long-term plan to preserve the area."

Khao Lak Dive Sites -Bon Soong Wreck (aka Bang Sak Wreck)

Bon Soong Wreck
We visit this local dive site two or three times a week. We only need two people and we are ready to go! All our staff are always eager to do this dive. Not only is it convenient - just a few kilometers offshore, but the diving is incredible. I've personally dived it close to 150 times and still love it.

We go by longtail, using our local captain. We will have lunch on the longtail itself, and we spend a good long surface interval so that we can have lengthy dives. This isn't fancy diving - backrolls over the side and just us on the boat. And if you think your surface interval is too long - you'll see that we just talk away about all the different kinds of marine life.

Bon Soong (The original name - it means heavy spray, like from an elephant trunk) is a tin dredger that sank around 20 years ago. This particular dredger was built in Australia in the 1920'2 or 30's, eventually making its way here. This region was famous for it's tin long before it was famous for its beaches.

Bon Soong is scooping dredger, meaning it had a long arm with a series of buckets that it would lower into the shallows to dig up the bottom. Kind of like an elephant trunk (thus the name of the boat!)

The boat went down during a sudden Thunderstorm in the early 80's. One person died. It wasn't the sturdiest boat (see construction date) to begin with. The tin was starting to give out and the government was starting to limit the tin mining concessions. So it was fortuitous timing.

It is located a few kilometers off Cape Pakarang or about 13 nautical miles away from Tap-Lamu pier. It is also off of Bang Sak beach, which explains it's other name.

At first, due to it's large size, the wreck lay close to the surface making it a safety hazard to local fishing vessels. So the Thai Navy were called in to bomb the boat, reducing its height by collapsing the decks, and creating the wreck that we dive on today.

The Wreck used to be in two pieces, or so we thought! The tsunami of 2004 lifted a huge section of the superstructure off and spread it out. Now the site is even better! More spread out, more nooks and crannies and more for us to poke our heads into!

The wreck lies on serene flat sandy region at 18 to 20 metres. As there is nothing else of note within several kilometers of the site, all the small fish and their predators come to this one locale. The concentration of fishlife here is extraordinary. At times visibility drops to 3 meters - but due to fish, not plankton!!!

We expect to see schools of bigeye trevally, snappers, batfish, porcupinefish and squids on every dive. On the sand floor, we often see leopard sharks, several varieties of gobies, tiny flounders and flatheads wedged in the sand.

Hiding beneath the wreck in the dark, we have often seen a huge marble stingray.

On the wreck itself, you can find a great selection of nudibranchs, white-eyed morays and honeycomb morays with spectacular patterns. Cuttlefish, octopus and pipefish are also very common. If you are fortunate enough, you may encounter a whale shark.


This is a shallow site and easy to navigate, but that doesn't mean it is safe! The wreck is completely encrusted in corals, mollusks and rust. It also pokes out in some unexpected ways. Even more intimidating are the sheer numbers of Scorpionfish and Lionfish. Hundreds of both just saturate this site with their dangerous spines. This is one of the few sites that actually has Stonefish. Scorpionfish are often identified as Stonefish by the less experienced divemasters. The Stonefish venom is quite painful.

This site is usually THE favorite or one of the favorites of all local Instructors. The amount of life here is incredible, but also the diversity. While we at Wicked are firm believers that the smaller the better - you can still find Sharks, Rays and Barracudas.

This site is home to Hypseledoris Zebrina, Hypseledoris and several other very rare species of Nudibranchs and Flabellinas. Tucked in hidden corners of the wreck are also Frogfish and even seashorses. This is the place to take your time and really like for the little stuff.

Also watch you deco limits

Thai Muang reef - Our newest "Discovery"?

Last year the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) announced the "discovery" of a local reef. This is located about 17 km South of Khao Lak and is easily accessed by longtails.

When we do this trip we usually visit another local dive site - Premchai Wreck. It's a beautiful trip along the cliffs - great just for the ride alone! This trip is usually scheduled for Tuesdays, but is done upon request - a minimum of only 2 guests. And only 2500 Baht for two dives, lunch on the beach and of course one of our lovely guides
makes for a great bargain. Just Contact us
Thai Muang park is something like 20km of totally protected white sand beach. This is one of the only Turtle nesting sites for Leatherback turtles on the West coast of Thailand (the other being Golden Buddha Beach). It's extraordinary to see this much protected land, and yet so very rarely visited.

They also feature a a turtle conservation center (of dubious credibility) with a hatchery and usually a couple of giant old ladies in their pools.

The park is all beach on one side, and then is basically a long peninsula with mangrove swamp on the other side. very protected and very beautiful.

The reef itself is in very good shape and has several great fishes as you can read. We have found that visibility usually never gets more than 12m. There is rarely any current and our greatest finds here are unusual Nudibranchs, Flabellina's and corals. It's suitable for all level of divers.

WWF article follows

"A new coral reef discovered in Phang Nga’s Thai Muang area covers some four square kilometres and accounts for about 5 per cent of all the coral areas in the Andaman Sea.

Lying less than a kilometer offshore are more than 30 genera of hard corals providing home to 12 species of fish from 56 families, said Songpol Tippayawong, head of WWF Thailand’s Marine and Coastal Conservation Unit, which discovered the coral site.

“The fish living there include such rare species as the parrot fish Chlorurus rakaura, which was first discovered in Sri Lanka and has never before been seen in Thai waters. The reef also has a species of the sweetlips fish, the Plectorhincus macrospilus, which was previously known only from the Similan Islands,” he explained.

The Thai chapter of the leading international environmental group first heard about the coral reef from local fishermen, Songpol said.

“We discovered [the new reef] after talking with local fishermen while we were conducting a survey for our Green Coast project,” he said, referring to the group’s tsunami recovery project for indigenous marine life and local fishing communities.

“The discovery helps us understand why sea turtles in the Andaman Sea use the Thai Muang area as their major nest site: the reef is a source of food for turtles and their offspring,” Songpol said.

The beach at Thai Muang is known as the only beach in Thailand where sea turtles living in the Andaman Sea lay their eggs. As many as four species of sea turtle lay their eggs on a 14km long stretch of the beach, including the rare and very endangered Leatherback Turtle.

“The reef needs special protection,” he said. “Marine life there is in a very healthy condition having suffered only limited interference from humans.”

The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) is in the process of including the site on its Andaman coral reefs map, highlighting it as protected area under the National Marine Park Act, Songpol added.

A source in Phang Nga said that although locals endorsed the idea of keeping the reef free from interference, they were concerned the act’s strict regulations would prohibit locals from gaining access to their traditional fishing sites.

“We should conserve the coral reef, but local villagers who have been earning a living [from fishing] in the area should be allowed to continue their way of life,” the source said. “If tourism activities like diving will be allowed at the site, local villagers should also be allowed to benefit [from tourism].”

Songpol agreed. He said the WWF Thailand was working closely with DMCR officials to set up a long-term plan to preserve the area."

Similan Diving

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