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Article #381: Dive Sites At Sipadan Island

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Reputably one of the best diving spots in Within these chambers lie the remains of
the world, the uniqueness of Sipadan hawksbill and green turtles that have
Island lies in its geographic makeup. lost their way in the caves and
Lying on top of a volcanic seamount, subsequently drowned. Visibility is low
Sipadan Island is the only oceanic island in the far reaches of the caves, which is
in Malaysia. As this volcano rises why only advanced divers should enter the
steeply over 1600 feet from the seabed, cavern. Accompaniment of a local diving
many of the dive sites here consist of master is necessary when venturing into
steep walls or drop-offs. In addition, this maze of interconnecting tunnels.
the entire reef area of 513 acres As one of Sipadan's most treasured sites,
functions as the habitat for soft and Barracuda Point is where schools of
hard corals, as well as home to over 3000 barracudas and jacks swirl around as the
species of fish. Hawksbill and green strong currents here bring food to their
turtles are common in Sipadan. In fact, midst. Of course, the large volume of
it is not surprising for divers meet to fish also attracts the presence of Grey
70 turtles on each dive! Reef Sharks and the Hammerheads. Here, it
Due to the size of the island, dive sites is common for divers to drop down lower
around Sipadan are close to one another. along the wall. However, the northern
Altogether, there are 11 marked dive point of this site should be avoided as
sites around Sipadan: strong currents here may bring divers
The Drop-Off is the most popular dive further away from the island.
site here and has won the island the Best The highlight of the Sipadan Midreef Dive
Beach Dive Award in the world. Located would probably be the strong currents
just 20 feet from the beach, the sea that drift divers north or south from
water turns indigo blue as the depth of their start points. As they scale along
the sea drops steeply to a staggering the wall, throngs of marine life such as
2800 feet. The circling tornado of triggerfish, unicorn fish, hawk fish and
barracuda or jacks typically found in gobies are visible here. At times, divers
brochures, books or magazines are easily may even be pushed upwards by the
visible overhead when a diver enters the current, only to be stopped by hard flat
water. Corals and sponges growing at the corals at the top of the reef.
side of the wall attract small reef Other dive sites in Sipadan include the
fishes. White tip sharks and green Coral Garden, the Hanging Gardens and the
turtles are also amongst the creatures Staghorn Crest, perfect locations for
living along the cliff. This is also a underwater photography due the unique
popular location for night dives, as topography and the abundance of colorful
shrimps and crabs can be seen peering out marine life. On the other hand, the South
from the crevices along the wall at Point and Whitetip Avenue dive sites are
night. great locations to observe the rarer
Next up is the Turtle Cavern, with the shark species such as the Whitetip Reef
entrance located about 65 feet below the Sharks and the Hammerheads.
surface.






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