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Sipadan attracts divers from all over the
world simply because it is the best diving
spot in Malaysia and among the best in the
world. The island is situated about 35 km
off the East Coast of Borneo and is near the
Indonesian border. The tiny 12 ha
jungle-covered island is bordered by snow
white sandy beaches that rises up out of the
turquoise-blue sea. Sipadan was formed by
living corals growing on top of an extinct
undersea volcano. With its surrounding coral
reef the island rises in form of a slim
rocky needle 600m from the seabed.
A legend in diving circles, the name Sipadan
conjures up images of Barracudas and Jacks
moving about, Hammerhead sharks patrolling
the waters, colourful fishes darting around
the reefs and sea-turtles gently swimming
with the currents.
A popular feature of this island is the
precipitous reef wall just a mere 8 metres
in front of Borneo Divers' and Pulau
Sipadan's resorts. Many divers have remarked
that staying and diving on the island is
similar to doing so from a live-aboard ship,
coz all dive sites can be reached in a few
minutes.
To protect the reef and marine life the
number of divers staying at Sipadan has been
restricted to 80 per night. The consequence
is, that the island is fully booked most of
the time. Therefore it is absolute necessary
to book several weeks or better months in
advance
Formerly declared as a bird sanctuary
Sipadan provides another attraction for the
visitor with its 47 known species of birds.
The island is also home to monitor lizards,
fruit bats and the unique coconut crabs.
Although famed for its diving spots,
visitors should not miss out on the island's
amazing beaches. During low tide you can
easily walk around the island in half an
hour. Further up from the resort there is a
stretch of lonely white beach. As the jungle
ends directly at the beach, overhanging
trees provide enough shade. You should only
watch out for the coral pieces and the
shells that are washed ashore and pervaded
the beach. It is advisable to bring a pair
of sandals along as pieces of corals and
seashells are known to have been washed
ashore.
During low tide only part of the beach near
Pulau Sipadan Resort and the Borneo Divers
is suitable for swimming and snorkeling. As
the sea retreats, the diving boats from all
three islands cannot land on Pulau Sipadan
and you can only see the corals of the
atoll. Then also the diving boats of the the
three last resorts could not land at the
beach. During high tide the whole atoll
offers excellent snorkeling and swimming
opportunities. You can see many fishes,
dozens of turtles and if you are lucky, even
sharks. Be careful of the strong currents. |
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In this new millennium SCUBA diving is well on
its way of becoming one of the fastest growing recreational sports
enjoyed by both young and old. Divers travel thousands of miles to
experience amazing wonders of the underwater world and where would
diving be better than in the biodiversity hotspot of Southeast Asia:
Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. With its sandy beaches, tropical islands,
blue waters, coral reefs and atolls, Sabah has several dive sites
rated to be amongst the top ten in the world and many more yet to be
truly explored. Over the years many prominent marine biologists have
visited and dived Sabah's waters, including oceans' greatest
ambassador, Jacques Cousteau. He commented 'I have seen other places
like Sipadan, 45 years ago, but now no more. Here we have found
again an untouched piece of art... a jewel'.
In fact a diver may find many rare or endangered sea prenatal and
hawksbill turtles, napoleon wrasse, giant clams, as well species of
sharks and schools of thousands of barracuda and jacks. But Sabah is
not only known for the larger inhabitants of its reefs, but also as
a 'muck diving' paradise with such rarities as the mimic octopus,
flamboyant cuttlefish, mandarin fish, harlequin ghost pipefish plus
many types of weird and wonderful frogfish and nudibranches. These
underwater delights are not restricted to the certified diver;
snorkellers and hopeful divers may enroll in one of the many PADI
affiliated dive courses run at any of Sabah's dive resorts. Whatever
your underwater wish, Sabah's seas and coral reefs can easily
fulfill your wildest dream.
More information on Sipadan Island
Sipadan ('Border Island' in Malay) is the only oceanic island in
Malaysia; rising 2,000 feet or 600m from seabed; it is formed by
living corals that grow on top of an extinct volcanic cone that took
thousands years to develop. Sipadan is located at the heart of
Indo-Pacific basin (22 miles South of Semporna, off the South-East
coest of Sabah), which puts itself at the centre of one of the
richest marine habitats in the world. More than 3,000 species of
fish and few hundreds of coral species have been classified in this
ecosystems.
Rare diving scenes such as school of greenback turtles and hawksbill
turtles nesting and mating, school of barracuda & big-eye trevally
in tornado-like formation, pelagic species such as manta rays, eagle
rays, scalloped hammerhead sharks and whale sharks could be seen
here.
A mysterious turtle tomb lies underneath the column of the island,
formed by an underwater limestone cave with a labyrinth of tunnels
and chambers that contain many skeletal remains of turtles.
Ever since diving celebrity Jacques Cousteau raved about the
diversity of marine life, this dive mecca has been indisputably the
most famous scuba destination in Malaysia. It is located off the
east coast of Sabah, Malaysia's eastern most state, and lies on the
north-eastern corner of Borneo, the world's third largest island.
The Sipadan diving legend has passed through the world's dive
community to the extent that all divers with an interest in visiting
the best sites in the world, have this small island near the top of
their wish list.
Pulau Sipadan Island was at the top of Rodale's Scuba Diving
Magazine Gold List for 'The Top Dive Destination in the World'. In
fact the island shared its top spot with two other destinations
known for the amazing diversity of their marine life - the Galapagos
Islands and Truk in Micronesia
The list of attractions is quite staggering and all the more
exceptional as it involves big fish encounters, something very rare
in Asia these days - at Barracuda Point you can find yourself
surrounded by a spiralling vortex of barracuda, so large that the
sunlight is often clouded out. At South Point there are scores of
reef sharks, large schools of passing trevally and herds of massive
marauding bumphead parrotfish. When diving in Sipadan everywhere you
turn you'll see turtles, munching on the sponges and algae, or
lazing on the wall ledges. If you take the time to look closely at
the walls you'll see a wealth of macro life and fish species to
rival most destinations, although this is often overlooked due to
the other major attractions vying for your attention.
Ever since diving celebrity Jacques
Cousteau raved about the diversity of marine life, this
dive mecca has been indisputably the most famous scuba
destination in Malaysia. It is located off the east
coast of Sabah, Malaysia's eastern most state, and lies
on the north-eastern corner of Borneo, the world's third
largest island.
The Sipadan diving legend has passed
through the world's dive community to the extent that
all divers with an interest in visiting the best sites
in the world, have this small island near the top of
their wish list.
Pulau Sipadan Island was at the top
of Rodale's Scuba Diving Magazine Gold List for 'The Top
Dive Destination in the World'. In fact the island
shared its top spot with two other destinations known
for the amazing diversity of their marine life - the
Galapagos Islands and Truk in Micronesia
The list of attractions is quite
staggering and all the more exceptional as it involves
big fish encounters, something very rare in Asia these
days - at Barracuda Point you can find yourself
surrounded by a spiralling vortex of barracuda, so large
that the sunlight is often clouded out. At South Point
there are scores of reef sharks, large schools of
passing trevally and herds of massive marauding bumphead
parrotfish. When diving in Sipadan everywhere you turn
you'll see turtles, munching on the sponges and algae,
or lazing on the wall ledges. If you take the time to
look closely at the walls you'll see a wealth of macro
life and fish species to rival most destinations,
although this is often overlooked due to the other major
attractions vying for your attention
The Sipadan diving legend has passed
through the world's dive community to the extent that
all divers with an interest in visiting the best sites
in the world, have this small island near the top of
their wish list.
Pulau Sipadan Island was at the top of Rodale's Scuba
Diving Magazine Gold List for 'The Top Dive Destination
in the World'. In fact the island shared its top spot
with two other destinations known for the amazing
diversity of their marine life - the Galapagos Islands
and Truk in Micronesia.
The list of attractions is quite staggering and all the
more exceptional as it involves plenty of big fish
encounters - at Barracuda Point you can find yourself
surrounded by a spiralling vortex of barracuda, so large
that the sunlight is often clouded out. At South Point
there are scores of reef sharks, large schools of
passing trevally and herds of massive marauding bumphead
parrotfish. This is one of the big fish capitals of the
world!
When diving in Sipadan everywhere you turn you'll see
turtles, munching on the sponges and algae, or lazing on
the wall ledges. If you take the time to look closely at
the walls you'll see a wealth of macro life and fish
species to rival most destinations, although this is
often overlooked due to the other major attractions
vying for your attention.
• Sipadan Island tourist information
• Sipadan Island history
• Map of Sabah - Borneo
How to Dive SipadanFor environmental reasons this tiny
island has now closed its resorts. This means the best
way to dive here is by staying in on one of the resorts
on the nearby islands of Mabul or Kapalai.
The resorts also boast some excellent macro-diving which
is a great complement to the breathtaking big fish
action of Sipadan Island.
Diving Season
You can dive here all year round.
Overall, the best conditions at Sipadan Island exist
from April to December, especially July and August.
January to March can see some unsettled weather and a
decrease in visibility but the resorts still see plenty
of guests at this time as the diving can still be fine.
Reef Basics
Great for: Large animals, wall
diving, drift dives and advanced divers
Not so great for: Wrecks, beginner divers and non-diving
activities
Depth: 5 - >40m
Visibility: 10 - 30m
Currents: Can be strong
Surface Conditions: Can be choppy
Water Temperature: 26 - 30°C
Experience Level: Intermediate - advanced
Number of dive sites: 12
Distance: 12 km (25 minutes) south from Mabul and 10 km
(18 minutes) southwest from Kapalai
Access: Diving from Mabul and Kapalai resorts
Recommended length of stay: 5 - 14 days, including the
nearby islands
Dive Sites
More detailed information on Sipadan
scuba diving sites:
• Barracuda Point • Coral Garden
• The Drop Off • Hanging Gardens
• Sipidan Midreef • South Point
• Staghorn Crest • Turtle Cavern
• Whitetip Avenue
Recommended Site : South Point, Turtle Cavern and
Barracuda Point.
Other sites that can be dived together with Sipadan
Island:
• Mabul Island
• Kapalai
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