Sipadan diving

You don't get to stay on Sipadan Island anymore, these days diving is conducted by fast boat from Mabul and Kapoli even though  I have dived Sipadan for a number of years, while this is a shame - it was an absolutely necessary decision.

The landing jetty is located in shallow water, the end of the jetty ends on the edge of deep water, a diver can step off the end of the jetty into 660 metres of water. Although, I have never seen anyone step off the jetty for a dive.

Palau Sipadan, the legendary dive site was rated in Jacques Cousteau's top ten dive sites of the world. This magnificent island is well managed by the Malaysian government allowing a biodiversity unrivaled in the region.

Hanging out on Sipadan Island between dives, is reasonably fun, you don't goo too far away. After a bite to eat and a drink, a swim is a pretty good activity in the shallow waters surrounding the island - a short swim to the edge to look over the drop-off.

Lazing on the beach between dives, this would have to be one of the best surface intervals I have had. Spending ten days up in Sabah, we resided at Kapoli taking fast boats to Sipadan Island, my favourite was the early morning dives.

I chose the early morning dive heading out in the dark to hit the water just as the sun was rising to search for hammerhead sharks. Returning to Kapoli for breakfast, a further two dives around the island before the final dives around Kapoli.