The Dive Sites

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About The Dive Sites

Diving in Kota Kinabalu at the Tunku Abdul Rahman Park (TARP) is just ten minutes boat ride from the Jessleton Point jetty. TARP encompasses five islands of, Gaya, Sapi, Manukan, Mamutik, and Sulug. There is more than 25 dive sites in the park all offering 30 degrees Celsius waters and a norm of 10-15 meters visibility.

When can you dive the Tunku Abdul Rahman Park? All year round. Our best months are from April until November, but the whale shark season is from December to March. The water temperature drops slightly in these months to a chilled 28 degrees Celsius and the deeper you go will reach 25. You do not need your dry-suit!

Being in Borneo it is very hard to predict the weather which is the general question. Its hot every day of the year, and you do need sun block even when it rains for an hour.

Below is a list of a few dive sites on the park rated from 1 - 10 with 10 being the best.

History Of Tunku Abdul Rahman Park

The Tunku Abdul Rahman Park was established in 1974 and was named after the first Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman. TARP first included just Gaya and Sapi Islands but in 1979 expanded to include the other three islands which makes up TARP now. The park was extensively fished and bombed since the 1970's and with outcry from the diving operators since the 1990's, TARP decided to impose a RM50.00 diving permit for scuba divers so they can patrol the islands and stop the fisherman. Since, the start of 2002, the Tunku Abdul Rahman Park reefs has become bigger, colorful and now the marine life is growing.

Gaya Island

Police Reef
  • Depth: 5 - 30 meters
  • Average: 18 meters
  • TARP Rating: 8/10
  • Unique Features: Sea Fans, Whip Coral, Frog Fish, Barracuda's, Turtles, Fusiliers, Tuna, Scorpion Fish.
Bulijong Reef
  • Depth: 10 - 25 meters
  • Average: 15 meters
  • TARP Rating: 7/10
  • Unique Features: Table Corals cover the shallow reef, small wall around 20-25 meters, Giant Clams, Lion Fish, Snappers, Groupers, Puffer and Porcupine Fish.
Agill's Reef
  • Depth: 12 - 24 meters
  • Average: 14 meters
  • TARP Rating: 7/10
  • Unique Features: Sea Fans, Plate Corals, sponges, nudibranchs, lobster, tuna, morays, fusiliers, and recent sightings of grey reef shark as of December 2010.
Eel garden
  • Depth: 5 - 18 meters
  • Average: 10 meters
  • TARP Rating: 5/10
  • Unique Features: Garden Eels around 13 - 18 meters on sandy bottom, gobies, pipe fish, crustaceans.
  • The reef also known for the mass of car / truck tyres deeper than the garden eels starting from 25 meters depth and heading out for almost 50 meters. Watch our for stone fish and barracuda's. Good for PADI Adventure Deep Dive :)
Base Camp
  • Depth: 3 - 12 meters
  • Average: 7 meters
  • TARP Rating: 4/10
  • Unique Features: The home of sea walking and the head quarters of the Tunku Abdul Rahman Park. Bat fish, parrot fish, anemone fish, nudibranchs, porcupine fish are most common.

Sapi Island

Clement Reef
  • Depth: 8 - 23 meters
  • Average: 18 meters
  • TARP Rating: 8/10
  • Unique Features: Plate, whip, Brain corals, sponges with a variety of reef fish including, fusiliers, parrot fish, anemone fish, Jacks, Tuna, crocodile fish and Cuttlefish.
  • Clement reef also has an extension, where the reef goes to 30 meters with lots of soft corals.
Ron Reef
  • Depth: 8 - 20 meters
  • Average: 14 meters
  • TARP Rating: 6/10
  • Unique Features: Sea Fans and plate corals make up this reef which if you kick fast enough you will make one round as it in a circular form. Stone, scorpion, lion fish are widely seen, with blue spotted sting rays and nudibranchs.
Coral Garden
  • Depth: 2 - 14 meters
  • Average: 7 meters
  • TARP Rating: 9/10
  • Unique Features: A reef full of staghorn corals and sponges. Common sightings of the sea turtle, frog fish, ghost pipe fish, anemone fish, and stone fish.
Sapi House Reef
  • Depth: 1 - 20 meters
  • Average: 8 meters
  • TARP Rating: 6/10
  • Unique Features: The training site with artificial reef balls together with tyres, trash and more trash. dragon nets, garden eels, blue spotted sting rays, stone fish, leaf fish, barracuda's and lots of reef fish.

Manukan Island

West Ridge
  • Depth: 7 - 23 meters
  • Average: 16 meters
  • TARP Rating: 7/10
  • Unique Features: Black Coral, brain coral, sea fans, marble rays, sting rays, Jack fish, lion fish, nudibranchs.
Mid Reef
  • Depth: 5 - 22 meters
  • Average: 13 meters
  • TARP Rating: 7/10
  • Unique Features: A small wooden wreck lays at the bottom of the reef, sea horse, frog fish, sea turtles, nudibranchs, fusiliers and most common reef fish.

Mamutik Island

Mamutik House Reef
  • Depth: 1 - 14 meters
  • Average: 7 meters
  • TARP Rating: 6/10
  • Unique Features: The training site with artificial reef with coral re-planting - courtesy of Borneo Diver's. Leaf fish, pipe fish, lion fish, and home to the giant statue of the Sea Horse :)
Pyramid
  • Depth: 6 - 17 meters
  • Average: 12 meters
  • TARP Rating: 7/10
  • Unique Features: A pyramid shaped reef which gets you spinning in circle's. Morays, sea snakes, anemones fish, parrot fish, fusiliers, shrimps and crabs.

Sulug Island

Sulman Reef
  • Depth: 8 - 26 meters
  • Average: 20 meters
  • TARP Rating: 9/10
  • Unique Features: The reef starts from Sulug, heads to manukan and back to Sulug. A healthy reef with lots of coral life, and lots of reef fish, frog fish, crocodile fish, nudibranchs, puffer fish and pipe fish.
Drop Off
  • Depth: 5 - 30 meters
  • Average: 15 meters
  • TARP Rating: 8/10
  • Unique Features: The name arrives from its steep sloping reef that drops down to 30 meters. Although the best parts of the reef is much shallower, sea snakes, turtles, frog fish, scorpion fish, pipe fish and morays.

Just Outside TARP

Edgell Patches
  • Depth: 12 - 30 meters
  • Average: 15 meters
  • TARP Rating: 10/10
  • Unique Features: Two reefs which are often known as Edgell South and Edgell North, the south being the smaller of the two, but we have seen everything here from a whale shark to a blue ring octopus. Teaming with hard and soft corals and a host of marine life. Sometimes currents appear and should only dive here if experienced.

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