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Sipadan voted "World's Top Dive Destination"
- Rodale's Scuba Diving Magazine Feb
2001 Top 100 Survey"Repeat Performance - Places you'd Return To" Award
"Best Overall
Destination" Award
"Best Advanced Diving"
Award |
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Lying a 45-minutes speedboat trip off the northeast coast of the island of
Borneo in the state of Sabah, East Malaysia, Sipadan Island has always been a well-kept
secret.
Only 4 hectares in size, this island lies low in
cool blue water, an idyllic and very romantic tropical island paradise with white beaches,
waving coconut trees, broad-leafed trees reminiscent of primary jungle and rustic huts.
However, it is the secret underwater paradise of Sipadan that enthralls divers as hidden
in the warm, inviting blue waters is another fantastic world … an underwater realm of
adventure and wonder. |
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LAST JEWEL
IN A CROWN bordering the West Pacific Rim |
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Sipadan is the only
deep-water oceanic island in Malaysia, the island itself is the tip of a precipitous sea
mountain; an isolated column of rock rising 600 meters (2,000 ft) from the sea floor.
Other Malaysian islands rest on the shallow seabed of the Continental Shelf, generally at
depths of less than a 100 m. Sipadan is perched
on the northern margin of the Celebes Sea, a huge basin, which at its deepest point
plunges to 6,200 m. On the island's inward side, it is separated from the edge of the
Continental Shelf by a trough of 1,000 m deep, while on the seaward side the reef drops
off dramatically, presenting a 2,000 ft wall dive in just 50 feet from the beach. For
diving that is truly memorable, this is the place to go. |
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A PERFECT
& UNSPOILED CORAL ECOSYSTEM |
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Sipadan contains a
coral ecosystem so perfect and unspoiled, it is unrivalled in the whole of Malaysian
waters. Among these are the delicate Dendronepthya in delicate pastel colors; and feather
stars of all shades and hues. With such a
healthy abundance of living reef, the marine life is equally prolific. The deep-water
oceanic island teems with a vast range of elusive marine life species, many of which can
only be found around Sipadan's pristine coral.
Reef fish of every shape and hue abound in these waters.
Colorful butterfly fish, angel fish, sweet lips, parrot fish, damsel fish of electric blue
and bright orange cardinals inhabit the coral reefs, adding to the splendor of the
underwater havens. In their midst are bizarre-looking unicorn fish and the bulging heads
of the humphead parrot fish. |
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It is not unusual to have a close encounter with literally thousands of large
barracuda. Another exhilarating and intimidating experience is an encounter with
hammerhead sharks or the gray shark, a common inhabitant of an amphitheater area at
Barracuda Point. |
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TURTLES GALORE |
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Between the months of April to September, it is turtles galore in the waters
of Sipadan when the Green and Hawksbill turtles come ashore in droves to nest in the soft
golden sands. Sipadan is unusual in that it is the only island in Malaysia where you can
expect to encounter a large number of these harmless denizens of the deep.
Keep these vivid images alive in your memory.
Be sure to bring along your underwater cameras for some of the best shots of
Malaysia’s underwater treasures. |
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A DIVER'S DREAM |
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Sipadan has become the center of pilgrimage for many of the world’s most
renowned undersea explorers. The season for diving in Sipadan is mid-February through
mid-December. Visibility ranges from 60 feet to over 200 feet.
Several dive spot have been identified and
given exotic names after the variety of corals and marine life peculiar to these spots.
The most popular among these are the Hanging Gardens with its rich plethora of
delicate Dendronepthya hanging down in shades of pastel hues; Barracuda Point where
the diver may experience the thrill of swimming amidst shoals of barracuda estimated to
number around 2,000; and the unforgettable Turtle Cavern with its skeletal remains
of turtles, awesome staglatites and the mysterious flashlight fish.
Other interesting spots bear equally fascinating names –
Staghorn Crest, Lobsters’ Lair, Coral Gardens and White Tip Avenue. It
would not take much guessing to figure out the origin of these names! |
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