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Introduction
The late Jacques Cousteau, the world-renowned
oceanographer, described Sipadan Island
as ‘an untouched piece of art’,
while divers around the world voted it as
one of the top five dive sites in the world.
Malaysia’s
only oceanic island, it is very small –
only 12ha. in size. A 25-minute walk is
all that is required to circle the island
on foot. As an oceanic island, it rises
about 700 metres from the sea floor, attracting
diverse marine life from the blackness of
the open sea. Surrounded by crystal clear
waters, this crown jewel is a treasure trove
of some of the most amazing marine animals.
Declared
a bird sanctuary in 1933 by the Colonial
Government of North Borneo and re-gazetted
in 1963 by the Malaysian Government, the
dense vegetation on Sipadan Island supports
a large variety of tropical birds which
include sea eagles, kingfishers, sunbirds,
starlings and wood pigeons. Exotic crustaceans
including the amazing coconut crab roam
the beaches and scurry among the undergrowth.
When
diving here, encounters with turtles, resident
schools of jacks, bumphead parrotfish and
barracudas are almost assured around the
tiny coral island
How
to get there
By Air
The jump off point to Sipadan Island is
Kota Kinabalu or Tawau.
By
Car
Continue the journey by a 1-hour drive to
Semporna town.
By
Sea
A 30-minute speedboat will take you to Mabul,
which is the jump off point for Sipadan
Island explorations
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