Sabah diving (borneo)

I just spent 10 days on the Reef Dive Resort which is northeast of
Sipadan about 1.5 hours by boat. The resort was awesome. The folks that
worked there were nice and the rooms were fine. The food was absolutely
perfect. The cost was about $115 a day US and that includes everything.
Included in that cost was a bcd and regulator and weight belt.

The best part was the diving. I did 32 dives in ten days and would have
done more had I brought a dive buddy. The resort is on Pulau Mataking
and there are 6 close islands with many reefs and for a little extra
they'll take you to Sipadan. Diving in the morning at Sipadan sucks
because you hear huge explosions that originate about 12 km away for
what they call fish bombing... an illegal form of fish harvesting. The
explosions were terrifying to say the least.

I also visited a live aboard dive boat called Celebes Explorer. I'm
going to try it someday as the people were very nice on it.

chilly wrote:
> "Bill Fright" <billfright@austin.rr.com> wrote in message
> news:95JWd.45706$SQ4.26785@fe1.texas.rr.com...
>
>>I just spent 10 days on the Reef Dive Resort which is northeast of
>>Sipadan about 1.5 hours by boat. The resort was awesome. The folks that
>>worked there were nice and the rooms were fine. The food was absolutely
>>perfect. The cost was about $115 a day US and that includes everything.
>>Included in that cost was a bcd and regulator and weight belt.
>
>
> How did you get that rate? Also, it appears you did not pay single
> supplement. Do they allow you to sign up on a willing to share basis and
> thus not be required to pay single supplement? How did the stay and the
> diving compare to staying at Sipadan/Mabul?
>
I flew to Tawau and finished my research of where to stay/dive there. I
was thinking of staying in Tawau or semporna and doing day trips for 3
dives a day and decided against it because of all the boat time
necessary. I walked into the Reefs office in Tawau and was quoted the
above rate (this includes 7th day free. It was a little slow and they
did not require the supplement.
Clearly Sipadan is the best diving around. Sipadan has massive walls
that attract mantas and there are also plenty of sharks, barracuda and
turtles around. However I was quite happy with the 26 locations we dove
on mataking and surrounding isles. Simply put I'd say Sipadan has more
big stuff and Mataking has more little stuff. Little stuff including
pairs of cuttlefish, octopi, eels and tons of variations in coral.


> Did the resort arrange to pick you up and transfer you from the Tawau
> airport?

As soon as I agreed to stay with them they supplied all transportation.
They dropped me at the airport after I stayed in semporna for a day
waiting to be able to fly.


>
>
>>The best part was the diving. I did 32 dives in ten days and would have
>>done more had I brought a dive buddy. The resort is on Pulau Mataking
>>and there are 6 close islands with many reefs and for a little extra
>>they'll take you to Sipadan. Diving in the morning at Sipadan sucks
>>because you hear huge explosions that originate about 12 km away for
>>what they call fish bombing... an illegal form of fish harvesting. The
>>explosions were terrifying to say the least.
>>
>>I also visited a live aboard dive boat called Celebes Explorer. I'm
>>going to try it someday as the people were very nice on it.
>
>
> Some people that I met last spring whilst staying on Sipadan, followed up
> their days at Sipadan with 5 days on Celebes Explorer. They absolutely
> loved it.
>
>

The big point to this is that Sipadan Island is closed. They let us on
for ten minutes but then kicked everyone off. The Reef resort bought
Manaking island when they closed Sipadan. I checked out the Mabul
resorts and was not very impressed.

bill

"Bill Fright" <billfright@austin.rr.com> wrote in message
news:yUNWd.47197$SQ4.10174@fe1.texas.rr.com...
>
>
> > How did you get that rate? Also, it appears you did not pay single
> > supplement. Do they allow you to sign up on a willing to share basis
and
> > thus not be required to pay single supplement? How did the stay and the
> > diving compare to staying at Sipadan/Mabul?
> >
> I flew to Tawau and finished my research of where to stay/dive there. I
> was thinking of staying in Tawau or semporna and doing day trips for 3
> dives a day and decided against it because of all the boat time
> necessary. I walked into the Reefs office in Tawau and was quoted the
> above rate (this includes 7th day free. It was a little slow and they
> did not require the supplement.

What a luxury to have been in that position.

> Clearly Sipadan is the best diving around. Sipadan has massive walls
> that attract mantas and there are also plenty of sharks, barracuda and
> turtles around.

I'm not clear that it's the best diving around. I certainly enjoyed it and
there was quite a thrill to see the hammerheads and the mantas and there was
lots of other cools stuff, but I'm still not convinced it's "the best diving
around." I particularly enjoyed the diving in Mabul . . .certainly not the
underwater features or corals, but the abundance of small and bizarre life.

>However I was quite happy with the 26 locations we dove
> on mataking and surrounding isles. Simply put I'd say Sipadan has more
> big stuff and Mataking has more little stuff. Little stuff including
> pairs of cuttlefish, octopi, eels and tons of variations in coral.

And that's why I'm asking. The tons of variations in coral, lots of unique
and/or special little stuff sounds good.

> > Did the resort arrange to pick you up and transfer you from the Tawau
> > airport?
>
> As soon as I agreed to stay with them they supplied all transportation.
> They dropped me at the airport after I stayed in semporna for a day
> waiting to be able to fly.

OK, that sounds good. Borneo Divers were awesome that way, I thought.
Picked me up at KK airport, took me to my hotel in KK, picked me up early
the next morning and back to the airport for the flight to Tawau. Then
picked me up again in Tawau, over to their grouping site and then by van to
Semporna, boat to Sipadan and all the same on the return trip. It was all
part of the price, so I was pleased and impressed.

> >
(snip)> >
> >
>
> The big point to this is that Sipadan Island is closed.

Yes, I feel blessed that I had the opportunity to stay there before the
shutdown.

>They let us on
> for ten minutes but then kicked everyone off.

I thought you could snorkel there after your dives? Is the big Borneo
Divers dock/pier still there? I also thought that diver's could/would eat
up on shore. No?

>The Reef resort bought
> Manaking island when they closed Sipadan. I checked out the Mabul
> resorts and was not very impressed.

You mean you actually went to Mabul and looked things over? I thought the
Sipadan Water Village was lovely, but more money than I wanted to spend. I
stayed at Borneo Divers and their new acco was unexpectedly very nice, the
food was great, but their grounds really need some ambiance. Hopefully,
there will be some growth there soon.

I hear some people say good things about SMART on Mabul and the idea of a
pool does appeal to me. I can't always be in the ocean, particularly at
Mabul. Borneo Divers really didn't have an area for shore-diving or
snorkeling, which was a shame.

Have you been to Layang Layang? If so, how does it compare to Mataking?

"Bill Fright" <billfright@austin.rr.com> wrote in message
news:95JWd.45706$SQ4.26785@fe1.texas.rr.com...

> I also visited a live aboard dive boat called Celebes Explorer. I'm going
> to try it someday as the people were very nice on it.

I was onboard for my second time last year and really like the experience.
It isn't the best "boat" out on the oceans, but the crew and service make up
for of the lack. It has 8 cabins so the most divers aboard will be 16, which
is better than the 18 and 20 boat capabilities in many locales. Then the
diving is quite good and if you take the week charter (they used to do 10
days trips but stopped) you dive get from Sipadan to Sibuan, weather
permitting.

Like most liveaboards they provide transfer from Tawau to the Jetty, and
unlike some liveaboards are quite willing to change itinerary if the
conditions and reports indicate another site would be better diving. I
really liked the whole operation. It seemed that the purpose of the trip
wasn't just to take people diving, but to give people the best diving and
onboard experience possible. I compare the CE to Ocean Rover (which I think
is the best liveaboard around) very favorably. It is a sweet operation.

I have booked thru Ken Knezick (his outfit is called Islands Dreams)
www.divetrip.com and Stephen Frink, www.waterhousetours.com both did a good
job for me. Also I have talked to people who booked once they were
in-country, apparently the charter cost was much less doing to that way, but
the boat has become busy lately and that may be more of a risk now than it
used to be.

Having stayed on both Sipadan (as you know, no longer possible) and Mabul in
the past, my preference and recommendation for anyone heading that way is
the Celebes Explorer, though I did think SWV on Mabul was a pretty slick
little resort. In any case with the longest charters being but 7 days, there
is time afterward to visit some of the land based resorts if more diving is
the desire.

rOn Mon, 07 Mar 2005 02:35:28 GMT, the cup of "chilly" <slarson@shaw.canada>
overfloweth with the following:

>
>
> You mean you actually went to Mabul and looked things over? I thought the
> Sipadan Water Village was lovely, but more money than I wanted to spend. I
> stayed at Borneo Divers and their new acco was unexpectedly very nice, the
> food was great, but their grounds really need some ambiance. Hopefully,
> there will be some growth there soon.
>
> I hear some people say good things about SMART on Mabul and the idea of a
> pool does appeal to me. I can't always be in the ocean, particularly at
> Mabul. Borneo Divers really didn't have an area for shore-diving or
> snorkeling, which was a shame.
>

SWV is generally the nicest place to stay at the moment, but as you noticed,
you have to pay for that. I spent a while living at SMART and had a
fantastic time, although it doesn't have the house reef advantage that both
SWV and Borneo Divers have. Having said that they have carts to carry dive
kit over to the other side of the island which makes it more or less
hassle-free if you want some shore diving. I haven't stayed at Borneo Divers
at all, or seen their accomodation, but when I was there I was sickened by
the amount of trash that was being dumped into the water at the end of their
jetty, close to the last pair of mandarinfish - not behaviour that's likely
to get me to stay at their resort. Hopefully they've changed their attitude
over the last few months.

SMART also had big expansion plans while I was there, and were hastily
putting up new huts along the long jetty on the SWV side of the island. I
imagine many of them are usable now, which should give a house reef for them
now. As for the pool at SMART, it's really not very big, so I wouldn't
bother factoring that into any equation about staying there. Nice in theory,
but the sea is much more inviting, and the diving is what we all go for!

Stan

"Daniel Arrepas" <arrepas.daniel@butler-rosebury.com> pounded away at
his keyboard resulting in:
:Like most liveaboards they provide transfer from Tawau to the Jetty, and
:unlike some liveaboards are quite willing to change itinerary if the
:conditions and reports indicate another site would be better diving.

And which liveaboards are not willing to change their itinerary if
conditions suggest that doing so is a good idea?

Dan Bracuk
If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure.

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"G Winstanley" <stan@orange.net> wrote in message
news:r9to2152q09jkcs87qfaejdho05jljbjru@4ax.com...
> rOn Mon, 07 Mar 2005 02:35:28 GMT, the cup of "chilly"
<slarson@shaw.canada>
> overfloweth with the following:
>
>
> SWV is generally the nicest place to stay at the moment, but as you
noticed,
> you have to pay for that. I spent a while living at SMART and had a
> fantastic time, although it doesn't have the house reef advantage that
both
> SWV and Borneo Divers have.

I didn't think that Borneo Divers had a house reef. I guess one could
wander all the way down the pier and haul in there. OTOH, I thought SMART
did have a house reef.

>Having said that they have carts to carry dive
> kit over to the other side of the island which makes it more or less
> hassle-free if you want some shore diving. I haven't stayed at Borneo
Divers
> at all, or seen their accomodation, but when I was there I was sickened by
> the amount of trash that was being dumped into the water at the end of
their
> jetty, close to the last pair of mandarinfish - not behaviour that's
likely
> to get me to stay at their resort. Hopefully they've changed their
attitude
> over the last few months.

I'm happy to say I didn't see such behavior.

> SMART also had big expansion plans while I was there, and were hastily
> putting up new huts along the long jetty on the SWV side of the island. I
> imagine many of them are usable now, which should give a house reef for
them
> now. As for the pool at SMART, it's really not very big, so I wouldn't
> bother factoring that into any equation about staying there. Nice in
theory,
> but the sea is much more inviting, and the diving is what we all go for!

:^) Thanks for the info.

>
> Stan

On Tue, 08 Mar 2005 04:04:51 GMT, the cup of "chilly" <slarson@shaw.canada>
overfloweth with the following:

>
> "G Winstanley" <stan@orange.net> wrote in message
> news:r9to2152q09jkcs87qfaejdho05jljbjru@4ax.com...
> > rOn Mon, 07 Mar 2005 02:35:28 GMT, the cup of "chilly"
> <slarson@shaw.canada>
> > overfloweth with the following:
> >
> >
> > SWV is generally the nicest place to stay at the moment, but as you
> noticed,
> > you have to pay for that. I spent a while living at SMART and had a
> > fantastic time, although it doesn't have the house reef advantage that
> both
> > SWV and Borneo Divers have.
>
> I didn't think that Borneo Divers had a house reef. I guess one could
> wander all the way down the pier and haul in there. OTOH, I thought SMART
> did have a house reef.
>

When I was there BD didn't have exactly have one as the huts had just opened
for business, but they used the reef section at the end of the jetty as
such. SMART had one at the end of the long jetty, but wasn't used nearly as
frequently as SWV house reef, presumably due to the lack of accomodation on
that side at the time. Of course that may have changed a lot now, especially
since Sipadan has finally closed, so progress on Mabul is likely to have
accelerated. To be honest I can't wait to go back there and see what it's
like now, especially as I have a new camera/housing to try out!

Stan

"Dan Bracuk" <NOTbracuk@pathcom.com> wrote in message
news:48np21tesvhm400f51rcmtq89qar39laaj@4ax.com...

> What's wrong with it?

I don't know. You would have to ask the person who stated there was
something "wrong with it".

"Daniel Arrepas" <arrepas.daniel@butler-rosebury.com> pounded away at
his keyboard resulting in:
:There are lots of boats unwilling to burn extra fuel and tire the crew with
:longer runs to better diving if the conditions at the scheduled site are not
:as good as usual. I'm not talking about small changes, but rather
:significant itinerary changes which really improve the diving ops, if the
:scheduled stop is weather beaten or for some other reason something less
:than usual.

We might be on different wavelengths here. I am assuming that the
knowlege of a substandard dive site is gleaned after arriving at it -
possibly during the first dive.

This being the case, there is another factor to consider - time. The
captain has to try to determine whether the passengers would prefer to
do another dive or go for a boat ride. Tough call because the boat
ride does not guarantee an improvement.

My own observations, based on 18 or so liveaboard trips are:
1. The captain monitors the weather and adjusts his planned
intinerary accordingly.

2. Available sites are often limited. Depending on location, the
limitation might be mooring lines, or what is available on the lee
side of the island.

I have never had a captain knowingly take us to a bad dive site.

Dan Bracuk
If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure.

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