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Sipadan Island, Borneo
allisonfinch - 3/01/2008 4:41 PM
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Category: Travel
Comments: 1
Sipadan Island, BorneoBorneo 2007 I recently had a chance to go to Sipadan Island. It is a place I have always wanted to go. Getting there is quite an ordeal, though. A long flight across the USA, an even longer flight, eventually ending up in Kota Kinabalu (KK), a drive to the port nearest to the dive resort on Mabul Island, An hour boat ride to the Resort and FINALLY you are there.

filefish living in a jellyfish

We stayed at Borneo Divers on Mabul. It is one of the newer resorts since Borneo Divers had to resettle after having to leave their resort on Sipadan.It is very comfortable and well appointed. The landscaping is new so it hasn`t grown to be as lush as the SMART Resort, a short distance away. The employeesturtle belly The real reason to go to Sipadan is the turtles. They are always there and, at certain times, mating is going on. You will see dozens of turtles on any given dive. Often they will be snoozing with their heads shoved under a ledge.

The "muck" diving off Mabul Island and Kopalai Island is woonderful. Frogfish, pygmy seahorses, and large schools of fish are ever present. I saw some HUGE potatoe cod right under the Water Village Resort.

After diving there, we went back to the mainland and toured the Orangutan reserve. I went on a night walk and saw a couple of the beautiful deadly green vipers that live there.

viper

I highly recommend heading there. Even though Sipadan is a little overdived, there is more and more control being exercised on limiting the crowds there. It is still one of the premier sites in the world.

Comments

DiverDave310 - 3/12/2008 1:00 AM
Really nice photos. I hear that Sipidan is really popular with Japanese divers. While you were there diving, did you get a sense that the area was crowded? Sipidan has been a place I would love to dive, however, I would hate to take that long trip and have to deal with crowds. Thanks for the great shots.