A Scuba Diving Farewell Tour of Malaysia's Best

Unfortunately all good things must come to and end and so does our scuba diving adventure in South East Asia….. for the time being. So, what better way to bow out from Malaysia than to take in some of the best diving that it has to offer in the country and also the region - and that is exactly what we did. Having stayed at Kapalai several times recently we opted to go somewhere different this time and start our trip off at the legendary Scuba Junkie resort on Mabul island. However, as this was a farewell we decided that it would be appropriate to take in more than just one location and thus we also opted to stay at the slightly lesser known Mataking Island resort, also located just off of Semporna.

Scuba Junkie Mabul Resort

First stop then, Mabul Island and a stay at Scuba Junkie. One of the main reasons we had wanted to stay there was on a number of the times we had dived on Sipadan Island we had overheard one of the Scuba Junkie dive guides talking to his clients - he sounded like a Scuba version of Jeremy Clarkson, the well known British TV personality (without the obnoxiousness!), and thought it would be great for a slight change of scenery and to mix it up a little bit! We went through the now well practiced ritual of travelling to Semporna; flying into Tawau airport and then transferring via bus to the port. It was a little odd this time as the Scuba Junkie check in was in a different location in the town but we made it and soon we were on the short boat ride from the mainland to the Island. As we approached we could see a lot of plastic litter surrounding the resort - our guides mentioned that this was a result of COVID and that there were less people available to help clean up. It was a sad reminder of the toll, not just human, the pandemic has had, certainly in remote locations.

We collected our gear off of the boat and took the short walk to the check in area of the resort - first impressions were good, well maintained, nice presentable cabins. It was staffed by an assortment of international staff, a rarity in Malaysian dive resorts these days and were immediately made to feel welcome. Once we had put of gear away in our room we were met by our guide for the next couple of days, an Australian lady called Peggy as we’d opted to take our PADI deep diver speciality as well - another tick in the box to be able to obtain the PADI Master Scuba Diver certification (I already had Nitrox, PPB & underwater photographer)

Getting ready to dive!

Our first day of diving consisted of two dives as we were going deeper than normal along with some theory as well. I always find the diving theory sections super interesting - call me strange but I like to understand what is happening to my body as I dip beneath the surface into a different world. The first dive was at Kapalai Rock where we went to a maximum depth of 25m - although not super deep it was still deeper than usual and we were able to observe how we used up more air than we would at shallower depths. The dive was still pretty interesting as we saw a few turtles, colourful Nudibranchs and a Robust Ghost Pipefish too. After we surfaced the boat picked us up and we took the short trip back to the resort for some warm drinks, snacks and get ready for the second dive. After an hour’s interval we got kitted up, where we headed to the Cleaning Station at Kapalai . On this dive, we only went down to 21 m - but it was still enjoyable. I was pretty pleased that our air consumption was good and we managed over an hour on the dive. As we were doing the deep diver course and were still a little tired from travelling yesterday we only did two dives and thus were able to retire to the bar on the jetty and watch the world go by. It’s one of the things that I really love about this resort - the ability to have a beer watching others come in and go out and watch the sunset too. What a great feature! That evening we eat at the restaurant - another of the highlights here is the food - while not as flashy as some of the other resorts and certainly not as much choice it was still spectacular considering you’re on an island and left us feeling nice and full which is just what you want after a day of diving.

The next day we woke up to a glorious morning and proceeded to grab breakfast and get ready - after a briefing from Peggy we got suited & booted and headed to the boat. Our first dive of the day was at a site called Lobster Wall - I vividly remember doing this dive the first time I visited Mabul, back in 2017 and this site blowing my mind. However, due to rising sea temperatures and recent storms there was sadly a lot of damage and bleaching to the beautiful corals which made my heart cry a little during the dive. With a heavy heart we went to a max depth of 35m on the third deep dive and practiced breathing off of a Pony Bottle - my buoyancy was off a little at the start of the dive due to the bottle but I was soon able to adjust. After the pony bottle breathing exercise we simulated an 8 minute deco stop and still managed to last just over an hour - our air consumption was still pretty decent despite the depth. Due to the depth we took an extended surface interval, around 4 hours until the next dive - where we headed back to Lobster Wall again (This site had the deepest areas for doing the speciality). This time there was a bit of current, something I enjoy as you can be lazy and just drift with it and went to a max depth of 36m. This time as we didn’t need to use the pony bottle we were able to enjoy it and take in the scenery and little critters. Despite the site having deteriorated it still managed to serve up quite a bit, even one of my favourite little creatures the hairy, but beautiful Orangutang Crab (Once you see the picture you’ll understand why they are named so). After the dive ended (another 60 minute plus dive) we headed back and got ready for the evening with a fantastic dinner and a few drinks in the bar before retiring to bed to recuperate for the next day. It felt good to finish the day having completed our deep diver course and could then relax the next couple of days and really just enjoy the diving!

The next day was spent just diving in and around Mabul & Kapalai, enjoying a few relaxed macro dives - looking for the small stuff - its just so abundant around here. You don’t have to be an eagle eyed spotter to see some really cool stuff - colourful Nudibranchs are everywhere and if you know where to look you’ll find no end of cool small stuff from bubble coral shrimp, Orangutan Crabs, tiny pipefish and all manor of other exciting stuff - even chances to see turtles and eagle rays if you’re luck too! The day seemed to blur into one really as the dives were super easy and chilled, the crew were awesome and we were looking forward to the night dive that evening. I love night diving, the reef seems to come alive and you see a different side to how everything interacts! We dropped in just off of the jetty at the resort, a site called Siu Siu and it was fantastic - the reef really comes alive at night and were treated to a whole host of creatures - Nudi’s, Spiny Cuttlefish, Peacock Mantis Shrimp, Coral Pipefish, Starry Dragonets, Yellow Boxfish. I had a great time - the yellow boxfish was a particular highlight for me as I was using a snoot while also trying to control my buoyancy just by the jetty in a bit of swell - I was particularly happy with the result! After cleaning away post the night dive we grabbed our evening meal and headed to the main bar above the restaurant for a couple of beers with the other guests and then hit the hay - we didn’t want to be too late as tomorrow we were diving at Sipadan which meant an early start.

Yellow Boxfish

Sipadan days are always special and this one was pretty special as it was likely to be our last day of diving at Sipadan before we left Malaysia - I never like to say never, there are always possibilities of diving somewhere again, but this would certainly be the last time for a long time - with the rising sea temperatures and degradation of the site that we had seen over just a few years (corals, shark populations etc) I hope I am wrong, but I just don’t think the site will be able to retain its glory with all the challenges it has. I hope I am wrong. There is a certain ritual for Sipadan, getting up early, heading there watching the sun rise, queuing up on the jetting to register (although this time the jetty had been damaged by strong winds and a storm so we registered on the beach) and diving, diving, diving!

The first dive we did was at South Point - currently home to the large school of resident Jacks and the best place with a chance to see something large - we rolled in and saw the jacks from a distance but due to the current couldn’t get close. Having seen the decline in the whitetip reef shark population I was on the look out for them - I saw one but was sad to see that it looked quite scrawny and ill, unfortunately I didn’t see another one. I also was annoyed as my video light leaked and stopped working on the dive (a complete write off - humidity and the pandemic destroyed the seals) We did see some other cool life on the dive, a Napoleon Wrasse, Grey Reef Sharks, Turtles but I felt sad inside for most of it due to the condition of the whitetip reef shark - I really hope the population recovers but another reason to be fearful for the health of the ecosystem here. After a surface interval of an hour and a half listening to the stories of the dive guides and making sure the next site was clear of large groups we went to the world famous Barracuda point - home to the schooling barracuda which give it its name which we saw straight away - we drifted on down to turtle rock which was featured in the famous BBC documentary “Blue Planet” . This give gave me slightly more optimism for the future of Sipadan, but I still had a feeling that Sipadan’s best days are behind it - I came away from it feeling slightly deflated and hollow - I dont know if I have dived the island too much and expect too much from it. Our final dive of the day was at the Hanging Garden were we were on the lookout for a Scalloped Hammerhead Shark - we swam out into the blue for a while - it can feel very disorientating at times, but didn’t see one - perhaps there were too many of us and scared them off. We came back to the wall and saw the most about of turtles I have ever seen on one dive - there must have been over 100 - seriously, they were everywhere. If I took one thing away from this trip to Sipadan, it is that the turtle population here is incredibly healthy and that was a positive note to end things on! Afterwards we headed back to the resort where we spent the rest of the day cleaning up equipment and packing up before getting the boat back to Semporna where we had an overnight stay.

Semporna can be a but of a strange town at the best of times, but this time the incredible poverty caused but the COVID-19 pandemic was on display and made us feel very edgy and sad. A group of young children begging on the roadside really caught our attention - it made me feel incredibly guilty inside. To ease my conscience I donated to a charity later on but I still feel sick at myself for not doing more. We stayed for just one night before getting the boat out the a new Island the next day called Mataking. It’s always nice to go somewhere new and were also were meeting friends as well so our spirits were definitely lifted after the previous night. The journey out to the island took around one hour, it was calm, the sun was shining and we were also going to be spending Christmas here as well so it had a slightly festive feel to it all (Well, as much as it can feel festive in 30 C heat/humidity and sunshine!)

Mataking Island

Once we arrived we were bowled over by how beautiful the resort and island was! It really was a tropical paradise - after being shown to our rooms we quickly met up with our friends and walked around the island - we even found a little bar at the other end of the resort where we managed a sneaky afternoon bottle of bubbly between the four of us in celebration of the next few days! Being the avid diver that I am, I also headed to the dive centre to book up our dives for the next day. The island has a reputation as being another macro paradise which was great for us.

The next day I headed out for three dives - the first being at a site called Bohey Dulang, around a 20 minute boat ride and apparantly a hidden gem. We dived into the water and were pleasantly surprised that it lived up to its reputation! I became slightly obsessed with searching for Orangutan crabs and found lots at the site - I find these little crabs quite beautiful and amazing to look at - they really do live up to their name as they look like mini Orangutans! The dive lasted around 50 minutes but felt like a lot longer as I was enjoying myself so much! The second dive was actually at Mataking itself and we drifted along the wall at Lobster Lair seeing all manner of cool reef animals such as Nudi, shrimp, blue spotted stingray and even a leaf scorpionfish hidden in among the corals - I do have to admit I am quite partial to these guys - they look so cool! The days final dive was again around Mataking itself and called Pistols Paradise - the site was less of a wall than the previous one but still quite cool - we saw lots of Nudibranchs, an Octopus and Cuttlefish too which made for a nice end to the day. As it was Christmas eve I was happy to finish diving, get a nice warm shower and meet up with our friends who weren’t diving to grab a nice evening meal and a few cold beers which were well earned!

Happy Christmas!

I’ve always wanted to go Scuba Diving on Christmas day and today was the day I got to make my wish come true and in some style with a total of four dives! We started off at the Garden of Eden dive site which was wide-open with lots and lots of soft coral - a real contrast from the sites the previous day. One of our friends joined us on this dive - her first in a while. She was a little nervous but it was not a partially deep dive - around 15m I loved the soft coral, it was really beautiful - unfortunately I had my camera set up for Macro so was unable to take pictures of it and show how beautiful it was - all shades of pink. After this great start to the day my friends decided that this was enough diving on Christmas Day for them (Only one hardcore idiot here!) and decided to chill out on the beach instead and left me to finish off the diving - next site was Humphead Point - a little disappointing in comparison to the others - still it wasn’t too shabby. I finished off the day at Frogfish Farm, hoping to see the eponymous critter but was unfortunately out of luck. I did still see some Orangutan Crabs, Nudis and bubble coral shrimp though which was pretty cool.

An Orangutan Crab hiding out in some bubble coral

After finishing off diving, there was time for one last little mini dive - quickly jumping into the water to get a quick underwater selfie wearing a Christmas hat! I know, it’s a bit tacky, but I really could not resist. The temperature had dropped a little bit and it was a bit silty underneath so it came out a little green, but that really didn’t matter too much at all. Having done this I cleared away my gear for the final time, rinsed it down and left it to dry knowing I would be packing it up for the last time on this trip and quite possibly the last time for quite a while - it felt sad to be doing this - scuba diving has become a large part of my life and opened up so much for me - a greater love of the ocean and all that lives below the surface, especially for sharks and the plight that they face. It gave me a new love of photography, I made new friends as well. I hope I will still be able to dive, probably not with as much regularity, but I can hope to still get a fair few dives in each year and see some new sites that I haven’t dived before.

The next day we checked out of the resort and headed back to Semporna - we were treated to a pod of Dolphins on the way back jumping out of the water - a nice way to sign off the trip. Once back on the mainland we checked into a somewhat downtrodden hotel and met up for drinks in the evening with a couple of friends who had been diving in the area as well. The next day we said “farewell” to Semporna & Malaysian Borneo and headed back to Kuala Lumpur. Hopefully, “au revoir” rather than goodbye. I really recommend both Scuba Junkie and Mataking for those wishing to dive in this region. Mataking was great as was a little bit out of the way and not as crowded as Mabul can get. The diving in this area is great, especially the macro - I can’t wait for some new diving adventures - please do check back and keep reading!