the reefs of Sipadan are less colorful than elsewhere in Southeast Asia. This is possibly due to the restricted visibility in the shallows (often of pea-soup quality) but also to far less aggregations of fairy basslets and other small fry. However, sponges are there in various shapes, especially enormous barrel sponges.
We find the dive spots live up to their names: White Tip Avenue, Turtle Patch, Staghorn Crest, Lobster Lair and Hanging Gardens (for soft corals).
Since 2005, when Sabah National Parks made huge efforts to protect the area, fish numbers have remained relatively stable and large numbers of fish are seen on most dives around Sipadan. There are no longer resorts based on the island. Divers must either stay at neighboring Mabul or the Kapalai Islands which are home to most of the upmarket dive resorts that offer trips to the park. For those on a tighter budget, accommodation is available in the cheaper area of Semporna and day boats also leave the harbor from there for day dive trips to Sipadan.
These sweetlips are accompanied by a swarm of tiny glassfish.
Diving in the Sipadan area is strictly regulated and operated on a permit basis. Only 120 divers per day are allowed to the island and dives must take place between 6am and 4pm. No night diving is permitted. Due to the limited number of permits available per day, booking in advance is essential. Permits are sold to operators who then, in turn, allocate them to guests. It is not recommended to arrive in the area without a prior booking. It may be that if you can wait around for a few days an operator may be able to free up a pass for you but it could take longer. In peak season, it may not be possible at all.
South Point On one trip we saw a school of 50 hammerhead sharks at South Point, a solid wall of barracudas stretching over 10 meters high, almost motionless in the current and relatively undisturbed by the gazes of fellow divers, and several dozen bumphead parrotfish in a herd, lazing just under the surface in dappled sunlight. These highlights require a touch of luck. But on every one of our 18 dives we saw green turtles—up to a dozen in a single dive—along with reef white tip sharks and always a fair variety of reef fishes.
Water bungalow-style accommodation gives guests direct access to the water for snorkeling at any time and certainly makes it easy to check the tides!
Barracuda Point There is one good reason to dive this spot—barracuda. Time after time they turn up in their hundreds, a shoal that turns the water into a glinting wall of fish. There are also sharks accompanying almost every dive, along with a shoal of bumphead parrotfish.
Hanging Gardens Coral lovers will be in awe at this beautiful dive spot. The soft corals hang like dripping wax from candles in a profusion of colors that can hardly be matched elsewhere. We have rarely had good visibility here (diving in the morning without sunlight is not the best) but the beauty of the sights compensates.
Schooling anthias are often found around hard coral heads in Sipadan.
Turtle Cave is one of Sipadan’s most famed sites.
Turtles While you tend to become blasé about green turtles, this is the one guaranteed highlight on Sipadan. It is claimed that these waters have the largest turtle population found anywhere. Just swimming close to one is thrilling. Or watching them tearing and chewing a chunk of soft coral. And almost nothing disturbs a mating pair, not even other males climbing on top hoping to get in on the action.
TURTLE FACTS
A large population of green turtles (Chelonia mydas) call Sipadan home. Their name comes not so much from their overall color, an olive brown, as from their greenish fat. We saw some of these turtles on every dive, with an occasional individual close to the species’ maximum size (140 kg) and a carapace length of over 1 meter. Turtles are one of the main reasons for Sipadan’s popularity.
The animals are almost exclusively vegetarian, feeding on sea grasses, algae, occasionally sponges and soft corals. While they are protected on Sipadan, elsewhere green turtles are killed for their meat, hide and oil. Turtles take their time copulating, and because of this some believe the eggs can increase male potency, especially if the first three of any batch are eaten raw. The slow rate at which turtles mature combined with low infant survival rates and pressures from illegal egg hunting and poaching have led to a general worldwide decline in their numbers.
Schooling fish are another reason for diving Sipadan. Barracuda and South Point are particularly good in this respect and we sometimes drifted down through four good-sized schools at the start of the dive. Anemones and their guest fish can be spotted on almost every dive, along with hefty sized solitary barracuda (usually in the shallows) and an occasional imperturbable crocodilefish, alias long-snout flathead. Moorish idols, often in pairs, usually accompany every dive.
DIVING BASICS
Sipadan diving is not for everyone. Currents are often present and shift during the course of a dive. At Barracuda Point, in particular, there is often 2 knots of current heading away from the reef and downward. There are relatively easy dive spots, but we found the most interesting were also the ones with the strongest current: Barracuda and South Point.
Sipadan Island lies not far but in splendid isolation from the continental shelf. While it is only some 12 km to Mabul Island on the edge of the shallow Sigitan reefs, the ocean plunges to almost 1,000 meters before rising abruptly.
The 15-hectare island, with its lush vegetation and white sand beaches, is but the tip of a marine outcrop. To walk the surrounding beach would take around 30 minutes, and there is much nature to observe along the shoreline.
The pier at Pulau Sipadan where most tourists arrive.
On the north east coast, where the reef top extends less than 10 meters from the shore, the turquoise waters abruptly turn dark blue at the edge of a vertical wall. Elsewhere, the shallow reef extends as an irregular fringe, over 500 meters off South Point. A dozen or so dive spots dot the edge of the reef, all above vertical walls.
The discovery of Sipadan only goes back to 1984. While on a commercial job on a nearby grounded ship, Borneo Divers checked out the island and liked very much what they saw. After obtaining all the necessary permits, the company started bringing clients to the island in 1985. Divers were initially put up in tents until a small resort was constructed. Following this, two more resorts opened up in the same area. However, the three resorts were only open until 2005 when Sabah Parks recognized the need to protect and conserve an area of such outstanding natural beauty. Since 2005, the resorts have been closed and staying on the island is not permitted, and diving is restricted in order to allow the area to continue to flourish.
Mabul Island has crystal clear waters surrounding its picturesque pier.
Prior to 2005, the island received a boost at international level when Jacques Cousteau spent several weeks there to shoot his film, Ghost of the Sea Turtles. While Cousteau claimed the discovery of Turtle Cave, he and his team were allegedly taken there
