|
Malaysia is fast becoming one of the leading dive destinations of the world with one of the richest marine environments in the Indo-Pacific Basin. The incredible bio-diversity of marine life, coupled with beautiful islands, white sandy beaches and clear warm waters, keeps divers coming back for more.
From schooling Hammerhead Sharks, to huge schools of barracudas and various species of turtles to the bizarre Frogfish and Ghost Pipefish, there is always something to fascinate the diver.
In Malaysia, the coral reef eco-system supports more that 50 generas of coral and more that 200 species of fish. It is not an exaggeration to say that almost every time a marine bio-diversity survey is conducted in Malaysia's tropical seas, the species list increases!
Dive centers in Malaysia are well equipped and are certified by all the internationally recognized dive agencies like PADI, SSI and SSAC for maintaining their standards of safety and professionalism. Naturally, all scuba diving courses in Malaysian waters are also endorsed by these certifying agencies.
Comprising Peninsular Malaysia in the west and the states of Sabah and Sarawak in East Malaysia, Malaysia rests on the continental shelf of South-east Asia, the two halves separated by the South China Sea.
The west coast of Peninsula Malaysia is separated from Indonesia's island of Sumatra by the Straits of Malacca. Along the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia, the diversity of marine life around the waters of Pulau Pangkor and Pulau Payar are quite different from those off the eastern coast of the Peninsular Malaysia, in the South China Sea. Pulau Perhentian, Pulau Lang Tengah, Pulau Redang, Pulau Kapas, Pulau Tenggol and Pulau Tioman all lie a short boat ride off the Peninsula's coast in the South China Sea and feature good coral growth and abundant fish life.
Surrounded by the nutrient-rich South China Sea and the Sulawesi Sea, the state of Sabah plums to true oceanic depths of 600m-1000m, different from the shallower waters of Peninsular Malaysia's islands.
Located some 300km from Kota Kinabalu, Sabah's capital, Layang-Layang Island is blessed with the best water visibility, from 20m-50m.
The Tunku Abdul Rahman Park Islands, just off Sabah's capital of Kota Kinabalu, are popular for training and easy dives. On the other end of the spectrum, you should be an advanced diver to fully savor Sipadan Island Lankayan, Mabul and Kapalai are famous for their ‘muck dives' (diving in the coral rubble and sandy patches looking for macro animals).
Pulau Talang and Turtle Rock off Sarawak feature reef diving, and further away from the mainland, divers can do some very good wreck diving on the Katori Maru (a World War II Japanese troop carrier).
|
