Beautiful Sipadan
In Malaysia ~ by David Lavoie
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| Sipadan Island is both
famous and infamous. A tiny, tropical forest-covered island of only thirty
acres floating in the royal blue of the Celebes Sea, it has been declared
both a protected area and a bird sanctuary by the Malaysian government.
The island is indisputably the most famous dive destination in Malaysia,
with diving giants like Jacques Cousteau praising enthusiastically the
wonderful diversity of its marine life.
Sipadan was at the top of Scuba Diving
magazine’s Gold List for The Top Dive Destinations of the World, a distinction
it shared with two other destinations known for an equal diversity of their
marine life - the Galapagos Islands and Truk in Micronesia. It is surrounded
by a sand and coral shelf which, at an average distance of a couple of
hundred meters out from the shore, plummets dramatically to drop off down
a vertical wall for some eight hundred meters. Nearby Mabul Island is similar.
Sipadan Island is located off the
east coast of Sabah, Malaysia's eastern-most state which lies on the north-eastern
corner of the world's third largest island - Borneo Island. Sabah and another
Malaysian state, Sarawak, share Borneo with a powerful neighbour, Indonesia.
In fact, Sipadan lies right on the Indonesian border and was once claimed
by both Malaysia and Indonesia in a dispute which had to be solved by the
World Court. |
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Enormous
School of Jackfish
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It is this proximity which drew
world attention to Sipadan in April of 2000 when twenty-one hostages including
a German family of three, a French couple, and a Lebanese man were taken
hostage by an extremist Philippine Muslim group, Abu Sayyaf, which is reputedly
connected to Al Quaida. All were eventually released unharmed, but occasional
kidnappings by the same organization continue to happen in the area. It
is sobering to stand on the beach of the Borneo Divers Resort on Sipadan
where the abductions took place.
Since this incident, few divers stay
on the island overnight, and the Malaysian government plans to tear down
the resort buildings next year, but not to close the dive sites around
the island. Happily, Borneo Divers also runs a pleasant resort on Mabul
Island about forty –five minutes away by fast boat. A second, very up-scale
resort, Sipadan Water Village, is also located on Mabul. There are eleven
popular dive sites around Sipadan, another half-dozen around Mabu, and
two or three at a third nearby destination, Kalapai Island, a sandbar which
completes the triangle, and boasts its own dive resort, so the choice for
diving in the area is extensive.
Not all the sites are of equal appeal,
however. The Kalapai Island sites, for instance, have poor visibility because
of the sandy bottom, as do several around Mabul. These sites are best for
shallow slow dives searching out the abundant macro life. At the top of
the list however, is an extraordinary Sipadan site, Barracuda Point. If
you are lucky, and the water conditions are right, you will witness here
a remarkable vortex of thousands of Chevron Barracuda swirling like an
underwater tornado; hence the name of the site. Barracuda Point is also
home to dozens of huge Green Sea Turtles and Hawksbill Turtles which are
completely unfazed by divers and which one can approach very closely. Here
too, White Tip Reef Sharks are common. On one dive we saw seven, the big
ones swimming out in the blue and the smaller ones of one to two meters
close to the reef wall. Grey Reef Sharks, Scalloped Hammerheads and Leopard
Sharks are also common. On the same dive we looked out into the blue
and saw a Pygmy Devil Ray swimming gracefully past. Later, near Barracuda
point we dropped in the water again to swim with a school of thousands
of silvery Jackfish, or Big Eye Trevally, twisting and flashing in the
aquamarine water.
Smaller sea life includes Bannerfish,
Butterflyfish, Angelfish, Cornetfish, Parrotfish, Mandarin Fish, Sea Horses
and Pipefish, Crocodilefish, Frogfish and Stonefish, Octopus, Eels, Spiny
Shrimps and lobsters, Cuttlefish and huge, brilliant nudibranch.
My favourite was the Pyramid Butterflyfish, a common, but dramatically
beautiful reef resident mostly seen on small schools of several dozen.
Another colourful resident is the Redfin Anthias, often seem with more
common orange Anthias. This beautiful little fish has a lemon yellow body
with a purplish red dorsal fin, tail and body. The abundance, colour
and variety is amazing. I saw a school of Yellowback Fusiliers pass
a pair of bright Foxface Rabbitfish dancing an elaborate courtship. Then
a Harlequin Sweetlips Juvenile, all white polka dots and oversized fins,
propelled itself in frantic wriggles under me like an eager puppy. Beautiful
too are the coral gardens which grace the top of the reef. They are a cornucopia
of mauve, deep-purple, lime-green, red and yellow soft corals. Our trip
organizer, Aryani Arshad of Planet Scuba in Kuala Lumpur, credits Sipadan’s
popularity to this abundance of sea-life, the best in the world. Also,
she adds, the shallowness of the coral gardens make them ideal for snorkelers.
It is a macro heaven on earth.
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Bird
from Kuala Lumpur's famed Bird Park
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Another
photo from Kuala Lumpur's famed Bird Park
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An unusual dive was under a former oil
platform now converted into a dive resort, Sea Venture, just off the shore
of Mabul. The site was rich with Stonefish, Frogfish and smaller sea life.
Most amazing were a pair of paper-thin Razorfish swimming nose down in
a circular hunting pattern. Like many other local sites there was some
current here although surface sea conditions were very calm. Sipadan can
be dived year round because it is not affected by the Monsoon rains which
seasonally close dive sites in western Malaysia, but it is not for everyone.
Occasional strong currents and the extreme depth and vertiginous nature
of Sipadan’s drop-offs suggest that you should be of some experience before
attempting to dive here.
A huge benefit of diving Sipadan
is the climate. Because of its position, Sipadan, as well as Mabul and
Kalapai, escapes the monsoon rains. The daytime temperature varies between
28 to 34 degrees Celsius; the cooling sea breezes negate any humidity.
Water temperature is a balmy 27 degrees Celsius which means that a three
mil shortie is more than adequate; in fact, diving without a wet suit is
a good option and an enjoyable experience.
Arriving at the Mabul dive resorts
is an adventure in itself. Arrangements, beyond the plane, are best left
to a professional like Aryani of Planet Scuba. The flight from Kuala
Lumpur to Tawau in eastern Sabah takes about two hours and fifteen minutes.
Both Air Malaysia and the cheaper, no frills, Air Asia, fly to Tawau which
boasts a small but attractive and efficient airport. There Aryani takes
over; you will be met and whisked by bus or van to Semporna, a sea-side
town about an hour and fifteen minutes away where you will board a fast
boat propelled by two huge 100 horse power outboards for an hour long cruise
to Mabul. There a welcoming drink, a comfortable room, a pleasant shower
and a delicious Malaysian meal await you. You will fall in love with the
local people on Mabul, a group of the Bajau Laut who belong
to the world’s only nomadic tribe of sea gypsies. A walk through the village
will bring you many wide smiles and happy greetings from its charming and
beautiful residents. Put Sipadan on your list of places to visit soon.
Believe me, you won’t regret it.
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Writer
and Aryani Arshad, dive guide
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| Shells
for sale in Mabul. Sale of conch shells is a problem because conches eat
Crown of Thorns slugs which are rapidly destroying coral reefs world wide |
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