Flip Flop Divers

Hin Daeng (Red Rock)

 

Just breaking the surface, Hin Daeng is a huge dive site with depths down to well below normal recreational limits.

The South West side drops to over 60m, creating a steep wall of soft corals - leopard sharks are often seen in this area, and keep an eye out for whalesharks or manta rays. The East side has the best soft coral growth and two ridges that slope gently into deeper water. Pelagic fish such as jacks hang out close to the rock. In shallower areas moray eels are commonly found hiding in cracks in the rock face. Hin Daeng is also good for critters such as nudibranchs, cowrie shells and various species of shrimps.

 

Hin Daeng (Red Rock) derives its name from the colouration of red tree soft coral that decorates the dive site and is one of the top five dive sites in Thailand.

These corals are home to millions of small reef fish, boxer shrimps, octopus and giant morays. Schools of trevallies, barracudas and rainbow runners circle around this reef to feed.

Between the months of November and May, Manta Rays are often found around here and you might even come eye-to-eye with the gentle giant, the Whale Shark.

The dive conditions can vary and the area can be prone to strong currents.

 

 

Hin Muang (Purple Rock)

 

Hin Muang is a long rocky ridge just a few hundred metres from Hin Daeng with it's top at a depth of 8-9m and it's bottom at 60-70m.

It is actually connected to Hin Daeng, but the depth prohibits a dive between the two. Currents can sweep quite strongly over the ridge, but you can always stay on the sheltered side. The surface of Hin Muang is covered in purple soft corals and anemones and swarms of tiny silversides are constantly under attack from predators such as jacks and trevallies. 

 

This dive site holds an amazing amount of marine life. Leopard Sharks can be seen resting on the eastern tip.  Trigger fish, Barracudas, Snappers, Groupers, Trevally, Giant Moray, Lions fish, Puffer Porcupines fish and a lot of colourful fish like Angel fish, Moorish Idols, Oriental Sweetlips, Box fish are common here too. Look carefully in the coral for Boxer Shrimps and Ghost Pipe fish. Again there have been many sightings of Rainbow Runner, Tuna, Whale Shark and Manta Rays at Hin Muang.