Mabul 2008
During spring 2008 Elaine decided that it would be nice to have another family
dive/snorkel holiday along the same lines as our previous Hari Raya holiday but
to extend the invite to a larger number of families and friends. The news about
the Sipadan permit allocation problems from the Kapalai travelers got some of us
a bit concerned, but in the end we all went ahead.
On Friday 17th October a group of 22 PSAC divers/snorkelers/family members/
amahs congregated in KK with a view to fly to Tawau early next morning. For many
of the travelers it was their first trip to Mabul and Sipadan. Early Saturday
morning we made our way from the hotels to KK airport with the help of Borneo
Divers. We were greeted by the rare sight of mount Kinabalu in a clear blazing
sky (during the monsoon!), as evidenced by the pictures on the web page. A
headcount confirmed that we all made it. The flight to Tawau was uneventful.
Good visibility allowed us to see how Sabah is getting affected by deforestation
and replacement of jungle by palm plantation: a worrisome sight. We took the
Borneo Divers (BD) bus from Tawau to Semporna, completed paperwork and got on
two BD boats. Hazel and Liz got a break off the kids by taking the adult only
boat. Their new ferryboat now has 2 powerful four-stroke engines and very nice
seats. After arrival and welcome by Ramish and re-acquaintance with some old
timers (like Stephen the boatman who used to work in Labuan) we completed the
admin and sorted the rooms and then went for afternoon check dives at Ray Point
and Paradise 2, the house reef. In the evening the boat allocation was published
and it became clear that not all was well with the permit allocation system used
by Sabah Parks or the resident head of park police (?). We had been split up and
some of us were not allocated any dive on Sipadan, and those with a permit had
to stay all day! It was too late to change anything but we promised that we
would take action. Next morning we discussed the permit issue with the dive
coordinator and explained to him that we would organize ourselves to come back
at lunch time (we decided that we would then perhaps modify the looks of some
permit holders over lunch as he could not give us assurances that we would all
get a fair share of Sipadan dives). From that evening onwards we organized
ourselves, BD got us back for lunches at Mabul and we managed to share our
Sipadan diving between ourselves and even 2 Irish girls benefited.
The diving turned out to be great. We had good weather, plenty of barracuda's,
turtles, jacks and giant trevallies and lots of other creatures at the usual
locations on Sipadan. The bumphead parrot fish were out en masse this year
touring the reef. The non-divers all got an opportunity to snorkel at Sipadan
once but they equally enjoyed their snorkeling on the Mabul reefs. Most divers
got to see the entrance to the turtle cave and I ended up acting as a dive
leader on my last day as Tony had a cold and was unable to clear. The pictures
speak for themselves. All in all a great time was had. Between us we managed 106
mandives, of which 67 were on Sipadan. We left Mabul on Wednesday morning all
satisfied with the diving and snorkeling we managed.
However we do have a word of caution. All visitors should be warned that indeed
a dive on/access to Sipadan is not guaranteed anymore. The bigger the resort
and/or the larger the number of guests, the lower the likelihood of getting your
(expected) share of permits on Sipadan, as the Kapalai team can attest.
Unfortunately none of the operators are stating that warning, so there is a
disconnect between their HQ and the dive sites/Sabah Parks HQ/local officers.
While we are not against a limit on the number of day permits (120 day permits
for 4 dives on Sipadan), we object to the randomness of the permit allocation
system and the fact that the newly appointed park police head does not allow
sharing of the permit between guests for half days. According to our info source
who shall remain unnamed, the head of the park police has ignored the pleas of
operators to be more pragmatic with the permit system. The risk of not getting a
permit is bad enough when you live nearby or in the region, but imagine the
frustration when you travel halway across the globe. Sabah Parks HQ depends on
tourism income from permits etc to fund their operations, so it is sad to see
that some of their staff do not understand the impact of their actions or the
link between their income and popularity of tourists. The head man of the park
service smelled a rat and started using a phone camera to identify a scam with
the permits. Sadly the management by Sabah Parks of this issue means that we
have all decided that we will not return anymore until we get confirmation that
the system has been revised and the current police rep is removed. This may take
a long time. We fear that a lot of the staff in the dive tourism sector in the
Semporna area and even the funding for patrolling may get affected by the
downturn in business. Meantime we have little other option but to look for
alternative locations. KK, Layang Layang, Mantanani, etc, here we come...
The pictures were made by Elaine, Hazel and Liz.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mabul 2007
|
|
Mabul has a reputation as a ‘muck divers’ paradise’! Translated this normally means a low vis. environment enlivened by some of the world’s oddest creatures:- pygmy seahorses, ghost pipefish, flamboyant cuttlefish, blue-ring octopus and the like. This is quite true, however, around the south side of the island, right by the edge of the continental shelf, lie superb drop-offs down to 35 – 40 metres with excellent visibility. It’s far more like Sipadan but without the big pelagics.
There are three resorts on Mabul, two water villages like Kapalai and Borneo Divers onshore. The following description applies to Borneo Divers' Resort. The prices are broadly similar to Kapalai except that we do get a PSAC discount at Kapalai. Mabul don’t charge the Sipadan permit up front, however, they do provide all transfers in KK, so no anxious waiting for taxis at 5.30 am!
|
In summary:
Similar Features (and fairly typical of the region).
Typical Malaysian dive resort food ! Good and friendly dive guides. Friendly staff. Clean and spacious accommodation. Dodgy O-rings on many bottles. Reasonable rental gear. Two Sipadan and one other boat dive per day Internet
|
|
|
One site in front of the resort, 'Old House Reef', is entirely artificial, being constructed from wooden frames, yet it attracts a huge number of juvenile barracuda and jacks. The numerous arrangements of structures can become confusing. A small fishing boat wreck amongst the structures is host to a whole assortment of macro life (see opposite). |
Mabul Pros
|
Mabul Cons
|
Ghost pipefish (Solenostomus paradoxus) and a Giant Frogfish (Antennarius commersonii)
Shona MacDonald snapped the humpback shrimps (Rhynchocinetes durbanensis). |
|
|
Kapalai Pros
|
Kapalai Cons
|
You’ll not be disappointed at either place; they offer Sipadan diving, spacious clean accommodation and great local diving albeit different in character.
Mabul 2006
|
Incidentally, beware of sites called 'stingray city' or the like. It means that in 1997, somebody saw a stingray there - it was lost, and nobody's seen one since!
|
