Nekton

First brought to the attention of recreational divers through the televised exploits of Jacques Cousteau during the 1980's, Sipadan is a small speck of an island located approximately 30 kms offshore from the Eastern Malaysian province of Sabah, on the island of Borneo.

Capped by lush jungle and fringed by white sandy beaches, the small island sits atop a limestone pinnacle rising 650-metres above the floor of the Sulawesi Sea. Easily walked around in just 20 minutes, Sipadan has, despite its size, risen to international prominence because of the quality of the diving and the proliferation of exotic marine life found there, notably turtles.

Mabul, practically a carbon copy of Sipadan geographically, offers a totally different diving experience. While Sipadan boasts pelagics such as barracuda, trevally and an abundance of turtles, Mabul presents the most amazing array of unusual critters you could ever hope to see: Frog fish, Leaf fish, Sea horses, Pipefish, nudibranchs and much, much more. The islands are about a 20 minute boat ride apart - longer if the seas are rough! - and both offer visitors a choice of two or three resorts. We were staying at the Sipadan Water Villlage, on Mabul.

Getting there is half the fun

From Sydney, both Qantas and Malaysia Airlines offer direct services to Kuala Lumpur, (a flying time of approximately eight hours depending on the prevailing winds). Following a four-hour wait in Kuala Lumpur, we boarded a connecting flight to Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Sabah, courtesy of Malaysian Airlines.

We were staying in KK (Kota Kinabalu) to attend a friends wedding, but depending on your point of origin it's not such a bad idea to at least overnight in order to recharge the batteries for the next leg. KK is not particularly 'kind to the eye', but if you are up to climbing Mount Kinabalu, (the highest peak in East Malaysia) or catching up with an Orang-Utan then plan some time there. Also shop-aholics will appreciate the great bargains to be had on Batik items in the shopping centres. There appear to be Sales on everything, and the marked price on the item is just the starting point.

From KK it's a short 45-minute flight to Tawau, on the South East coast of Sabah. Malaysian Airlines have 5 flights a day and both the outgoing and return flights were full. We were met at Tawau airport by the represen-
tative from Sipadan Water Village and escorted to a mini bus for the next leg of our journey,   a drive of approx-
imately one hour, along a good sealed road flanked by lots of palm trees, to the coastal port of Semporna. From there we would travel by boat to our final   destination   -   Sipadan   Water Village on the Island of Mabul. (Yes! Sipadan Water Village is actually on Mabul, not on Sipadan!).

Sipadan Water Village, (or SWV   to those in the know!) has an office in Semporna, at the jetty directly opp-

opposite the boat's departure point, and guests are offered the use of the 'facilities' before the final leg. (My advice? Go have a 'wash'!) Depending on conditions, the boat journey to the island takes about 40-minutes. 'Lady Diana', our vessel, was a fibreglass boat that could seat about 10 people comfortably. There is, however, limited enclosed area; so if it's raining be prepared to get wet. Maybe that's what the crates of towels were for?

On arrival we were greeted by resort representatives and given a briefing on the resort; it was brief too! After filling in various forms, we t hen had 30 minutes to unpack, shower, change and get down to the Dive Centre for our check out dives.
The Dive Centre is well laid out with separate areas for almost everything. We were issued with lockers and keys and given the usual disclaimer to read. By this time we were suffering key overload as we already had the room key and the safety deposit key. Having been told to make sure that our room was kept locked, we were
beginning to wonder if security on the resort may be a problem?

We sat through the extensive briefing on what to do and what not to do, waiting to hear about the marine life and the types of dives we would be doing. Unfortunately it never happened! Off on a voyage of discovery, I guess!

Sipadan Water Village Resort
SWV is everything that the brochures portray - except for the oilrig! (But more of that later.) The resort is beautifully constructed in a Bajau architectural design. The island is also home to groups of Bajau fishermen who have built their traditional palm thatched houses on the beach adjacent to the resort. The entire resort is built over water on stilts. Individual rooms provide a reasonable amount of privacy and all have views of the water. We were lucky enough to have a room looking out over endless ocean, (except for oilrig glimpses!) where we spent many evenings watching the sun set and being entertained by turtles snorting as they came up for air. (Yes! I'm sure they were turtles!)

The Dive Centre Staff were   Malaysian   and Japanese    and   were apparently very know-
ledgeable   about   the types of marine life to be found around both Mabul and Sipadan. However,   very   little information was forth-
coming and we ended up relying on the large selection of reference material   available   at the resort.

The first dive was to be our check out dive, just off the front of the resort   known as Paradise 1.

My buddy was told he didn't have to do a checkout dive because he was a Course Director! However, not being able to dive on his own, he tagged along anyway, (minus his video which he wasn't able to bring on a checkout dive, nor me my camera). There are obviously rules for everything here!

The weather the previous week had been bad and the underwater visibility was disappointingly low and not representative of the usual conditions. Nevertheless, I was amazed at the variety of unusual sea life. Everywhere that I looked there was something weird to see - particularly when I was doing my partial mask clear and fin pivot! If only I had my camera with me! Ghost pipefish, Snake Eels, Weedy Filefish, jawfish, leaf fish, pipefish galore and others I have yet to identify.

The rooms have most of the expected amenities, including tea and coffee making facilities. Although there's no air-conditioning, which is no problem for me as my sinuses obviously have an allergy to the damn things, the ceiling fans were more than adequate. The mosquitos proved a nuisance, though. The staff came through to spray the room once during our stay. This did make a big difference, but only temporarily, I'm afraid. Take plenty of insect repellent!

All meals are served buffet style in the large, airy dining room. I was hoping for a Malaysian culinary experience but it never really happened. Obviously the resort is trying to cater for all tastes, including European and American and the result was a rather eclectic mix of dishes!

The afternoon boat dive was a short distance off of an adjacent island called Kapalai and again the visibility of between 2-3 metres did restrict our ability to see things. However - and despite this setback - we still saw a very interesting cast!

The dive boats are small but well laid out. Each of the 4 boats can take 12 divers and have twin 115hp engines. Exit is by a backward roll and entry is up a ladder over the side of the boat with or without your gear.

Nightlife
So at the end of our first day there was only one thing to do and that was to head for the bar. At least, I think that it was the bar! There were a few bottles on the on the shelf at the back, but not a barman - nor even another customer - in sight. It took us about ten minutes to get someone to reluctantly pour us a beer.

Unfortunately the nightlife didn't improve. Neither did the resort's gift shop offer more than a minute or two's distraction. Unless, that is, you are a collector of ceramic frogs fishing in a pond, or corn-on-the-cob shaped, corn on the cob holders! But after a full day's diving, early evenings weren't such a bad thing and the entertainment was what we made it, thanks to the duty-free Bombay Saphire gin! Oh, and of course the snorting turtles. Yes, it was definitely the turtle!

In the afternoon we decided to snub the rostered dive and go in search of the illusive Mandarin fish. We were given a rough idea of where he lived from one of the dive guides, although there was no offer to take us there. The dive site is also off the front of the island adjacent to Paradise 1 and, yes, it's called, Paradise 2! After searching for about 30 minutes we were becoming a little frustrated. We knew we were in the right spot but couldn't see the mandarin fish.
I had been staring at a large piece of
mostly dead coral for about 5 minutes
when I saw a flash of iridescent blue,
quick get the camera fired up, get the
video rolling. The mandarin fish, (or
fishes, rather, as there were at least
two) then kept us entertained for the
next   half-an-hour.   You know those
games you   get at fairs?   The ones
where you hit a worm on the head and
it pops up through another hole, well
I'm sure those fish had been to a fair! No sooner had we got the   equipment lined up than the critter appeared on the opposite side of the coral; Mandarin fish 1, us 0. But at least we saw them, even if the photographic evidence isn't up to much.

The oilrig
The next day, at our insistence, we dived on the oilrig. Said oilrig is about 200-metres from Sipadan Water Village and is actually a diving resort in its own right. It looks awful, but underneath it the diving is quite interesting; even if the leaf fish that's, 'always there' was on a day off! The visibility still remained in the 3-4 metres mark but was showing definite signs of improvement. We managed to see nudibranchs galore, along with Scorpion Fish, Barracuda, Flatworms and morays.

Diving
The dive roster for the following day was posted up on the whiteboard. ("I guess that's what we're doing then!")

In the morning we were off to dive Sipadan. The sea was huge and the usual 20-
minute boat ride actually took 40-minutes. But Barracuda Point was worth it. If you like turtles then you will never tire of diving at Sipadan. Everywhere you look there is a turtle and it's very easy to become blas� about seeing them. ("By the way, I stopped counting at 43 turtles during that dive!") One of the rules however is not to touch them or the turtle police ban you from diving for the rest of the day. (I must admit to flaunting that rule later in the week when, at Mabul, we found a turtle that had become caught in an old fishing net. We did the right thing and freed it from its restraints. I think that would have been a reasonable plea.)

Frogfish and other exotic creatures
Our aim on the next day's diving was to see a frogfish. Our dive guide took us directly to a spot where he thought we would see one, at a site called Ribbon, on Mabul. Not only was the frogfish in residence, but in the same frame was a leaf fish. That was definitely worth half an hour of videoing and snapping.

On the following day we went in search of the blue ribbon eel. We found it in all of its forms at Ribbon Valley 2; male, female and juvenile. It was here that we also witnessed an extraordinary 'fight' between two very aggressive stone fish. With jaws clenched, they tossed each other around in short intervals until eventually the victor managed to scare off his opponent.

Irrespective of wether we dived at Sipadan - turtles, pelagics, and sharks - or Mabul - frog fish, pipefish and mandarin fish - every dive that we did was of some considerable note.

Our last dive was a repeat of the first, but this time we were armed with camera and video. We were rewarded with a sighting of the largest frogfish we had seen thus far, black and very photogenic, together with lionfish, trumpet fish, enormous pipe fish, weedy filefish, jaw fish, clown fish, anemone shrimp and leaf fish. 100 minutes has never gone by so quickly!

Climate
Equatorial/tropical. Average temperature   32    degrees,
relative   humidity   85-95%

Water Temperature
28 -30 degrees.

Currency
Ringgit   Malaysia (RM). All
major credit cards accepted.

Time Zone
Local time is GMT +8 hours

Visas
No visas required for Aust-
ralian passport holders.

Highlights
The fish; The accommodation.

Lowlights
The service; The journey.

Janet Clough has been diving since 1991. Originally from the UK it had always been an ambition of hers to learn to dive and see the Great Barrier Reef. Not long after emigrating to Australia in late 1990 she achieved her ambition and has been diving regularly ever since. The introduction of digital photography added a new dimension to her diving last year and she came third in the inaugural digital shoot out in Jervis Bay in September. As the co-owner of Dive Centre Manly and Bondi she has been lucky enough to be able to dive in many different locations around the world. Ask her where her favourite dive site is though and she's likely to name Shelly Beach in Sydney, where she is currently compiling a photographic record of the amazing variety of sea life found there.

You can see some of her photos on: www.divesydney.com