LIVEABOARD DIVING IN Sipadan

Sipadan is recognized as one of the best diving destinations in Malaysia as well as the world. Sipadan is located off the east coast of Sabah and lies on the north-eastern corner of Borneo. Rising from a depth in excess of 600m/2000ft nearly vertically to the surface with a small island on top of it, Sipadan is a heaven for marine life. It is well known as a hotspot of biodiversity with over 3,000 species of fish and hundreds of species of corals found in its immediate area. It’s not uncommon to see more than twenty turtles on a single dive. Lots of sharks can be seen patrolling the walls while angelfish, triggerfish, morays and gobies can be seen around the reef. There are also plenty of big fish encounters like barracudas, large schools of trevally and marauding humphead parrotfish. This is one of the big fish capitals of the world. Sipadan Island’s unique geography makes it a perfect place to reach a number of excellent dive sites. Besides many reef sharks found at the White-Tip Avenue site and the abundance of soft corals at the Hanging Gardens, Sipadan’s most notable sites are the Sipadan Jetty, Turtle Cavern, Barracuda Point, South Point and Mid-Reef. Barracuda Point, with its depth range of 5-40m/16-131ft, is perhaps the best dive site of all. Swarms of barracudas can often be spotted darkening out the sun while schooling jacks and giant humphead parrotfish are also regular sights. At South Point hundreds of hammerheads and very rare thresher sharks often patrol at 40m/131ft depth, while the Drop Off offers a great view down the 600m/2000ft wall, where schools of fish, such as jacks and barracudas, and a wide variety of corals and sponges can be found. Turtle Cavern is for experienced cave divers. It presents an eerie site of a 200m/656ft long cave system with a large number of turtle skeletons that belonged to turtles who got lost in the cave while looking for a place to rest.