A day in an underwater wonderland
IWAS lying on the white sandy beach, in between dives, on a tiny island off the east coast of Sabah called Sipadan. It was a nice sunny day in July and there were about 30 to 40 other visitors with me on the beach, mainly divers. After having eaten a light lunch, I decided to soak in the sights of the clear blue sky and a bluer, crystal clear water.
I can assure you that what laid underneath that water was a hundred times more beautiful than what I was seeing here above.
This was the Sipadan I remember vividly from my visit
10 years ago, the one that left me completely spoilt by its pristine beauty and sheer numbers of marine lives. The Sipadan I remember was a magnet for the “big guys” in the sea. As much as I enjoyed getting up close with tiny critters, nothing beats sighting hundred-strong tornadoes of barracudas or being surrounded by large numbers of sharks and turtles on every single dive.
Almost everything I loved about diving was right here. For those not in the know, Sipadan is the only oceanic island in Malaysia which rises 600 metres from the seabed. Located at the heart of the Indo-Pacific basin, it is the centre of one of the richest marine habitats in the world. With only 120 dive permits issued each day, one needs to book weeks, if not months, ahead to guarantee a spot on arrival. With that in mind, I felt extremely privileged to be here and slightly regretful for not having returned sooner.
DIVE 1: THE SWIRLING BARRACUDA
Words can’t express how extremely pleased I was to learn that Barracuda Point was our first stop. I absolutely loved this dive site the first time around! It is said that a trip to Sipadan is incomplete without at least one dive in this site.
Not long after our descent, a large school of chevron barracudas entertained us with their spiral show that was really mind-blowing, I didn’t want it to end. Occasionally, my heart skipped upon seeing reef sharks cruising by in the blue. Oh, what a sight! This was by far the best spot I have dived in, ever.
DIVE 2: THE EERIE TURTLE TOMB
After our breakfast and second safety briefing, we headed out to the closest dive site from the beach, the “Drop Off”. Only 20m from the beach, the water depth drops from knee-high to 600m deep. Nestled along the near-vertical wall were vibrant corals, reef fishes and nudibranchs of various shapes and colours.
What intrigued me the most about this site was the existence of a limestone cave system that apparently housed turtle skeletons. We didn’t explore the cave as it required a special licence but imagine the creepiness I felt as we hovered around its entrance!
DIVE 3: THE SILVERY SCHOOL OF JACKFISH
Another highlight of the day was my encounter with gigantic swarms of bigeyed jackfish on our third dive. There were so many of them that they formed an impenetrable barrier to sunlight. I did a 360-degree turn and all I saw were hundreds of fish eyes staring at me. What an incredible feeling to literally be in the middle of a fish tornado! It was like a scene from a National Geographic TVshow turning into my very own reality.
DIVE 4: THE SEARCH FOR HAMMERHEADS
The main aim of our final dive at South Point was to look for hammerhead sharks. At the beginning of our dive, we swam away from the reef into the open sea in the hope of spotting the hammerheads. It dawned on me that I had never experienced this before — to be surrounded by complete nothingness and accompanied only by the sound of my own breathing. My heart pounded faster in anticipation of seeing shadows appearing from the gloom.
Unfortunately, there was not a hammerhead in sight. Shame as it would have been the perfect ending to my trip. Nonetheless, this dive will always be remembered as one where I experienced surreal solitude.
Three weeks have passed since I left Sabah and yet I am still finding it difficult to move on from this trip. Images of sea creatures swimming ever so gracefully in Sipadan’s waters still pop up in my mind from time to time.
It will take one extraordinary destination to top the dives I have logged on this lovely island. Thank you, Sipadan, for the amazing memories. Everything about you is the very reason I dive.