Asian Geographic - April 2018

(singke) #1

Pulau Sipadan


Lying just off the northeast coast of Borneo is


Sipadan, Malaysia’s only oceanic island. This


magical isle was made famous by renowned


French oceanographer, Jacques-Yves Cousteau,


in his documentary Borneo: The Ghost of the


Diving in


Paradise


Malaysia boasts some of the


planet’s finest dive sites, and


its pristine waters are rich in


marine life


UNDERWATER WORLD


Text and Photos Tourism Malaysia


Sea Turtle. But healthy numbers of green
turtles are by no means the only creatures
you’ll find here: Sipadan offers prolific marine
life of all shapes and sizes.
Those with the Cavern Diver certification
can explore the same mysteries that Cousteau
and his crew did almost 30 years ago at Turtle
Cavern. Inside lies a macabre chamber of
skeletons belonging to turtles and dolphins
that got lost in the labyrinth of tunnels,
became disorientated and drowned.
Elsewhere, rare and peculiar fish species call
Sipadan’s corals home, including porcupine
pufferfish, clown triggerfish, unicornfish
and Moorish idols. Giant moray eels lurk in
their grottos, observing the traffic going past,
while huge gorgonian sea fans protrude like
the plume of a proud peacock. Hundreds of
fearsome-looking barracudas sometimes form
a grey wall from the sheer weight of their
numbers. Bumphead parrotfish often rumble
past in bison-like hordes. A night dive may

WHEN
All year round, but
visibility is best from
April to August

WHERE
Off the east coast of
Sabah

HOW
From Kuala Lumpur,
take a flight to Tawau
Airport, and then arrange
a boat ride from nearby
Pulau Mabul

EXPERIENCE


P U L A U
SIPADAN

below Diving among
schools of fish at Pulau
Sipadan
Free download pdf