Diving in Borneo is amazing, it’s as simple as that. Not only does it have one of the world’s most interesting places to search for macro-life but also one of the world’s top diving sites on its doorstep – Sipadan!
So far, we have visited twice with a plan to return again and and on all occasions we stayed at Scuba Junkie on the island of Mabul. We honestly cannot big this place up enough and will wax lyrical about it given the opportunity!
We chose Scuba Junkie because of the 5* reviews on Trip Advisor; they didn’t just live up to our expectations, they exceeded them, in fact I would say they blew them out into the stratosphere! Seriously, I should have shares in this place for how much I rave about it.
So far, we have visited twice with a plan to return again and and on all occasions we stayed at Scuba Junkie on the island of Mabul. We honestly cannot big this place up enough and will wax lyrical about it given the opportunity!
We chose Scuba Junkie because of the 5* reviews on Trip Advisor; they didn’t just live up to our expectations, they exceeded them, in fact I would say they blew them out into the stratosphere! Seriously, I should have shares in this place for how much I rave about it.
Scuba Junkie accommodation on Mabul
The beach on Mabul
So what makes this area so special? If you like your large marine life such as hammer heads, white tip reef sharks or huge schools of fish like Jacks or Parrot fish, then Sipadan is for you which you can book as a day trip from Mabul. If you love your underwater structures and the huge abundance of life that goes with it, check out Kapalai, but if macro diving is your thing, then you need to head to Mabul – the term “muck diving” apparently originated here and if you have never heard of it or think “nah, I like to see the big stuff”, you may surprise yourself!
The amazing colours and variety of life such as nudibranch or frogfish could make you look at diving in a completely different way… it did for me!
Wikipedia describes Mabul as “arguably one of the richest single destinations for exotic small marine life anywhere in the world”.
The amazing colours and variety of life such as nudibranch or frogfish could make you look at diving in a completely different way… it did for me!
Wikipedia describes Mabul as “arguably one of the richest single destinations for exotic small marine life anywhere in the world”.
But I’m not going to talk about it – that is reserved for sitting in a bar with a beer and a log book going over the day’s adventure – no, I’m going to show you and let the photos speak for themselves!
This post is dedicated to just Mabul and Kapali; I started to include Sipadan but there are just so many amazing photos, I have had to split the two… Sipadan is currently a work in progress so watch this space for that post in a few weeks time!
Mabul – a macro diver’s paradise
Dive site - Stingray City
Crocodile fish
Large Black frogfish
Willains Chromodoris nudibranch
Blue spotted stingray - at Stingray City dive site!
Green turtle - turtles are everywhere in Borneo!
Spotfin butterfly fish
Pufferfish
Yellow tail fusiliers
Another Green Turtle - I said they were everywhere didn't I!
Kapalai House Reef - visually spectacular
Simon at Kapalai House Reef
Orange Spotted Grouper
Oriental Sweetlips
Large black frogfish
Flamboyant cuttlefish
|
Banana nudibranch
|
Orange Frogfish
Nembrotha nudibranch
I found Nemo!! A false anemone fish - Clownfish
Elvis - a giant of a Giant Moray Eel
Picachu nudibranch
Ornate ghostpipefish
North Kapalai
Long-Jaw Mackerel
White eyed Moray eel
Two spot snapper
Blue Striped snapper
Oh look - another Green Turtle!
South Kapalai
Nudibranch
Broadclub cuttlefish
Spiny puffer fish (porcupine fish)
Have you dived or snorkelled in Borneo? Feel free to share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
If you like this post - pin it!
