Results tagged “diving” from Discover Borneo: Blog

Malaysia is a hot-bed for the world's rarest iconic natural attractions.

The country has attractive locations with big potential for development as eco-tourism icons, according to a development planning expert.

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia centre for innovative planning & development director Prof Amran Hamzah said Malaysia's natural attractions would lure tourist arrivals to the country.

Tourists will be spellbound by the unique flora and fauna, clean beaches, exotic marine life, oldest rainforest and the world's biggest caves.

Currently, Amran said Sabah and Sarawak were Malaysia's largest contributors to the eco-tourism industry as compared with West Malaysia, as they had some of the world's rarest iconic attractions.

For example, the Mulu National Park in Sarawak, and Mount Kinabalu and Sipadan Island in Sabah were deemed among the world's top five locations for scuba diving activities.

"Tourists will come to Sabah and Sarawak because they know they can find the orang utan in Sepilok or Kinabatangan where there is a unique range of eco-tourism attractions.

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Well ok, this wasn't quite "Stagnetti's Revenge" guys, but maybe the closest thing we've got here in Malaysian Borneo: lots of hot chicks swinging from the rigging on a classic yacht !!?!!

As you can see it was beautiful day to be sailing in the South China Sea... the skies blue azure, sun shining bright... too strong maybe, for even our local Borneans were left with reddish-pink noses at the end of this rather lovely day of sailing, diving, eating and drinking... The yacht in question is Borneo Tall Ships' very own classic yacht Raja Laut (www.rajalaut.com) which is currently berthed in Sutera Harbour, Kota Kinabalu - her "home town marina"...

Borneo is Raja Laut's birthplace, her spiritual home. The classic gaff schooner was built on these shores.... and with it a dream of exploring the magnificent cruising grounds of Southeast Asia!..

The clue is right there in the name "Born(eo)"! ☺ True to this name Borneo is the birthplace of lots of inspiring, impossibly romantic, sometimes very real adventures...
a conclusion the writer Joseph Conrad must have come to having traced the paths to Borneo many times both as a sailor and novelist...

The great writer did more than any other to make Borneo legend, and we like to think of the journey from the Andaman sea to Borneo, and then onto Bali as "Conrad's Passage"!

For much of the world, and for Conrad in particular, interest in Borneo began with the "White Rajah" of Sarawak - Englishman James Brooke, who sailed from Singapore, armed with a 100ft schooner called the "Royalist" (not unlike the Raja Laut itself), and an inheritance, to take on the feared headhunters and pirates of Borneo, claim the Kingdom of Sarawak and found a dynasty that lasted from 1860 to 1940.

But these are stories for another time. Today, the nearest thing you're going to find to a pirate in Malaysian Borneo are the pirated DVD makers me thinks.

Embarking at Sutera, we headed out to Pulau Sapi, the smallest island in the marine park but also the most popular because it is well sheltered by the bigger Pulau Gaya. Arriving near the Sapi-Gaya channel this crazed dreadlocked pirate on Ed's boat got his grappling hook on us... but it only turned out to be international travel photographer Suchen - plug time ! (www.suchen.com)

Six of us elected to go for a dive, and Raja Laut's lovely PADI Dive Instructor got us all setup with new scuba gear for the yacht's dive store, so all we had to do is slap some sun cream on and get into the tender.

Here's Narvin demonstrating a nice backward roll out of Raja Laut's diving RIB. Thats Gav going the other way (as usual).

Unfortunately no whalesharks were spotted (April is whaleshark season in Sabah) but we were pleasantly surprised by how the dive turned out: good visibility, healthy coral, and lots of fish, some rays, a moray eel, several species of nudibranchs which are always a welcome find...

After the dive we returned to the yacht for some lunch, prepared by Raja Laut's very own gourmet chef, weighed anchor and set sail around the north of Pulau Gaya.

We stopped again in Gayana Bay for some wakeboarding in the bay's flat calm waters, and some kayaking too.. Its a 2-seater kayak but evidently Mr Aping wasn't going to let that stop him from joining in..

As the sunset we entered the old port and ended the cruise at the Waterfront in downtown Kota Kinabalu, anchored right in front of Bar Su, using the RIB to go ashore we had Pizza ordered from Toscani's to be brought over to the Raja Laut...

The sunset really was out of this world and we have the pictures to prove (thanks Suchen! - plug ! - www.suchen.com)...

A little champagne for starters... Well, I reckon it just doesn't get any better than this...

I think Gavin was thinking the same thing... Looks like he probably had a few too many though...

For more information on the Raja Laut visit www.rajalaut.com + or download by clicking on this link

Central and regional governments in Malaysia recognize the importance attached to conserving their natural resources, not just in light of increasing revenue gained through reef-based tourism but also as a sustainable livelihood for subsistence fishers and the commercial fishing industry. Coral reef fisheries in recent years have been estimated to contribute approximately 25% of total annual marine fish production in Malaysia. In Sabah six marine parks have been established all of which have no take zones, these are:

• The Pulau Tiga Marine Park, a beautiful island between Labuan to the south and Kota Kinabalu.
• The Tunuk Abdul Rahman Marine Park, located adjacent to Kota Kinabalu.
• Turtle Islands Marine Park, a group of islands seaward of Sandakan renowned for their year round turtle nesting.
• Tun Sakaran Marine Park, encompassing many islands off Semporna.
• The Sugud Islands Marine Conservation Area (SIMCA), including the notorious resort and diving destination, Lankayan.
• Sipadan Island, the infamous diving destination.

Most of the coral reefs on Sabah's West coast described in Famous Dive Locations are known to locals and tourists, the only known exception being a submerged reef lying approximately 30km directly out from Kota Kinabalu, known to local fishermen it has yet to be dived. Coral Reefs on the North and East coasts of Sabah however are largely unexplored, with the exception of a handful of places described in Famous Dive Locations. On the North coast there exists a multitude of tropical islands, large and small, stretching between Pulau Balambangan and Pulau Jambongan. On most of these islands freshwater is not available and therefore local settlements, or Kampongs, are sparsely distributed.

Sipadan & her surrounding islands:

On the East coast of Sabah, in the Sulu Sulawesi Sea, lies Pulau Sipadan and her surrounding islands, Pulau Kapalai and Pulau Mabul. This group of protected islands is legendary in dive circles and is ranked in the five top diving destinations in the world. The fantastically shaped islands, surrounded by immaculate white sand beaches, clear turquoise blue seas and fringing reefs provide a variety of dive experiences. The perfect reefs harbor incredible fish, invertebrate and coral biodiversity. At Sipadan huge schools of hammerhead sharks, jacks and spiraling barracuda can be seen over the 700 meter drop offs, the topography also offers caverns and coral gardens. Two species of turtle are very common at Sipadan, green and hawksbill turtles and encounters with manta rays, grey reef, white tip and leopard sharks and if you're very lucky, thresher and whale sharks, all add to the excitement. Pulau Mabul and Kapalai, don't offer the jaw dropping topography of Sipadan however the diversity of marco animals is incredible, and the shallow waters make Mabul and Kapalai excellent snorkeling spots too, much of the marcofauna here is yet be classified and new species are constantly being discovered!