Sipadan

Borneo Divers, April 1995, Janice Dong, Los Gatos, CA. "The police took 50 workers away, leaving only a skeleton crew to take care of maximum occupancy of Japanese. . . . Huge schools of barracuda, bumphead parrot fish; always turtles and sharks. Vis dropped to poor as high tide came up on the steps of the huts. Huts simple but acceptable. Food simple and repetitive until Austrian TV came to film - then there was lobster!. . . . Every morning we could walk around the island at 6:00 AM and find a turtle stuck on the beach (until high tide covered the beach.) Watched unloading of fuel for boats and generators. Cans were dragged through the water leaving an oil film. Too many people there for such a small island!"

Borneo Divers, June 1995, Jim Overfield, Pacific Palisades, CA. "Best diving in 50 years. Water 85 F., 100 ft. vis, dozens of turtles, swimming, mating or laying eggs, often under our cabin. Thousands of Jacks within arms length, hundreds of big barracuda within a few feet, big tuna, 4 ft bumphead parrot fish by the dozens, whitetip sharks, lionfish, multitude of colorful little fish in the shallows. Mostly drift diving with a divemaster. Comfortable fast dive boats, well appointed. Good dive shop and storage. Three tanks/day, night dives unlimited. Five to ten minutes to spots from beach entry. Excellent food, buffet style, adequate accommodations, but plumbing facilities are centralized and a short walk. Staff very good, friendly. . . . Twenty-three hours on airplane, plus bus and boat ride. Follow on trip to Borneo to see orangutans, proboscis monkeys, then to Malaysian Peninsula, Kuala Lumper, Mallaca and Singapore. Rain forest jungle, high rise cities. A marvelous trip."

Borneo Divers/Sipadan Diving Resort, June 1996, Gerard Kelly, Katy, TX. "Short trips, beautiful walls, plenty of fish, turtles every dive, sharks 90% of dives, butterfly fish, angels, bumpheads, nudibranchs, leaf fish, occasional leopard shark, beautiful lush coral in shallows. 35 dives, limited to 50 min. on boat dives - follow the divemaster. Big Boo when you have 1300­1500 psi left. Fifteen yards from dive shop to water, 20 yds to wall in front of resort. For boat dives suit up at dive shop, then walk to water and climb aboard. . . . Food excellent and plentiful but you had better like Chinese cuisine. Three resorts on island - too many. Vis poor all week - thermoclines. Strong currents on some dives with groups going in different direction at different depths. $2690 from Houston + breakfast + $50 tip + gas and parking. Malaysian Airlines the best I have flown."

Borneo Divers, July 1995, Abdul Khathlan, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. "New 400 h.p. boat picks guests up at Semporna and delivers them in one hour. Basic but clean rooms. Check out dive within one hour of arrival. Average vis in 10 days was 50 feet; never exceeded 70 feet. Turtles, sharks, bat fish, jacks, barracudas, lump-head parrots. Shallows (20 ft) are lush, with very healthy corals, full of colorful fish. Dive staff extremely helpful and always prepared my gear and carried my bulky camera to and from boat. 5 dives per day. . . . All meals buffet: oriental, Chinese-Malay-Philippine. Food plentiful and varied, lots of fresh fish, prawns at least once a day, and fresh fruit. Air and water mid-80's. Several short-lived rains."

Borneo Divers, October 1995, Jerry Chudacoff, Torrance, CA. "All shore and boat diving outstanding. Dive staff helpful. Living accommodations very rustic, adequate. Food outstanding. Most marine life I have ever experienced (including Fiji, Caimans, Cozumel); vis only 30­50 feet most of the time."

Borneo Divers/Sipadan Resort, December 1995, Marilyn Koukol, Japan. "Wall a minute from shore. 4­15 turtles every dive (5 years ago, 40+ turtles on every dive, due to buildup of resorts/huts on the tiny island which impacts turtle nesting. Large bumphead parrotfish nestled into the rock crevices in the evening. Small white-tipped reef sharks on most dives; abundant butterflies, angels, wrasses, triggers, snappers, some large trevalies. Sea fans add color to the walls, sponges varied the contours. Turtle tombs or Cavern - must be cave certified or bring a log book with documented wreck dives to go on this guided dive.) Food good and plentiful. Community shared bathroom/shower was fine, cold showers. . . . Also dived Labuan, Malaysia. Vis was 10­20 ft.; surface current so strong that one diver could not manage it. Cement Wreck recent so coral growth was limited; Decided not to dive one day due to pouring rain, red clay colored seas, and rough waves - no refund by Borneo Divers because it was part of a package. Visit orangutans in Seiplok and Proboscis Monkeys near Sandakar. Stay at Old Ben's Lodge on the river!"

Borneo Divers, January 1996, Jay Donnelly, Montvale, NJ. "Done much to improve accommodations; new huts and no rats. Food same, consistent, repetitive. Dive operation first-rate. If you are experienced and you have a dive computer - dive your own profile. Beach diving wall still great but showing signs of diver damage. Staff is great from arrangements to transfers. All in all, I think twice is enough. vis: 50­75 ft., water: 78°­81°"

Borneo Divers, June 1996, Debbi Wetzel, Satons River, VT. "Good snorkeling. Amount and diversity of fish life amazing. Huge tuna. Bumphead parrots, turtles, sharks, schools of fish. Night dive with no light to see flashlight fish. Spiritual! Went to Mabul for macro: nudibranchs, razor fish, free swimming crinoids . Water 85°. Turtle laid eggs under our room! Rooms ok. Like scuba camp! Clean place to sleep and trees for shade. Food good. Plentiful. Coffee, juice, water, P.B.J. toast 24 hrs. Staff safety conscious. Boats small enough for group bonding, staff helpful. . . . Trip to Orangutan preserve worth it. Booked thru Ken Kenizick , Island Dreams. Buy book by Michael Wong: Sipadan . Squirrel problem solved. Saw none and only one cockroach."

Borneo Divers, June 1996, Paul J. Weisbroat, NY, NY. "Thirty-five to forty hours of planes and airports (not including overnight) from East Coast. Dove 5 times daily. Compares with most live-aboards. Great variety of life, multiple leaf fish, hawkfish, too many turtles to count, sharks, barracudas, flamboyant cuttlefish, frogfish. Ask for Mabul for morning dive - lots of critters and great macro. vis: 20­60 ft. water: 70°­78°. Food tasty, fresh, plentiful. Great divemasters and boatmen."

Sipidan Dive Centre, October 1995, Stan Watt, Japan. "Second stay; facilities improved. Most rooms have separate shower and bathroom. Diving excellent, some deterioration in coral. Staff average. Sipidan enforcing new depth/time rules, night diving regulations, etc. 45 minute dive length is too short. Vis good, lots of particles in the water."

Sipadan Water Village, May 1996, Art and Carol Murray, La Jolla, CA. "On neighboring Mabul Island (15­20 min. boat ride) is a new facility built over the reef with great food, hot water, even shampoo in the showers. We are snorkelers and the resort sent us over to Sipadan every day in our own boat. We could have beach access or boat and ladder on outer areas of the reef. Saw more varieties of fish in one day than in many trips to the South Pacific. Lionfish, clown triggers, angels and wrasse, sweetlips, barracudas, shark, jacks, turtles-you name it! Dive facility efficient and modern-everything up-to-date. The divemasters are considerate, knowledgeable, fluent in English and Japanese (Most of the clientele are Japanese). water:80°­85°."

Other Malaysia

Pro Dive, July 1995, N.K. Tong, Kuala, Malaysia. "On the mainland in Merang, north of Kuala Trenggann. Good access to islands such as Redang and Perhentian. Fast boats, 28 ft. catamaran (9 ft. wide) with twin 150 hp engines - 30 knots. Max. 12 divers, 20 sites, 15­40 minutes away. Vis: 30­50 ft., water: 84°.". . . Island resorts tend not to send you to outlying dive sites and don't have as nice boats. Tenggorak (skull) and Rusa (deer) have great sea fans, tons of small tropicals. Rusa has schools of stingrays in the sand at 40 ft. Better accommodations on the mainland, better restaurants. Good service. Two-tank dive trips, with night dive options. Good service. Lunch on the boat could be much improved. Some of the best diving in Malaysia after Sipadan."

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