Kota Kinabalu (Malaysia)

Tunku Abdul Rahman Park

Adjacent to the town of Kota Kinabalu and just mere minutes away, lie a cluster of 5 superb islands within Tunku Abdul Rahman Parks and beneath the surface of the water are homes to macro creatures. The reefs of Tunku Abdul Rahman Park are ideal spots for photography, particularly for macro/close-up subjects. At most sites there are the usual wide variety of reef fishes, colour sponges and crinoids. Various species of sea stars, brittle stars and sea cucumbers and the avid photographer's favourite - the Nudibrances present interesting subjects. Lion fish and anemones provide other exciting options apart from the porcelain crabs and shrimps that commonly nest among the anemones.

The islands

Gaya, Manukan, Mamutik, Sapi and Sulug - also boast white sandy beaches and are vegetated with pristine lowland dipterocarp forest and mangroves which harbour an intriguing variety of birds and reptiles.

The Dive Sites

There are more than 10 popular dive sites that can be reached in 10-20 minutes from our Dive Centre. The depths of the sloping reef structure are 10-70 ft (3-21m) and consist of both hard and soft corals such as staghorn in profusion of variety shades, table corals, boulder corals, solitary mushroom corals sea whips, black tree corals and etc. Most of the soft corals can be found at a depth of 40ft (12m) and below. Diving activity is year round with surface temperatures of 25-30°C and weather permit. The average visibility normally reaches 40ft (12m). Water is slightly cooler between November and February and visibility will drop due to the concentration of plankton.

Underwater Photography

The reef over here are ideal spots for macro/close up photography. At most sites, the intriguing subjects are mostly various species of sea stars, sea cucumbers, nudibranchs, lion fish, Frog fish, Ghost Pipe fish and porcelain crabs and shrimps nested among the anemones.

Shore Diving (Sapi Island)

The location consist of shallow reef and sandy bottoms which usually used as training site for Scuab Reviews, other Specialy courses and surface interval rest stop. Gobies, Blennies, Dragonets, Pipe fish, Sole fish and Flouders can be spotted easily over this area.

We dive 365 days a year, as weather permits.