Holiday in Mabul

Holiday in Mabul

Turtle count: 42

So after a season working and two weeks off study, we decided to take a holiday. As any job you need to have time off from working.

Marika found this flight to Tawau. Tawau is a town located on the east coast of Borneo. She said that I had been talking about an island around this area. I couldn't really remember, then she told me and I remembered I had talked about Mabul. The island Mabul is a little island outside Semporna and is very famous for diving. There is a dive sites here called sipadan,  this island should be one of the best dive sites. Unfortunately it is very hard to get a spot to this trip and it is very expensive. 3 dives cost around 220 euros.

Mabul as an Island is very small and the houses are built on poles in the water. Families of five is living in small boats and selling crabs and fish every afternoon. Rumors about plastic waste passed our ears as we were about to go. But in out yes it was not to bad. Of course you saw some waste, but the beaches and the diving was very clean.

We stayed at a place called scuba jeff. A budget place but enough and a very relaxing lounge area with many Hammocks and view over the shallow waters. The water was crystal clear and every afternoon you could see Turtles taking a breath in the orange sunset.

Diving was very easy and the first backroll to the borneo water was under an old oil rig, that is now a hotel. The variety of aquatic life was amazing and the GIANT grouper said hello. This dive site is called seaventure.

Other dives we did was lobster wall just outside Scuba jeff. A deep wall dive with a drift pushing you the whole dive so no need to kick yourself forward.

Kapalai is a sand island with beautiful bungalows in the water, and the diving underneath is also worth to make a visit.

Other than diving we have been eating a lot of seafood, this people really knows how to cook fish. Spend long time in the Hammocks, drinking Filipino rum and spend some hours on white colored beaches.

A very good finish off the season. Now we will head back to Koh Lanta and enjoy the last days together before we will head home and later meet up on our new adventure, working for Go dive Malta.

Greetings from the airport of Tawau.