TRAVELSPECIAL
Magic mountain delivering a chain of manta rays
It wasn’ t too long before an oceanic manta appeared and started to soar above our heads. It was an incredible moment to finally see oceanic mantas up close, and we also managed to find a blue ringed octopus next to us on the reef. After some time at the deep station we headed back up, surprised by two bottlenose dolphins who did a fly-by to check us out before moving off into the deep. As we got back to the top reef, a few mantas were circling but didn’ t hang around. For the second dive at Magic Mountain, we jumped in and didn’ t have to go too deep as there was a chain of manta rays looping the reef. We spent the entire dive at the top, locked in on reef hooks due to the current, but enjoying the presence of the manta rays circling us, an A-list species moment to sit back and enjoy.
The end of the trip saw us heading to Triton Bay, where we had some great drift dives as the current picked ups a little further south. But the main reason we were in Triton bay was for the whale sharks, diving on the bagans( local fishing platforms). Working with locals, we were going to dive around a bagan, where for centuries fishermen have been feeding whale sharks a portion of their catch because they look on the continued presence gentle giants as a good omen.
Green turtles can be found resting on the reefs
Evenings on remote beaches
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