BORNEO DIVING

A twin bed room at Mabul

Rooms at Mabul are twin bedded, and have hot showers, private toilet facilities and ceiling fans. It is possible to go snorkelling directly from the verandah of your cottage.

The restaurant at Sipadan Water Village

Mabul itself, is a coral island surrounded by gentle sloping reefs with depths from 3 to 35 metres and also a wall, housing numerous species of hard corals. The marine life is unique and offers an insight into the ecology of the smaller marine inhabitants of the reef not usually seen on nearby Sipadan. There are eight popular dive spots on Mabul - each offering its own speciality. The two islands - Mabul and Sipadan - are combined to provide a total diving experience.

Mabul also has beautiful white sandy beaches (as opposed to Sipadan's gravelly beach), and snorkelling along the edge of the reef is excellent.

Favourite dive spots in Mabul include:

• Paradise
  
  

  Great for viewing Cuttle fish, Mandarin fish, Pyjama fish, Crab eye gobies, Frog fish and Ghost Pipe fish.


 



• Eel Garden
  
  

  Home to the eels (what else?) and also Gobies.


 



• Ribbon Valley 1
  
  

  Look out for the Ribbon eels and larger frog fish (12-15 cm)


 



• Ribbon Valley 2 and 3
  
  

  Great leaf fish and Ghost pipe fish.


 



• Old Reef House

  A Colourful Nudibranch

  
  
  Many Frog fish and Nudibranchs


 



• Yoshi Point
  
  

  Excellent for Gobies and a special kind of seahorse.


 



• Kapali
  
  

  Famous for Blue spotted sting rays and Nudibranchs.


 



• Second Wall Rocks
  
  

  A Large Brain Coral

  A drop of about 45 metres and home to the Hawk fish. At the bottom large Cods are found in sizes from 50 kg to 200 kg.




A model itinerary for a stay at Mabul would be:



Day 1 Depart Kota Kinabalu for Tawau, then transfer by bus to Semporna, about 1.5 hours away. From Semporna, proceed by speed boat to Mabul Island. (about 30 minutes). Under normal circumstances, you will have checked in by about 11.00 hrs. You will then be taken on an "Orientation dive". After lunch, you will go on your first boat dive at one of the Mabul dive spots.



Day 2 After breakfast, head off to Sipadan, where you will have 2 boat dives during the morning before returning to Mabul for lunch. In the afternoon, you can have a boat dive and a self dive at Paradise Point on Mabul.



Day 3 Spend the morning doing two boat dives on Mabul. After lunch, head over to Sipadan to do a boat dive and a beach dive at the drop off point. Return to Mabul in the early evening.



Day 4 Depart Mabul by boat at 06.30 hrs for Semporna, then proceed to Tawau by bus. You will then transfer to your flight to Kota Kinabalu, or perhaps some other part of Eastern Sabah.



Night dives are also possible at Mabul, but subject to weather conditions.


Rates for Mabul include:


return transfer from Tawau airport to Mabul Island by bus and boat,

3 meals per day and accommodation,

3 boat dives per day and unlimited shore dives. Weights, weight belts and tanks, as well as coffee tea and snacks are also included for the length of the stay.



Thanks to Mabul Sipadan Water Village  for assistance in compiling the above information.

Photographs and map courtesy of Mabul Sipadan Water Village and Pulau Sipadan Resort and Tours Sdn. Bhd.