Last Updated On : Saturday, July 23, 2016 10:17:10 PM
|
Sabah has 6 Marine Parks open to the public :
Tunku Abdul Rahman Park |
Sipadan Island
...a coral
island first introduced to the world by Jacques Cousteau and made famous
by Abu Sayyaf...
Link - Sipidan Travel Blogs: http://www.travelblog.org
Sipadan, Sabah
Further south off the seas of Semporna lies Sipadan, Mabul & Kapalai islands. Sipadan is Malaysia's diving haven. Rated as the top dive destination of the world, it has since applied for the World Heritage Site status. Free of dive operators, the island is now maintained by Sabah Parks. This unique outcrop yoometres from the ocean floor, has provided a sanctuary for more than 3000 species offish, including Grey Reef Sharks, Great Barracudas, Eagle Rays, Hammerhead Sharks and Manta Rays just to name a few, with scores of colourful Anthias and Butterfly Fishes set to be your eye candy as you comb the reef along the walls. The ever present currents on both sides of the island, challenges the diver to drift along or nn alongside the almost stationary school of Jacks or the whirling barracudas in numbers exceeding a thousand. On the more shallow reefs near the surface, drifting along with the numerous Sweetlips and Surgeonnsh with almost perfect visibility makes you feel like you are in a borderless aquarium. |
Sipadan
Island conjuring images of twirling torn
patrolling hammerhead sharks, millions of technicoloured reef
fish and, above all, dozens of sea turtles swimming peacefully
everywhere. This description is not far from reality: it might
even actually downplay a little bit, as Sipadan is considered
one of the five top diving destinations in the world. This
small, rainforest-covered tropical island rising from a 700
meter abyss in the Celebes " cannot miss. |
Resorts nearby Sipadan Island : |
|||
Reference Price | |
Snorkeling at Sipadan | Rm 225 per person |
2 Dives at Sipadan | Rm 310 per person |
3 Dives at Sipadan | Rm 360 per person |
Snorkeling Gear | Rm 15.00 |
Scuba Gear | Rm 40.00 |
Park Fee for Sipadan Island | Rm 40.00 |
Chief Minister Datuk Musa
Aman has given the go-ahead for the construction of tourist facilities on
the eco-sensitive diving haven of Sipadan.
More... Sipadan's resorts were removed from the island as a protective measure to ensure the environmental well-being of this tiny island. The removal of all structures dive
resorts on Sipadan Island in 2004 greatly benefited the nearby Mabul
island and Kapalai Island where dive resorts are rebuild here. Sipadan Island is consistently being voted one of the top five dive sites in the world. Sabah is being blessed for having many beautiful and top class islands, especially at the east coast of Sabah i.e. near Semporna, a fishing village. Sipadan is one of few really top class place for divers around the world. But recent years, there are many bad publicity about the island i.e the kidnapping case, then the state government decision to demolish all the island building structures and then later to decide to build basic amenities structures and a club house .. then .. a barge that carried the building materials accidentally dropped its entire cargo onto the fragile sea bed of the island ... |
Malaysians divers should dive in Sipadan
once in lifetime. Sipadan is in the top 3 dive sites on the
planet.......Everyone has their own version of paradise, mine would be Sipadan. I floated downward through shoals of colorful fishes, darting in and out, following the current as they go along. Sipadan is all about wall diving and one can see unusual coral gardens hanging on all sides, the perplexity of shapes and sizes of all the marine life. A few meters away from me a white tip shark swims alongside and a moray eel below darting in and out from a tiny gap between the corals. Schools of baracudda and jackfish swerve to a certain direction like they all knew their oceanic passageway. A hawksbill turtle came out of nowhere and white tip sharks laid at the sandy bottom getting all too familiar with Sipadan divers. The highlight for me was entering a cave called Turtle's Tomb. Apparently, turtles swim into the cave, gets disorientated, suffocate and die. Until today, nobody knows why the turtles swim there. I touched a couple of turtle bones and leave immediately.............
Read detail story by |
Diving celebrity Jacques Cousteau's discovery of Sipadan
Island's divers marine life turned this island into a dive mecca scuba
destination in Malaysia. One of the big fish capitals of the world!
At South Point there are scores of reef sharks, large
schools of passing trevally and herds of massive marauding bumphead
parrotfish. 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. Dive points include : West Ridge, North Point, The Drop Off, Turtle Cavern,
Barracuda Point, Barracuda Point, Cotal Gardens, Whiteip Avenue, Mid Reef,
Turtle Patch, South Point, Staghorn Crest, Lobster Lair, Hanging Gardens. |
The internationally famous island of Sipadan lies five degrees
north of the equator in the Sulawesi Sea (Celebes Sea). Lying 35km south of
Semporna, on Sabah's mainland, like many tropical islands it is thickly forested
and surrounded by sandy beaches. Sipadan is an oceanic island and was formed by
living corals growing on top of an extinct undersea volcano, which rises 600m
from the seabed. The residential schooling barracuda and big-eye trevally, which
often gather in thousands forming spectacular tornado-like formations, are one
of the highlights on every diver's wish-list. With the possibility of seeing
pelagic species such as mantas, eagle rays, scalloped hammerhead sharks and
whale sharks, each dive at Sipadan is a highly anticipated event.
|
|
|
INDEX - Islands of Sabah July 23, 2016 10:17:10 PM |
|