Page 285 - Westport Guide To Malaysia

THE GUIDE TO MALAYSIA 277
Exotic marine life such as the tiny pigmy seahorse (Hyppocampus bargibanti) can be found in the soft corals adorning reef walls off Sipadan Island.
more adventurous dive opportunities. The Miri- Sibuti Coral Reefs National Park in Sarawak offers shore-based diving from Miri over pristine patch reefs, as well as some interesting wrecks. The Kuching area has some easy reef dives and a few wrecks.
The islands off southeast Sabah offer world-class wall and ‘muck’ diving at
Green, leatherback and hawksbill turtles come ashore to lay eggs along the Malaysian coast every year.
Mataking, Kapalai, Mabul and of course Sipadan, which regularly features in global ‘top ten’ dive site lists. North of Sandakan, tiny Pulau Lankayan features reef and wreck diving. Layang Layang,
in the South China Sea 300km north of Kota Kinabalu, has deep dives of up to 130ft (40m) as well as large pelagic species, notably hammerhead and whale sharks. All these sites feature tremendous biodiversity, whether it
is reef fish and macro
species or huge schools of pelagic fish.
Learn To Dive
Learning to dive in Malaysia is easy and
safe because water conditions are almost always favourable, 26-30 degrees Celsius all year with good underwater visibility. Major dive certification agencies such as CMAS, PADI, NAUI and SSI are represented at the various dive centres and resorts, providing a wide range of quality training and certification. MSDA (Malaysia Scuba Diving Association) promote the dive industry in Malaysia, while MSAC (Malayan Sub Aqua Club), Malaysia’s longest established dive organisation (60 years
old in 2019), represents Malaysia within CMAS (World Underwater Federation) and issues CMAS international certification.
Divers drift effortlessly along Sipadan Island’s reef walls, enjoying the abundance of corals and other marine life.
All set for a day of reef exploration on Pulau Kapas, Terengganu.