Borneo
Malaysian Borneo - Sarawak and Sabah
Malaysian Borneo or East Malaysia provides world-class diving. It is fair to say that many of the sites listed in this section are well known to divers who have been targeted by high profile marketing campaigns over the last few years.
The best time to visit the region is March to November. It can rain any time of the year but expect heavy frequent rain from December to February. Borneo is hot and humid all year round.
Notable Dive Locations
Sarawak
Sarawak is better known for land-based eco-holidays than diving. However, it is possible to dive in this region.
Pulau Talang-Talang
This dive location lies just north of the mouth of the Sematan River. Permission is needed to dive the area as it is a turtle sanctuary. The most common species to be found in the sanctuary are hawksbill & olive ridley turtles.
Katori Maru
This WW2 Japanese wreck is located about 30 miles from shore. The Katori Matru was a Japanese
troop carrier sunk by British aircraft. Viz is typically 5-8 metres. The poor light penetration means that there is little coral growth on the wreck but there is no shortage of fish here, including reef sharks lurking in the shadows.
Sabah
Sabah means 'land below the wind' as it lies beneath the typhoon belt towards the north eastern part of Borneo. The coastline is 1,440 Km long with beautiful sandy beaches on the west coast and mangrove swamps on the east coast. The South China Sea lies to the west and the Sulawesi Sea to the east. The rainforests here are some of the oldest In the world. Mount Kinabalu is worthy of a visit as is the Sepilok Orang-utan sanctuary. It is the Sulawesi Sea that brings rich nutrients and water clarity to the area.
Kota Kinabalu is the regional hub for the area and the starting point for most final journeys to the
dive destinations.
Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park
This national park was named after Malaysia's first prime minister who was instrumental in the
merging of Sabah to Malaysia. The park is located about 15 minutes from Kota Kinabalu.
There are 5 islands in the park that host the diving, namely - Pulau Gaya, Pulau Sapi, Pulau Mamutik,
Pulau Manukan and Pulau Sulung.
The diving here is typically on gentle slopes with hard coral gardens, sandy bottoms. There are many
species of nudibranch and reef fish to be seen. There has been the odd sighting of whale sharks but sightings of pelagic are infrequent in this area.
Specific dive sites include:
Police Bay (Bulijong Bay)
Located towards the north of Pulau Gaya. 10-20 metres depth with corals, reef fish and crustaceans
such as lobster.
Clement Reef
Named after Clement Lee of Borneo Divers who first dived the site. Located near Pulau Sapi.
Mild currents sweep the site. There is a good selection of coral, encrusting sponges, nudibranch, star fish, cuttlefish and sea cucumbers. In addition, expect to see the usual selection of common reef fish.
Mid Reef
Situated east of Pulau Manukan & popular with SCUBA divers and smokeless. There are many anemones and
coral fish on this site. You will also see moray eels, stonefish, crustaceans and panda clown fish. In the later part of the year when the plankton levels are at their best, there is a good chance of seeing whale sharks.
Pulau Sipadan
This is probably one of the best known dive locations in the region. The island is about 35 acres in size and rises about 700 metres from the sea floor. There is shallow reef diving, but one of the interesting features of Sipadan is the wall dive adjacent to the Sipadan Dive Lodge. In addition to the diving, there are about 47 recorded species of birds, monitor lizards, fruit bats and coconut crabs on the island.
Because of the popularity of Sipadan, the diving is restricted to both visitors to the island and dive boats from other islands. Make sure your diving tastes can be catered for before making that booking if you plan to make the trip to Sipadan. Diving is good all year round, but the best months are mid- February to mid- December when the viz is at its best, averaging 60m +.
To get to Sipadan involves several stages. You will probably fly in to Singapore or Kuala Lumpur then
take a connecting flight to Kota Kinabalu. From here, you will take another flight to Tawau, a 2.5 hour
drive to Semporna and a fast 1 hour catamaran to neighbouring Kapalai or Mabul island which are
about 15 minutes boat ride from Sipadan. Visits to Sipadan are limited to help preserve the fragile
eco-system.
It goes without saying that you should ensure these complex but necessary travel connections are
included in your planning way before you leave home or depart the island.
Barracuda Point
The reef top starts at about 6-8 metres where you will see schools of bump-head wrasse and fusiliers.
Follow the reef wall down to 30-40 metres and you will find large barrel sponges, black coral trees,
sea whips and various soft corals. Depending on the season, divers will then find black marbled sting rays, surgeon fish, tuna, manta rays and pyramid butterfly fish working their way along the wall.
Some parts of the dive site are swept by currents which in turn attracts schooling batfish, white tip and black tip shark, hammerhead, grey reef and leopard shark. As you traverse the valley and ascend to about 18 metres you will see trigger fish, garden eels, leaf fish, frog fish, blennies, shrimp and nudibranchs.
Hanging Gardens
Famed for an abundance of corals, the corals give the appearance of a well-stocked garden.
the reef starts at about 6 metres and quickly falls away to the depths. As you pick your depth,
you will encounter all the usual reef species. Photographers should dive this site in the afternoon
to take advantage of the natural light as this site faces west.
South Point
This site is a 10 minute boat ride. The site is usually swept by currents. The site slopes down from about 7 to 55 metres to a sandy bottom shelf. Here you will see different fish life at different depths. Expect to see mantas (in season), leopard shark, napoleon wrasse, grouper, jacks and very large schools of barracuda. There are also good examples of whip coral and sea fans at about 25 metres.
Turtle Cavern
This site is also called the turtle graveyard because turtles enter the cavern to rest but get lost in the myriad of tunnels and become trapped. Divers are discouraged from entering the cavern unless accompanied by a local dive guide. The cavern is at about 20 metres. The tunnels/ cavern then rises to within 4 metres of the surface. There is very little to see inside, other than the remains of turtles and schools of silver sweepers, soldier fish and the flashlight fish.
Pulau Lankayan
Pulau Lankayan is located in the Sulu Sea and is reached via a flight from Kota Kinabalu to Sandakan and then via a 1.5 hr speed boat ride from Sandakan yacht club. There are about 14 dive sites to choose from. There is a good selection of marine life to see, including black tip reef sharks, jacks, barracudas, bumphead parrotfish, lionfish, moray eels, turtles, nudibranch, gobies and ghost pipefish.
Bimbo Rock
Coral Garden
Lost Reef
Mosquito Wreck
Twin City
Jawfish City
Pulau Mabul and Kapalai
Both islands are located about 30 minutes boat ride from mainland Semporna. Mabul has a shallow reef profile with a sandy bottom and patches of sea grass. The coral reefs are not that picturesque in the classic sense. The coral looks like rubble or scattered debris. The attraction is the diversity of macro life to be found in the coral rubble and sea grass.
To get to Mabul and Kapali, you will need a connecting flight from Kota Kinabalu to Tawau followed by a 2.5 hour drive to Semporna then finally, a 30 minute catamaran ride to the islands. It has to be said that Mabul and Kapalai are gaining poularity as bases from which to dive neighbouring Sipadan. There are now restrictions regarding visitors to Sipadan Island proper, so many divers end up based here.The diving around Mabul and Kapalai, while interesting for macro photographers, is not in the same league
as Sipadan.
Eel Garden
Located at the southern end of Mabul, this is one of the deeper dive sites at 20-25 metres. Fin above the silty bottom to avoid stirring up the silt and you will see gobies in the tiny openings and moray eels in the larger creices vhere is a sandy patch. Approach slowly and you will see what look like strands of grass. These are garden eels. The eels are very shy and will retreat n to their holes and out of sight as you get closer.
Ray Point
Close by to the previous site. Ray Point slopes down to a sandy bottom at 30 metres. Mild currents bring clear Water and better viz. You will see sea fans and soft corals, gobies, blennies, moray eels, butterfly fish, damsels, Parrot fish and stonefish.
Mandarin Valley
Located to the north of Kapalai, this site is 15-20 metres deep. You will see stonefish, frogfish, gobies, leaf fish, Ghost pipefish, nudibranch and mandarin fish.
Pulau Labuan
This is one of the larger islands off Sabah with an area of 92 sq Km, beautiful sandy beaches, international hotels and a golf course. There are many activities taking place here to keep the non-diver occupied. The main diving attraction are the four wrecks in the area. Another attraction for some may be the duty free status of the island.
Labuan is served by domestic flights from either Kuala Lumpur or Kota Kinabalu. The best time to dive Labuan is from March to October to ensure best conditions and viz.
MV Tung Hwa (The Cement Wreck)
About 21 Km from Labuan, east of Kuraman Island is the site for this dive. A modern freighter with a length of 105 metres. The Tung Hwa was taking cement to Brunei in the 1980's when it struck the Samarany bank and sank en-route. The wreck sits upright in about 30 metres. The masts are intact and stand at about 8 metres, the roof of the wheelhouse at 14 metres and the main deck at 19 metres. There are many soft corals growing on the wreck an you will also see hawk fish, pipe fish, damsel fish, gobies,cardinal fish, batfish barracudas, rainbow runners and many more. This wreck is considered best for good photogenic subject matter in this area.
Blue Water Wreck
Sunk in the 1980's
Australian Wreck
This is not an Australian vessel ! This wreck was actually a Dutch merchant ship built in 1900 and commandeered by the Japanese in WW2 and sunk by an Australian aircraft in 1945. The wreck site is about 23 Km from Labuan near the island of Rusukan Besar. The wreck lies on her port side in 33 metres with the uppermost part of the wreck at 21 metres. The wooden deck has broken away. The wreck is covered with black coral trees, sea whips & stinging hydroids. Fish life includes palm sized frog or Anglerfish, groupers, lionfish and stonefish.
USS Solute
Referred to by locals as the American wreck, this mine sweeper lies 24 Km from Labuan and just a few KM from the Australian wreck. The USS Solute was a minesweeper. The USS Solute sank after hitting a mine amidships. The ship buckled as she sank with the bow portion folding back over the stern section. The wreck lies in 33 metres on a sandy seabed but is a tangled mass of metal and cable. Local dive centres will recommend that only experienced wreck divers do this wreck as the risk of entanglement or entrapment is very real. Depth charges, ammunition and other sundry items lie scattered about on the seabed. Marine life is made up of crustaceans, echinoderms, spiny black sea urchins and a resident school of spotted sweetlips.
Pulau Layang Layang
Layang Layang means 'swallows nest'. However there are no swallows on the island. This is probably one
of the better known sites to UK divers in this region. There are about 14 different dive sites at Layang Layang.
This Island is actually a Malaysian naval base some 300 Km from Kota Kinabalu and situated in the South
China Sea. There is a 90-bedroom dive resort and a nesting colony for migrating sea birds but very little else of interest here. It has to be said, the only reason to come here (unless you happen to be in the navy)is for the diving. The viz can average 50-60 metres with water temperatures ranging from 21-32 degrees centigrade, depending on the time of year. The resort is closed during the monsoon months of October to January.
Most divers come to Layang Lyang as the potential for seeing the large pelagic species is high. The best Time for hammerhead sightings is March to June. Transfers from Kota Kinabalu are by private charter flights arranged by the Layang Layang resort.
Gorgonian Forest
A steeply sloping wall from 8 metres down to about 40 metres and a dense forest of sea fans from about
15 metres down to 40 metres. There are bushes of black coral and whip corals which provide a playground for the numerous species of reef fish to be found here. Just off the wall and usually found swimming against the current, are hammerhead sharks. These sharks will either be lone swimmers or part of a formatting group.
Photographers should attempt shots from below using the available light to create a silhouette picture as Hammerheads are easily spooked by flash guns.
'D' Wall
This is a interesting wall dive as the wall actually runs down past perpendicular to form a gradual overhang and therefore limiting the available sunlight. This is the home of many large moray eels. Away from the wall,expect to see schooling surgeonfish, fusiliers, jacks and at certain times of the year, manta rays. In addition white tip reef sharks are quite common at this site. The top of the reef at 5 metres is covered in hard coral and home to numerous reef fish.
Dog Tooth Lair
The currents can be strong here but in turn bring in large pelagic sightings. Another wall dive starting at about 8 metres and sloping off very steeply. You will see schools of barracuda and hammerhead sharks, turtles and big eye trevally at this site.
Valley
This is one of the easier dive sites slopping gently down from 10 to 20 metres. There is extensive hard coral growth with many small species of reef fish inhabiting the coral garden. Species include gobies, blennies, wrasse, Sea horses, reef sharks, Leopard shark, red coral trout and snappers. In the crevices you will see crabs and shrimps.
Liveaboards
M/V Celebes Explorer covers Mabul, Kapalai and Sipadan.
Malaysia page
|
BSAC TRAVEL CLUB BOOKSHOP SELECTION
in association with amazon.co.uk
|
|
 |
Borneo to be wild - David Dixon
Kapalai Resort, Near Sipadan by Lucy Kublikowski
Lankayan Island by Ben Pemberton
Sabah, Kapalai and Sipadan by Dave Martin
Trouble in Paradise
Turtles on the Border
|
