Borneo Adventures

Borneo's Three R's - Read Them, Learn Them, Live Them.

Last year was a bad year for Sabah. The dodgy security situation over there brought a lifetime's worth of the wrong kind of attention to a proud state. And Sabah's tourism industry was just shifting into high gear...

In a show of typical Sabahan resilience, the state has pulled itself up by the bootstraps. And now, with the security situation sorted, this not-so-remote corner of negaraku has come up with an impressive new range of ecotourism attractions - Sabah's speciality. Attractions which complement the already rich choice of available 'stuff-to-do'.

Reef

Sabah and Sipadan are synonymous to many scuba divers. But there ARE other places in Sabah where the diving is just as good and much closer to KK. An absolute gem of a place is a smattering of islands called Mantanani.

To get there, it's a 2.5 hour van/boat trip. This cluster of three islands is home to an isolated Bajau fishing community, thousands of magnificent frigate birds that swirl in the cool of dusk, and a small, cosy dive resort which can cater to just 18 people.

Mantanani is a premier diving destination just waiting to happen. Why? Well, for one, some of the most pristine reefs in all of SE Asia can be found here, and only 10% of them have been explored so far!

Secondly, the University of Sarawak did a study of where the healthiest diversity of marine life can be found in East Malaysia, and the top three sites were Sipadan, Layang-Layang and - surprise! - Mantanani.

Thirdly, while Sipadan and Layang-Layang are tiny unremarkable scraps of land, Mantanani boasts caves and trails just waiting to be explored by foot or bike (there are no roads on these islands). The colourful Bajau fishing village is a 45 min. walk away through a rambling coconut plantation.

Finally, and perhaps most intriguingly, the finest World War Two shipwrecks in Malaysian waters lie within diving range. This will get your adrenaline going if nothing else will: It is thought that there are at least six huge wrecks in these waters - but only two have been dived so far!

The ones the Dive Resort brings its divers to are only now being documented by wreck divers of the British Royal Navy. But anyone with a PADI Advanced Open Water certificate may dive there. In the coming months, recce dives by the Mantanani Resort dive masters will be conducted on two more wrecks, some are so untouched that they still have ammo clips in their machinegun turrets...

While the reefs are among the best in Asia, sharks are noticeably absent. The reason, Gilly - the charming and extremely knowledgeable dive operator at the resort - explains, is that until recently, all the Bajau fished for were the lucrative sharks' fins, an unfortunate delicacy among the Chinese.

According to WildAid, and environmental pressure group, about 100 million sharks are killed worldwide every year in a trade that it likens to the scandal of the slaughter of elephants for their ivory.

The fins themselves are dried and often command prices of up to RM650 per kilo. Apparently, there is no scientific evidence whatsoever to back up claims that the fins possess any beneficial medicinal qualities, though here in SE Asia, sharkfin soup is as much about prestige as anything.

That said, the reefs around here are simply PACKED with a kaleidoscope of marine life that will leave you with visual overload. And leave it to Gilly to make a casual dive holiday into an exciting aquatic adventure. The day starts with pre-breakfast, followed by the first of three daily dives. Come back for hot breakfast and a stroll along the beach.

Second dive is at 11AM, back for lunch, nap; third dive at 3PM and back for a snack attack. As the resort is pleasantly TV-free, the lazy late afternoons are whiled away playing volleyball, paddling canoes among the half dozen resident green turtles, chatting to the ever-obliging Gilly about what amazing stuff you've just seen, or just sitting in front of your veranda staring out at the mesmerising vastness of the sea.