Socotra’s Marine Paradise

You are never far from the coast on Socotra and indeed it is the sea that provides much of the islanders’ sustenance. Marine life is so rich it seems you merely have to put your hands into the water to pull out dinner!

Azure seas and pristine white sands surround this rugged island. Entering the water at the marine reserve at Dihamry is to enter an underwater paradise. Swarms of brilliant blue and gold Yellowtail Tangs and elegantly patterned Convict Surgeonfish are right in front of your mask in the shallowest of waters. The waters are thick with colourful fish – a kaleidoscope of colourful Sohail Surgeonfish, Lined Surgeonfish and Orange-spine Unicornfish reflect their dazzling colours in the crystal-clear surface waters.

We’ll spend the week camping at some truly amazing coastal locations, concentrating on exploring Socotra’s fabulous marine heritage, a nature that seems very pristine still. We’ll have boat trips with local fisherman where we’ll spend time with the abundant pods of acrobatic Spinner Dolphins that cavort through waters backed by spectacular coastal scenery. Bottle-nose Dolphins are also common and we’ll encounter turtles, Green and Hawksbill, as well as Loggerhead and Olive Ridley, both from the boats and frequently whilst we are snorkelling. The latter we’ll do from coastal camps, almost daily, and sometimes twice a day (or even all day if you’re keen!).

At Dihamry a resident shoal of diamond-shaped Silver Moonyfish looks like fish wallpaper and its great fun hanging around these guys as impressive Bluefin Trevallies swim lazily through them. This is an incredible place for Morays, Honeycomb Morays are common and there’s also Laced Moray, ash-grey Geometric Moray and even Giant Moray. Octopus are seen on most snorkels – Large Blue Octopus and White-spotted Octopus – and squadrons of Bigfin Squid too. Colourful Picasso Triggerfish and Arabian Picassofish inhabit sandy patches where we might see the amazing Tasselled Flathead lying on the bottom. Gorgeous Crowned Tobies hover above coral heads as Guineafowl Pufferfish float past. Impressively large and improbably-coloured parrotfishes nibble away at the reef. Bicolor Parrotfish, Heavybeak Parrotfish, Purple-Brown Parrotfish, Bullethead Parrotfish and Rusty Parrotfish among them. Brilliant blue and yellow Caerulean Damsels and exquisite Solander’s Tobies defy us to approach their coral castles. There’s a dozen species of Butterflyfish and impressive Yellowbar and Emperor Angelfishes. Diversity is amazing – Lemon Angelfish, Threeline Damsel, Jewel Damselfish, Olive Dottyback, Peacock Grouper, Cube Boxfish, Scribbled Filefish, and all sorts of colourful Wrasse including Broomtail Wrasse, the jewel-like Blue-spotted Wrasse, and ridiculously colourful Queen Coris. There’s gorgeous orange Lyretail Anthias and swarms of transparent Schooling Cardinalfish. Afternoons are when the spectacular Broadbarred Firefish comes out to hunt and we’ll see Devil Firefish too. Suddenly the water seems to fill with fish as huge squadrons of Lunar Fusilier and Multi-lined Fusiliers filter past, or perhaps shoals of stripey Bengal Snapper. There’s plenty of big silvery fish with various Trevallies, Great Barracuda and the fabulous underwater torpedo that is the Rainbow Runner. Humpback Unicornfish, Horseface Unicornfish and Sleek Unicornfish are all accurately described by their names, as are the stunning Clown Triggerfish, Titan Triggerfish and simply demonic Red-toothed Triggerfish. Rock-pooling is great fun when you’ve a moment out of the water as there are all sorts of crabs, blennies and even the smaller Morays such as Barred Moray and the recently described Pharaoh’s Moray.

Red-billed Tropicbirds breed on the cliffs close to Shoab. Dark-spotted Stingrays cruise the waters of Qalansiyah Lagoon alongside lots of Cuttlefish. On the boat trips we’ll watch for the larger ray species such as Mobulas, and Ocellated Eagle Rays, and we’ve a good chance of seeing Whale Sharks too. Masked Boobies, Brown Boobies and Socotra Cormorants are amongst a good range of seabirds.

Crucially we’ll be able to enjoy these remarkable and beautiful coasts in situ as our local team will move our lovely large Arabian-style tents and have them ready for us when we arrive at each camping location!