Tag Archives: snorkelling

Mantanani Island

Mermaid Island – Mantanani

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I thought all the beautiful island in west coast of Sabah was gone until I met Mantanani Islands (Pulau Mantanani). Sapi and Manukan Islands? They are not even in top 10 most beautiful islands of Sabah (but they were, 30 years ago), and it is funny that most tourists flow to these islands. That would make them think that all islands of Sabah are dirty, polluted and lack of corals. Local divers also expresses their concern about the dwindling corals and fish species in Tunku Abdul Rahman Park. Due to increasing pollution and garbage from the shore (especially Gaya Island), very soon swimming in Sapi Manukan will be same as swimming in toilet bowl.


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Mantanani is fairly accessible (prior booking with travel agent is required). Just drive 1 hour to the jetty of Kampung Kuala Abai in Kota Belud, then take a boat to Mantanani. The boat ride takes 40 to 50 minutes depending on the sea condition. If the weather is bad, they might cancel the trip. Mantanani consists of 3 islands, namely, Mantanani Besar (the biggest) Island, Mantanani Kecil (Kechil) Island and Lingisan Island (smallest). Above is the map to Mantanani. In fact, these islands are so tiny that they are not appear in most Sabah map. I draw the map myself just for you to get an idea, the shape and scale are not accurate, so don’t use it in textbook ye.


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Above is the view of Kg Kuala Abai (Kuala Abai Village) fishing willage. To go to Mantanani, you need to arrange the tour with the island operator prior to the visit. I went 2-day-1-night with Mari Mari Dive Lodge (of Traverse Tours), the sole operator of Mantanani Kecil Island. On Mantanani Besar, there are a few operators such as Mantanani Resort.


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Lucky tourists would see dolphin in the boat ride. They usually follow behind the fishing boats. This is no guarantee and too bad I didn’t see any. Though it was a sunny day, the sea was so choppy that I felt the boat was riding on something rock solid and I got free shower from splashes. After 45 minutes, I arrived the jetty of Mari Mari Dive Lodge (MMDL). MMDL is built 400 Meters away from the shore of Mantanani Kecil. If not, tourists will have to walk extra 400 M from the island to jetty during low tide, which is too shallow for boat to enter. You can walk from MMDL to the island when it is low tide, but watch out for the venomous stonefishes and stingray that can hide really well in the sand. Better way is to snorkel to the island during high tide or ask the boatman to send you there. MMDL is a structure of 3 stilt houses joined together, i.e., a 4-room twin-bed accommodation, a dive lodge and a dining area.


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Manatanani is also known as “Mermaid Island”, due to the presence of an endangered sea cow “dugong / duyung”, which is occasionally found grazing on the sea grass around the island. Sighting is rare and the most recent sighting was reported last month. Taking beautiful photos of Mantanani is so easy, coz everything is like a picture, the blue sky, crystal clear sea and white sandy beach… The visibility of the water can reach 20 Meters, so clean that as if it is drinkable.


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Though very few Sabahans know about Mantanani, many tourists from Europe, Hong Kong, China, Japan and Korea had discovered this pristine island by words of mouth. You would be impressed if you see the photos. FYI, the dark patches under the sea are rocks and corals, in case you misunderstand they are something dirty.

The photo above is Lingisan Island, which is named after frigate birds that fly around there in the evening. Lingisan is very small and nobody lives on it. The big island behind it is Mantanani Besar. Personally I call it “flower pot” island coz of its round shape and dense vegetation on top. I was so curious what was inside its cave.


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Before I came, I was not too excited about this trip coz I heard about the fish bombing activity in Mantanani, thinking that it was a degraded island. However, what I saw in snorkelling and diving was a huge number of corals like an underwater garden. Since the setup of a police base on Mantanani Besar, the fish bombing is greatly reduced. Some fishing boats like to come here to fish. There are over 15 dive sites in Mantanani, more adventurous divers can try out muck diving and wreck diving. You would see turtles, bumphead parrot fish, big stingray, giant clam, moray and eagle eel, nudibranch, finger corals and many other marine life.

The underwater current is quite strong under the sea. Instead of fighting it, divers can use the current as an “escalator”, go with the flow to “glide” above the corals. In one of the dives, my dive group was swept to 1.5 KM away within an hour! The boat man took nearly an hour to locate us. Honestly, I was quite pissed, but forgot it soon.


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Besides the sandy beach, Mantanani Kecil has a nice view behind. You can walk to a small cliff behind the island and enjoy a bird view of its rocky shore (see photo above). The sea under the cliff looks deep and rough, so it is meant for watching only. There are only a few MMDL workers live on Mantanani Kecil, and they look after the power generators and water supply on this island. All communication is cut off on Mantanani Kecil, so no need to worry about phone call from your office. Kayaking is allowed if the sea is calm.


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Mantanani Besar is a few KM away from Mantanani Kecil and mainly resided by local fishermen. The people there are very friendly and I saw some youngsters were playing volley ball in the evening. I visited there briefly to buy something, as there is no shop on Mantanani Kecil and Lingisan. Sadly, Mantanani Besar didn’t give me a good impression coz I saw rubbish everywhere on the beach. There were many cows wandering along the beach but too bad they were not the sea cow that I was looking for.


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After the shopping, I toured around the islands and checked out the other side of Mantanani Besar. It is a rocky shore with interesting mushroom rock formation, probably the collaborative work of wind and water over years. I climbed onto the rock and walked around. The surface was slippery, rough and sharp, so I moved carefully with naked feet. Do visit this when you come to Mantanani.


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Lingisan Island is the one I most eager to check out because of its big cave. A closer look reveals that it is not a deep cave and its bottom only submerges a few feet under the water during high tide. The staff told us that only swiftlets and bats live inside, and the owner comes to collect edible bird nest from the cave sometimes. It is a small but very unique island.


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Sunset was approaching and we returned to MMDL. Everything was painted with gold color. Jesus light came out at north, later I had to call it a day. Most tourists only opt for day trip so most of them had left around 3:30pm. Unlike honeymoon couple who can make baby at night, I got nothing to do. But hey, this is a holiday, so I shouldn’t do anything right? Living in city for too long, I was not used to leaving my brain stops thinking for a moment.


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Whole day of water sports already made me so tired. Surprisingly, Mantanani is supplied with 24-hour of pleasing sea breeze, so I don’t feel warm even in hot afternoon. I even slept a while on the veranda, just to enjoy the gentle wind, sound of ocean and freedom. The next morning I waked up very early to take sunrise photos and was rewarded by magnificent view of Mt. Kinabalu.


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Hopefully government will gazette Mantanani as a National Park, so we could preserve its beauty and marine ecology for future generations to enjoy. There aren’t many pristine islands left in Sabah west coast.

However, with weak enforcement of Sabah government, who recently denied the presence of illegal coral mining that destroyed tons of coral reef in Tawau and release of effluents into Segaliud River by oil palm mills nearby, I am not so optimistic about our conservation.

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Mantanani Besar Island

Photos taken off Kota Belud, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Maliagin Islands

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Not all the beautiful islands are at Semporna. The sea off Kudat (northern tip of Sabah) has a few nice islands that are not listed on tourism map. Maliagin Islands are also known as Molleangan Islands. Actually Maliagin Islands consist of two islands, i.e., Maliagin Besar and Maliagin Kecil (Besar=Big, Kecil=Small).


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There is no ferry going to these 2 islands, so I followed the boat of WWF to get there. WWF has some conservation projects on these islands, to recover the corals and to educate the local fishing community not to employ destructive fishing methods such as fish bombing and cyanide (poison) fishing, which are same as killing the geese that lays gold eggs.

The fishermen are staying in Maliagin Besar, and the smaller Maliagin Kecil Island has no resident. Electricity and pipe water are not available on the island, so they use the water from a well. Other than these, I think they live in a vacation spot. The sea is so crystal clean and the sand of the beach is powderly white.


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The fishermen are Bajau people, but their houses are built on land, unlike the Sea Bajau who live at East Coast and build stilt houses on the water. One thing I found unique is their graveyard is still outside their houses. You know most cultures want the graves stay far away from the residential area. Probably Bajau has very different attitude towards death.

Excited about this discovery, I walked around the graves to get some photos. Then I saw a small stone next to my feet. Oh sh*t, I was standing on a grave! Quickly I moved aside. I have been hearing scary stories about people being harassed by the spirits coz they offended the thing slept under the soil. Luckily that night was a peaceful one. Looking at my photo album, you would notice that the tombs come in different shapes and size. In fact this gives us some information about the gender, age and status of the deceased.


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Later we moved on to nearby Maliagin Kecil Island, which is such a tiny spot on the map. Its shore is rocky, in contrast to the sandy shore of Maliagin Besar. You have to walk carefully in the water coz the rock is slippery and covered with a layer of brown algae, sometimes with sea urchins hiding between them.


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Since there is no people living here, all the coconuts on the island are free for us to enjoy, provided that you have to skill to pluck them high on the tree. Fortunately, the very kind boatmen helped to do the job. Despite the hot surrounding, the coconut juice is cold and it tastes like carbonated drink. It was such a wonderful trip, but the travelogue doesn’t end here. The following days I experienced something more interesting and will share with you later.

Photos taken in Kudat, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo

Kapalai Island

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Everything seemed so perfect when I first met Kapalai Island. I don’t what words to use to describe this beautiful and dreamy destination, so it doesn’t sound like an advertisement, which always lies. May be I will just let my photos speak. By boat, Kapalai Island is about 40 minutes away from Semporna town. It is near to Mabul and Sipadan Islands, the world-class diving sites of Sabah.

200 years ago, Kapalai Island was once a “true” island before it was eroded by the sea. What leaves today is only a stretch of sand bar, which will disappear during high tide, thereby giving it another name “magic island.” I enjoy every moment of staying there.

Below is a “summary” of why I love Kapalai so much:

1. Crystal clear water

The sea water is so clean that you can see the bottom clearly even it is deeper than 10 feet. From my photos, you will see some “dark spots” in the water. Those are the corals and sea weed, the sign of rich underwater life. I better explain this coz some foreigners, who never go to sea, would think it is “dirty” stuff. Since this place is so far away from main land, it is also far from air and noise pollution.


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2. Fishes everywhere, some look delicious

Just look down from the boardwalk. But probably what would amaze you the most are large number of starfishes around the resort. They are so plentiful that they have become a feature here, making the water looks like the sky in the sea.


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Below is a 1-min video of snorkeling in Kapalai:

And you also don’t need to dive deep to see stingray, tiger fish, angel fish… At night you will see them wandering under the light of the jetty and chalets. I even saw a sea turtle passing by.


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3. Meal time

Food is plentiful too, in buffet style. Unlike the restaurants in town, in here seaview is the music, sea breeze is the air-con, sunset is the candle.


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Personally I like the opening in the dining hall, where you can see the fishes below.


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4. Spacious chalet

Very big room, as big as a house, even for 3 guests. You can open all the windows, so you can see the sea when you are on the bed.


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There is a small group of soldiers stationed on the island. They are not there for vacation, but to protect the tourists. I saw them only in late night. Well, it is not that our place is not safe. Consider in any part of the world, there are always politic extremists from other countries, who look for easy target. The presence of armed force nearby will be an added security though we would never use them. At least I could sleep soundly.


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You even can see sea turtles grazing seagrass just next to your chalet, as shown in video below:

5. Water Sport

Don’t you want to jump into its sea water at this point? Yes, you can do snorkeling, swimming, diving and kayaking all day long if you like to. They also have a dive centre on the island. I dived in the Mandarin Valley, about 17 Metres in depth and near to the resort. I saw flamboyant cuttlefish, eel, tiger fish, stone fish and many other macro sea life that I can’t name. Too bad I don’t have an underwater camera, otherwise can show you more. Tell me if you got any good bargain / suggestion for such camera.


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Overall, it is a 5-star experience and I wish to stay longer. Just check out my photos for more.

Sorry for not updating my blog for nearly 2 months. I was extremely busy on a project. I’m sorry that I couldn’t respond to the poke, hug, water bomb… from the Facebook. But if you drop me an e-mail, I will definitely reply.

Photos taken in Kapalai Island, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo