Redang Island is home to numerous friendly species of small reef fishes, notably sergeant majors, butterflyfish and silver monos.
There are several decent dive sites amongst the reefs off the northeastern part of the main island and also around Pulau Paku Besar and Pulau Paku Kecil. A bit further eastwards, Pulau Lima has deep coral reefs, while the reefs around Pulau Pinang are very shallow and suffer from the run-off from the Redang River.
In season (April to November, before the monsoons arrive), you can expect to see schools of jackfish, golden trevally, grouper, coral trout, snapper and barracuda. Macro photographers should keep their eyes open for Spanish dancers—pink, purple and orange delights. The seabed is the place to find stingrays (there are plenty), while pelagic highlights include several species of shark. Another highlight of the diving in Pulau Redang is an encounter with turtles. Huge, lumbering leatherbacks often lay their eggs on the beaches of the islands, and can also be spotted swimming offshore. It’s worth looking out for them at night, too, when they come ashore to lay their eggs in the sand. As mentioned elsewhere, turtles are a protected species in Asia and any encounter is a truly fascinating experience.
Although the diving is good in Redang throughout the summer months, it can be especially good in early November and in late April. Visibility averages 10–15 meters, occasionally to 18 meters.
KAPAS
Accessible from Kuala Dungun, the beautiful island of Kapas is better known for its white, sandy beaches than for its diving opportunities. However, it does have pretty corals in the shallows and this appeals particularly to snorkelers. The reef shelves gradually from 3 to 12 meters but it is symptomatic of the reef’s condition that you’ll find plenty of sea urchins! Look out for clownfish and their host anemones, small nudibranchs, damselfish and sergeant majors.
The yellow barred parrotfish is one of a number of parrotfish species found around Perhentian Kecil.
The Clark’s anemone is a host of clownfish, which are recognizable by their two white bands, finely outlined in iridescent blue.
TENGGOL
The island of Tenggol is situated further south from Redang and some 20 km offshore. It comprises one main island with a beautiful sandy beach of fine white sand and two small isles. On the western side of the island lies a sheltered bay.
However, the big attraction at Tenggol is wall diving, for the island has steep rocky cliffs on its eastern South China Sea side, which drop dramatically to the seabed. In addition, there are some pristine coral formations and a number of submerged rocks with excellent coral growth on them. Diving at Tenggol goes down to 48 meters, to the seabed, and divers who are more interested in fish than in corals and tunicates will find bumphead parrotfish, lizardfish, large schools of jacks and even the possibility of some white tip sharks. Occasionally, a whale shark or manta ray has been known to pass through and ghost pipe-fish are among some of the smaller fish known to make their homes here.
—Fiona Nichols/Sarah Ann Wormald
Tioman and Aur
A Playground for Divers and Holidaymakers
Access By bumboat from Tioman or liveaboard boats from Mersing and Singapore Fair, average of 9 meters; Aur averages 12 meters
Current Variable
Reef type Fair in Tioman; good in Aur
Highlights Coral gardens
Visibility Schooling fish, corals
Coral Good numbers, fair variety
Fish Beautiful beaches; corals around Aur
From the very first glimpse of its white sandy beaches, azure waters and often mist shrouded mountains, the island of Tioman exerts an almost mystical pull. Since the late 1950s, it has delighted film-goers, especially fans of South Pacific, and it continues to delight romantics today. Tioman has become renowned as a great place to holiday. Indeed, during the late April to September season, visitors arrive from Kuala Lumpur, Johor and Singapore, so it is essential to book in advance.
Tioman is not a divers’ paradise, but rather a paradise in where divers can dabble in their favorite sport. The once pristine corals show evidence in places of previous illicit dynamite fishing. The general effects of being a popular resort are also visible. Rubbish can be an issue although projects are now underway to deal with this.
In 1985, however, the waters around Pulau Tioman were designated part of a large marine park where sustainable fishing is permitted but dynamiting, cyanide poisoning and spear fishing are outlawed. Similarly, the islands off the coast of Johor—Rawa, Tinggi, Besar, Sibu and Aur—at the bottom of the peninsula were put under protection.
Tioman is known mainly for its white sand beaches although there are a number of good dive sites off shore within an hour’s ride by boat.
Although the visibility is usually in the region of 8–9 meters, it can very occasionally reach 30 meters. On an average dive, you’ll meet schools of jacks, trevally, coral trout, pufferfish, a few stingrays and a number of moray eels. The crown-of-thorns starfish, which has caused much damage to the reef in the past, seems to be less prolific nowadays. We’ve heard stories about meeting a dozen hammerheads on one dive, but such sightings are unusual. There are sharks—black tip reef sharks usually—but nurse sharks are also not uncommon.
There are numerous dive spots around Tioman, most accessed in less than an hour via converted fishing boats.
Magician Rock is the place for schooling fish to hang out but currents here can be strong so it is best suited to experienced divers. There are also plenty of large fans for the photographers. Off the east coast, Juara is a good spot to see barracudas, snappers and stingrays, and to enjoy the hard corals. There is a submerged pinnacle here that attracts plenty of fish. Off the northeast, Sri Buat is renowned for its beautiful hard corals and some exceptionally tall soft corals.
Adjacent islands with good coral include Labas and Tulai. Check out the Napoleon wrasses at Tulai Island (it has a beautiful beach, too), and look out for the schools of trevally and barracuda. There are angelfish and coral trouts for the keen eyed. Labas is also a favorite due to its rock formations, swim-throughs and passing barracudas, stingrays and reef sharks.
Tiger Reef has two huge pinnacles where there are schools of yellowtails, angelfish and snappers. Nurse sharks are often sighted here. There are also some impressive sea fans and lovely soft corals. Diving is also good on the Jubilee Shoals, but as they are further away many operators do not journey out this far or will only do so with a minimum number of divers.
Tioman offers interesting rocks and swim-throughs such as this one.
AUR
This small island, located 65 km from the Malaysian coast, was traditionally home to a small fishing community. Together with the neighboring islands of Dayang and Lang, Pulau Aur is a great favorite with divers as the distance from the mainland has ensured its corals remain in good condition while its relative remoteness contributes to a better-than-average visibility for this part of the coast. Accommodation is available on both Pulau Dayang and Aur and access is usually via the town of Mersing.