Malaysia Beautiful Island : Semporna
Semporna in southeastern Sabah, have an underwater species diversity alleged to be on par with that of Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Being on the continental shelf, the surrounding waters of these islands are relatively shallow, wit a maximum depth of a mere 25m. There are two groups if island present: the Ligitan group and the more important Gaya group.Dive sites: Pulau Mantabuan is approximately 3 km long and 1.5 km wide. It lies about an hour by speed boat North-East of Semporna.
Around the island are a number of reefs:
Mantabuan West: The reef has two separate crests. The first is shallow water and has a reef front which drops to a depth of 5 meters. This is then followed by a wide, gently shelving slope which extends outwards for several hundred meters.
Mantabuan South-West: The South-West facing reef at the closest point to the island is both shallow and narrow. The reef drops from the shallow crest to a sandy bottom at 10 meters. A low tide reef is exposed and prevents even shallow fraught boats from reaching the island.
Mantuan East: The Eastern reef borders on the deep water. The reef in its shallower sections slopes quite gently but the angle of the slope gradually increases. The reef top and shallow edges are mainly coral covered with a few sandy patches.
Pulau Sibuan lies approximately 16 km from Semporna, which is about a half hour speed boat trip. There is no drinkable water on the island, other than water which is shipped in from Semporna
Every April, Semporna celebrates with a Regatta Lepa. Thousands sail into town in all kinds of boats including the gaily-decorated lepa and jungkong, their traditional boats, to compete for prizes. Arrangements can be made to explore the islands off Semporna to visit water-villages and seaweed farms, swim and snorkel.
Labels: place of interest