Ko Kradan, Thailand

The boat from Ko Lipe to Ko Kraden was like a large speed boat, covered on top.  It was fast and good.    Koh Lipe is at the bottom and Koh Kradan is in the middle.

It was a nice beautiful ride with lots and lots of huge cliff-islands jutting out of the water everywhere.

We arrived around 11am on the beach at Ko Kraden and luggage was ‘dumped’.    After asking which way to Paradise Lost Bungalows i had to beg and pay a guy to carry my bag down the beach, he said he would take me half way and took off, me following.  Those wheels on luggage aren’t much good in sand  :(    …  At the half-way point the Bungalow's motorbike-wagon took me and my bags to Paradise Lost Bungalows.

Ko Kradan is listed as the most beautiful island of Trang’s sea.   600 acres, and most of the island, 5/6, is under the jurisdiction of Had Chaomai National Park.   No one lives there, so it is not a ‘fishing community’ which would mean that it’s not been overfished; which probably accounts for the great snorkeling reputation.

The only people living on Ko Kraden, are the people running the ‘resorts’.     There are 4-5 high-end places to stay and 2 budget.   Of course i choose budget to have my own room, but reluctantly resigned to share bath/shower; the difference in price would pay for my food.    You are a captive audience here, so nothing is cheap.   It’s an island, everything has to be brought in and there isn’t much competition.    The only places to eat are at the ‘resorts’.    There was one VERY minimally stocked ‘mini-mart’; but they did have rum  :)

The woman at Paradise Lost was nice and explained 24hr electric (there are only generators on the island) and no water from 11pm to 6am.   no problem, just have to manually flush toilet during those hours. 

I saw in the photos that the ‘shared bath’ rooms were in a line, all in one building.    So when i booked, as a ‘singer older woman’, i requested a ‘corner’ room…hopefully one more window and no one at least one side :)     They replied that a customer was already in that room; but when i got there, i asked again and she said she had it for me   :)    It was a very large room, with windows on 2 sides, and was also at the opposite end from the noisy generator ...double :)  :)

Although the brochure said 3min walk to the beach; she said to walk 15min on the path over there, through the forest, to the beach that would have the least boat traffic this time of day.    

I got settled in my room and decided to take ‘the path’ and just go for a swim and check things out.  And it was a SMALL path, through a really thick forest; and as the path got smaller and narrower, with the tree branches closing in on the path, i wondered if i had missed a turn somewhere.   Oh, and i forgot to mention that ‘the path’ went up and over the rather large hill; my knee not appreciating the journey.       On the other side was another place to stay, Ao Niang Resort, that was not on-line; (the owner doesn’t have a computer, so no way to advertise); but he did have a phone if you wanted to call for a room, if somehow you knew that.    It was RIGHT on the beach and cheaper WITH your own toilet.   There were people staying there, so somehow someone knows.    Maybe next visit.

I cooled off a bit in the warm calm water, and wondered why i was ‘swimming’ when i could be ‘snorkeling’ ?????

Back over the mountain and out to the beach where the boat landed to snorkel.    After a bit of a detour out to the deep looking for the reef, wasting precious time, i realized it was right on shore.    Pleasantly surprised i met my first new fish; a Masked BannerFish.

Again a member of the ButterFly Fish family, so they mate and you always see a pair.   Check out those RED lips !

The coral here isn’t all dead, but a lot of it is, so i was happy to see these vibrantly colored soft corals.

And then i saw my first Nudibranch since the Spanish Dancer.    Much smaller and no dancing, but i was really excited.

i spotted this massive fish sprawled out over some coral, in the wide open.   Since it didn’t move, i thought maybe it was a StoneFish.   i’ve never seen a StoneFish, but i know they don’t move much.   i watched as it opened it’s gills so that tiny blue cleaner fish could do it’s job.    Eventually it tired of my photos and swam off.   I realized it was a Grouper, i believe a Malabar Grouper.

As i was heading back in i saw a new Eel.   He was not interested in showing his face, so i took a photo of his back for ID purposes.   I believe it is a Giant Moray Eel.

A good first snorkeling experience on Ko Kradan.

In the morning, I was anxious to get back in the water.   i checked my ‘snorkel source’ map and asked some questions and realized i was all turned around and the best snorkeling was back over the ‘mountain’ at ‘B’ and around to where the boat dropped us off at ‘C’.     I took off on the mountain path to see where things were, taking only my gear, no bag, water, towels, etc.    i am practicing traveling light !

Out over the reef, as promised, there were thousands of small reef fishes.

To my surprise and delight, i spotted another Nudibranch !     This was far away from the one i saw yesterday, so i am assuming it is a different one, although they do look the same, except this one looks like it has an injury.

I was practicing using my flash and macro lens.   This Map Puffer provided a great opportunity since he was hiding in a crevice, with no natural light

This was a Barrel Sponge with a disgustingly large number of small Sea Cucumbers attacking it.   I don’t know if this is good or bad, but it was creepy !

This is so much fun.   Thailand is known for it’s many different Nudibranchs.   They are small and hard to find, even though they are quite obvious in the photos; it’s like finding a needle in a haystack… so much surface to search for such a small creature.   It’s always exciting to spot one !    Even if he isn’t as pretty as some of the others  :)

It’s a rare occasion to see a Grouper in Roatan, but there are many many here; lots of smaller ones.   This would indicate that they are healthy and reproducing.   And pretty.    This is a Lined Grouper.

And some not so pretty ones, like this Malabar Grouper, who also was not small … and rather grumpy.   i followed this one around for a long time, i think he finally posed for me hoping i would just leave him alone, which i did.

The Orange Lined TriggerFish was one of the fishes i met the first day i was in the water in the Philippines, and they have appeared everywhere since.   But i had never seen one this large.    The red lines around his face and lips were very noticeable and they are not ‘red’ on the younger/smaller versions.

Day 3 on Ko Kradan produced more Groupers …  a lot of HoneyComb Groupers, of all sizes

Cloudy Grouper

and this really pretty one ... i think it's  Black Tip Grouper, even though you don't see any black tips, i've seen others like it where i could see the black ... so ... a pretty sure 'maybe'  :)

and pretty tolerant of me too  :)

Groupers info:    They can be found on top or under rocks and corals. They lie and wait for small fish or invertebrates to come close and then use their draw-bridge like mouth to suck the prey in. Their lower jaw is spring loaded and open and closes in a fraction of a second, but in doing so increases in volume several fold, creating a current that few prey species can escape.



On several occasions there were schools of these yellow triangular-shaped fishes swimming over the reef.   But they were just out of reach and each time i dove down, they scattered.    This is the best i was able to do.    I think it is a Silver BatFish, but i can’t be certain.   I need to get a ‘book’ ..

And my first Scorpion Fish.   They usually just lay there also, but the second i saw him, he zipped under that rock.

I have seen that Sling Jaw Wrasse everywhere since i met the first one.   And, many times i’ve witnessed it ‘slinging’ it’s jaw out.    Impossible as it may seem, i happened to take this shot and catch it in a photo… blurry, but there’s proof !

Another new fish.   This Cheek Lined Wrasse was not bothered in the least by my constant presence.   It’s so much fun when they make it so easy  :)      So many colors on this fish.

This is a Mushroom Coral, usually a bland tan.   So this reddish one really caught my eye.     It seems surrounded by the tan version.

Although this Long Beaked Coral Fish is not new; i have not seen it since i left Alona Beach in the Philippines.    Nice to see it again, kind of like an old friend  :)     They are a type of ButterFly Fish, so where you see one, it’s mate is not far away (just below)

Another new fish….. but i don’t know what it is … my guess is a kind of Squirrel Fish

But the prize of the day goes to THIS new fish.   It is a Blue Ringed AngelFish.   Just yesterday i saw a photo of it and hoped i would see one.     

I barely saw this one scoot around some coral in the shallows and head for the deep.   I couldn’t let it get away.    Diving down down, and down again, and again, it didn’t swim off, but made me work for it.

On the way back in, i was in a hurry, it was getting late, and i saw this Leopard Moray Eel in very shallow water.

I have to say that the food here was not all that special.   I had some Cashew Chicken tonight and it tasted just like the Pad Thai i had last night, except they added cashews.   Disappointed.   I spent this evening looking at the calendar again and deciding when i needed to leave, where to go, where to stay, and how to get there  :)    I made some decisions and reservations   :)

The people that run Paradise Lost LOVE animals.    There is a momma dog that had 4 puppies.   They are all pretty shy, but they are feeding them and trying to gain their trust.    Here are 2 of them.     Awwwww

And then there is this old girl ... she has a kind of cute wrinkled face, has cataracts in one eye, and is 14 years old ... That is incredible for an island dog.   She was so SWEET !

 and she has a HUGE cowlick on her back   :)      What a special fur baby !

Back across the ‘mountain’ for Day 4.    This Moon Wrasse is pretty easy to identify with it’s bright pink and blue pectoral fins !

i saw another Giant Moray Eel yesterday that was not interested in showing his face.    Then finally this guy was happy to pose for me.    I thought he was thinking about going on a ‘walk about’; but i gave him plenty of space and time and he never moved.   He kinda looks like he’s smiling; i think that’s the ‘smile-iest’ eel you’ll ever see.

I've seen this delicate pretty fish several times, but am unable to identify it.     Seems to be a common theme lately  :(

 


Cruising through the shallows, i see all this ‘golden dust’ in the water.    There are a lot of fishes that root around in the shallows and stir up the sand and make it cloudy.   I thought maybe they were into some ‘dirty’ sand.    But as i looked across the coral i could see it was everywhere.   Clouds of ‘golden smoke’ just lingering over the coral.    What is that? 

After pondering the spectacle for awhile, i decided it was the Coral Spawning.   After i got back i looked it up, and i am pretty sure that’s what was going on.    I also noted that this happened on 21 March, the first day of Spring; if that's of any significance.    Now THAT was cool !   

 

This is what i found:   Some species of coral reproduce by ejecting large quantities of eggs and sperm into the surrounding water. When this happens, the eggs and sperm fertilize in the water. This process is called coral spawning. In some areas, mass coral spawning events occur on one particular night per year and scientists can predict exactly when this will happen. Trillions of eggs and sperm are simultaneously released into the water in one of the most astounding acts of synchronicity in the natural world!
Once in the sea, larvae are naturally attracted to the light. They swim to the surface of the ocean, where they remain for days or even weeks. If predators do not eat the larvae during this time, they fall back to the ocean floor and attach themselves to a hard surface. Once attached it begins to grow—dividing itself in half and making exact genetic copies of itself. As more and more polyps are added, a coral colony develops. Eventually the coral colony becomes mature, begins reproducing, and the cycle of life continues.

More beautiful Clams brightly colored

My last day of snorkeling on Ko Kradan has arrived, and it was slow going.   I started way out at the furthest point, and went out pretty far into the deeper water.    I saw these.... they are called Sea Whips.

This is one of the few fishes that are the same as in the Caribbean-Belize-Honduras.    It is a Porcupine Fish, although not 'new', it was the first one i've seen here.   And he was really big and i love their big soulful eyes

Then headed towards 'home'.    I saw this unidentifiable crab … he scampered into a crevace and this was all i got of him, by using my flash again, and just sticking my hand inside the crevace.      Not bad, considering  :)    Looks like he was real pretty

I was nearing the end of the snorkel and was getting close to shore, but not really wanting to call it quits.    So i was just meandering in the sandy shallows, where you don’t usually see much.  

A lot of people here get really excited when they see a LionFish … ho-hummmm … i’ve seen hundreds of them in Belize and Honduras where they are a non-native invasive species.    But this is where they belong and you hardly ever see them.    This is the only one i’ve seen on this trip.   They are pretty, and here they belong.

i wandered out over a deeper really sand patch with no coral.    Visibility was really bad, but down at the bottom i spotted …. a StingRay, laying quietly in the sand.    These are few and far between here.   i’ve not seen one since i arrived.   Visibility was so bad my camera couldn’t find anything to focus on.   But as it sped away, i was able to get this shot.    It is a Blue Spotted StingRay.   You can barely see some blue spots..    Not found in  the Caribbean   :)

ok, so i can go in now, i saw my ‘something new’   :)

but, i wanted more, i was talking to the ‘fish gods', and saying, ‘ok give me a little something else special for my last day, a going away present’.    … Never satisfied, am i ?

Swimming through a some coral in very shallow water, i see this flash of spots on a large fish.    Ah, i’ve only seen it in the books, but i recognize it as a Many Spotted SweetLips !

It’s the adult ….    We played the game of  ‘cat and mouse’ for 15min … Mostly with it winning.

Such a pretty fish, with very large fins, and tail.

Remember this frilly little fish that i saw on Pamilican Island … that just wiggled while it swam.    No wonder the little Juvenile had such a big tail and fins … it had a big job to fill when it grew up

I’ve seen several Oriental Sweet Lips and Striped Sweet Lips fishes and have always wondered why they were called ‘Sweet Lips’   … finally, i can see in this photo, they have very big lips … :)

That was a great ending to my Ko Kradan snorkeling experience.   I was very happy   :)   ...and i thanked the 'fish gods' for a wonderful experience here.


I packed my bags AGAIN and the next morning headed for the East coast of Thailand, which i knew would be another very long journey.