Anita’s Reef is on the east side of the Similan Islands and like the other sites on the eastern side it has a gentle sloping reef drifting down to depths of about thirty metres. The reef itself start’s at about five metres –in fact this area is fantastic for those that just wish to snorkel it is also an excellent place to end the dive too.
This sandy incline is dotted with hard corals and small boulders all the way down the eastern side of the dive site; the coral is a combination of hard and soft assortments with some large Gorgonian sea fans.
The coral coverings are home to many of the smaller fishes on the reef like Damsels, Anemone fish, the sophisticated Angel and Butterfly fish, large school of the small Forster’s Barracuda are regularly see here, there are small Tunas and Blue Trevallies hunting. Also look out for Hawksbill Turtle lurking in holes aroubd the coral.
Also here you can discover the Garden Eels, keep an eye peeled for large Morays and in the sand you mat spot Kuhl’s (Bluespotted) Stingray.
At the south point of the dive site you can find a large coral bommie which rises from around twenty metres up to twelve metres. The top of the bommie is full of life; lots of fish loiter around the Banded Boxer cleaner Shrimp hoping for a clean.
Anita’s Reef – Excerpt from Dive Fabio’s logbook
Anita’s Reef the viz is about thirty metres with a very minor current if any at all, as we drop away down to about ten metres; we found masses of Garden Eels. These bizarre little Eels really do sway in the current, most of their bodies are hidden in the sand and when divers get too close, they descend back from where they came.
A huge Trevally and Spanish Mackerel came thundering into the sand area about five metres from our group, both of these predators were chasing a fish –not sure what the fish was, together these large pelagic marauders hit the sand with a loud thump – I really heard it. The Trevally got fed and the large Mackerel moped off back out into the blue still hungry.
Nearer the reef on top of a couple of Bombies, Blue Fin Trevallies, Goatfish and Emperors were destroying a small group of Glass fish, it’s an incredible site to see, thousands of these tiny fish as they are under continuous bombardment from the unyielding bandits.
