Western Rocky Island

This is a small, remote island. It can be circumnavigated in a single dive. There is a large atmospheric arch at the south west side at about 20m depth. Various crustaceans live beneath it. There is a tunnel/cave right through the island from south to north at a depth of about 15m. Light is always visible from one end or the other and it is generally safe to pass through, although the visibility can reduce if the silt is kicked up. It is important to take the RIGHT HAND exit of the cave as the LEFT HAND exit is very tight to squeeze through. Inside the cave are many longlegged spiny lobsters. Occasionally tawny nurse sharks are seen inside the cave. The oustide of the island forms a wall hosting a lot of interesting marine life. Highlights are nudibranchs, scorpionfishes, anemones and corals, occasional giant frogfishes etc.. In the channel between the main island and the smaller pinnacle to the east there is often a school of sawtooth barracuda. Adjoining to the east is "Eagle's Nest", an alternative and deeper dive site which can be done as a separate dive. Very occasionally grey reef sharks, bull sharks, whale sharks and manta rays can be seen around the island. Dive site access is typically by liveaboard boat as part of a Mergui Archipelago cruise that takes in other sites such as Black Rock and Shark Cave. Most boats are based in Thailand.