I have dived nearly every part of the reefs that surround the islands of Koh Phi Phi, The whole area is known as the Phi Phi Islands National Marine Reserve and it's been on the global map as a dive destination for decades. I decided to post this video that I filmed some time ago because it is on a spot that is not at all on any dive shop's list of designated dive sites. Now of course I was not the first person to dive there but what I can say is I'm one of the only people I know that dives there very often and in fact most dive masters and dive guides working for the many dive operators in this area have certainly never been there.
In this video edited from a single one hour dive, there is such an amazing variety of marine-life that it's kind of hilarious I get to experience it all by myself every time I go there. I mean every diver wants to see schools of reef fish, big indicator species like groupers and coral trouts, moray ells, critters like crabs and shrimps and then one of the holy grail for divers - cuttlefish (and in this video laying eggs!). I have quickly screenshot some sections of the video that are particularly special and will explain in some more detail for each image.
Moray eels are pretty common on all the reefs of Thailand and especially here around Phi Phi. But this guy is very rare - I have only spotted this species a handful of times during 20 years of diving at Koh Phi Phi. He is called a Zebra Moray and pretty easy to see how he gets his name. A Moray Eel breathes by opening and closing his mouth which sends water rushing over the gills behind their head.
This is a scribbled file fish and when you actually see one for real, close up underwater they are just the ost beautiful fish. They have amazing blue colourations all over their body and have a very funny way of dealing with you as an intruder in their home. They kind of turn side on and then hesitate for a while before darting of like an arrow. I was lucky enough to film this beautiful guy feeding.
Cuttlefish have very sophisticated vision and a quick search on Google will tell you more - I'm not a scientist so no point me going into it too much here but their W shaped pupil is something amazing. I was able to film this beautiful guy depositing eggs which is a very rare treat to be able to film.
The underwater world is just full of amazing critters and these crabs are just super. They are cursed without a hard shell for protection like other crabs so they have to find an empty shell to live in. As they grow bigger and bigger they need to discard their current shell and find a new one. How cool is that!
These schools of reef fish (the yellow ones) are called Bigeyed Snaper and are found on all the reefs around Phi Phi. They are often found in massive schools that can completely envelop you as a diver. I love them and they are especially easy to film as they don't shy away from the camera.
Anyway I hope you enjoy the video! There is some very nice footage in there and you will notice no sign of any other divers!
