Sabah is part of Malaysian Borneo, located in Southeast Asia and surrounded by the South China Sea on the west coast, Sulu Sea on the east coast and Celebes Sea on the south road. Sabah is located within the Coral Triangle - Coral Triangle is known for being home to a wide variety of marine life in the world. Fortunately, you do not need to travel far to Sabah to appreciate its tropical waters. In the capital, Kota Kinabalu, there is the Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park. The Marine National Park is just 20 minutes by boat from Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Sabah and the smallest city in Malaysia. This makes it a popular choice for visitors interested in diving, snorkeling, water sports or just chilling on the beaches of the islands. The rest of this article provides an overview of scuba diving, located in the Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park, located directly opposite Kota Kinabalu.
The marine park, named after the first Prime Minister of Malaysia, appeared in 1974, and at that time it was the second national park in Sabah. Here are the five islands - Pulau Guy, Pulau Mamutik, Pulau Sapi, Pulau Manukan and Pulau Sulug. Three of the busiest islands are Sapi, Mamutik and Manukan (each of which is equipped to serve tourists). All five islands are bordered by coral reefs and are a place for diving and sites suitable for scuba diving. With more than 20 different dive sites at Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park, visiting the diver, or those who want to try the dive, are really spoiled for choice. Let's take a closer look at the reefs surrounding each of the islands, and the variety of marine life that you can expect.
Sapi is the second smallest island in the Marine Park. It is surrounded by a reef on the eastern, southern and western shores. Sapi House Reef is probably the most popular dive site in Marine Park for divers. It is home to a shallow coral reef, artificial reef balls and a sandy bay, which is ideal for training divers. On the home reef you will see a variety of different coral reef fish - “Lady Fish”, “Fusilier”, “Barracuda”, “Parrot Fish”, “Wrasse”, “Puffer Fish”, “Porcupine Fish”, “Bat Fish” - and this The most popular reef for visiting Hawksbill Turtles. Along the sandy shore you will find interesting marine life, including garden embers, blue spotted rays, gobies, fish-fish, fish, fish-fish, anemone fish, shell, weathervanes (known as Ikan Sebelah - Lateral fish), nudibranes and much more. The house reef is 3 m - 18 m with a sloping reef. It rarely has currents making it ideal for diving with a lake view or with a very relaxing dive, enjoying fish life on shallow reefs, diving diving along a sandy area or testing sea life around artificial reef balls.
On the southern coast of the island of Sapi - Rons Reef and Flight Reef there are also good places for diving - both have a gentle loose reef from 8 to 18 m and can be a pleasant gentle drift when changing tides. Another nice dive spot on the west coast is the reef expansion, known as Clements Reef. Clements Reef has very beautiful and soft corals, interspersed with boulders and coral coverings. It is 8 m on top of a reef with a gentle sloping reef, bordering a place for diving to 18 m - 25 m. A good deep site of coral reefs.
Mamutik, a slightly quieter island, is home to a pleasant beach and two decent diving sites - a gully reef located on the north and west side of the island (which has a 10 mx 5 m patch full of anemones from False Clarke Anemone Fish, Egypt Nemo & # 39; c). It also has a diving site called "Pyramid" located on the west side of the island - the so-called because of its shape. The pyramid is an interesting place for diving - it may not have the best corals in the Marine Park, but it has interesting creatures on it (Nudibran, Knights of Scorpio, Shrimps, etc.) And usually has a large school group Barracuda at the top of the pyramid . Diving sites have the most beautiful conditions during the northeast trade winds (November-March), when they are more protected from the prevailing winds.
The best diving sites in Manoucan are on the west coast facing the South China Sea. These are probably the least visited coral reefs by divers - since most dive operators make no effort to visit reefs that are far away from Kota Kinabalu. As a rule, you will be the only diver in the water when you dive into the western reef. House on a shallow reef (5 m - 12 m), filled with large desktop corals with a gentle sandy beach from 10 m to 20, dotted with coral boulders. Around these coral boulders, you can often find an interesting mix of Nudibriks, Lion Fish, Shrimps, Fish Fish, Puffer Fish, Porcupine Fish, Morela, Sea Cucumbers and more.
Gaya is the largest island in the Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park. While most of the island is bordered by coral reefs, the most beautiful quality reefs (in terms of coral coverage, coral health, and the combination of marine life can be found in a small number of places - Soft Coral Garden on the west coast (due to the amount of colorful soft corals covering it), the Bay of Polis and reefs just east of the Police Bay. The Police Bay is a protected bay during the south-west trade winds, providing more pleasant visibility. The entrance to the bay (on the northern tip) have beautiful steep slopes of reef walls from 10 to 25 m - 30 m and often have large shoals of Snappers and Fusiliers.
Last but not least, Sulug. Sulug has a “tongue shape” coral reef jutting out from the north. The reef has a flat top from 5m - 7m with steeper slopes that can reach 25m. The slopes are covered with coral covered boulders and bombs. It's on the northern reef slopes where you will find the most orangutan crabs, an amazing range of nudibrins and some of the biggest gorgon fans. If you are lucky, you can also see the Frogfish or the Ghost Harlequin Pipefish during the mating season.
Regardless of what you visit in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, as an experienced diver, a new diver who wants to learn to dive or enjoy diving, there are underwater places in the Tunku-Abdul-Rahman Marine Park to satisfy your needs.
To learn more about scuba diving in the Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park from Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Borneo, see http://www.borneodream.com
