It's been quite a morning and we've had so much fun watching 2 sharks hunting together. Darting over and under one another, they circle a coral mound where a poor octopus hides from them. Ink floats up in the water where the octopus spewed protectively in its' fright. The sharks are so interested in the octopus, they've barely noticed the human company. Andy, Justin and I hover with our guide Mando and enjoy the show. Eventually, the octopus wins out and the sharks sulkily leave the area side by side.
Just before the shark show, we were greeted by a seemingly never-ending march of huge Bumphead Parrotfish. These guys are massive - I've never seen parrotfish their size, maybe a meter long with rounded bodies and of course the bumpy forehead (which Andy points out doesn't seem to make their brains bigger). Fish after fish pass by and in my head I hear the marching tune of the Federation troops from Star Wars. They just keep coming and coming and when we think they've all gone past, there are more stragglers in groups of 2, 3 and 4. They're marching into a heavy current and as we swim in the direction that they have come from I find myself grabbing Andy's BCD jacket to pull him with us - this is possibly his first drift dive!!! (not bad for a JR Openwater kid!) Eventually though, we get to turn again and float back with the current, re-visiting our parrotfish friends along the way.
We reach the end of our drift along the reef of Sipadan island and arrive at Barracuda Point. Given the name, it wasn't too surprising to find a 'tornado' of chevron barracudas. (though our guide Mando had declared in broken English 'Guarantee the Point, No guarantee the Barracuda!!' ) It looks like hundreds of 3-4 foot long barracudas. I look up and see that the snorkel guide is above with Sam and Ben in wetsuits playing around the surface. They are excited to be hovering just above the tornado of barracudas and keep getting in a little closer for a look. My motherly instinct kicks in and I am thinking Please don't jump right into the tornado! Normally, if there is a huge 'ball' of hundreds of Jacks or Trevally, then they like to dive and swim in to the middle - like the rest of us. But I know their guide is really good and has been working these waters for a decade and they're in good hands. I can see them from just below. Ben dives down to try and hold my hand once or twice.
On our tea break - which is also a mandatory 1 hour break between dives for us - we sip on cups of tea and coffee provided by the dive crew. Sipadan island is one of the most naturally beautiful pieces of paradise I've ever seen. The beaches are covered in light golden sand dotted with pieces of coral and shells. So few people are allowed onto the island that it remains in a pristine state. The only way to get onto Sipadan is to be put forward by your diving operation and hope to be one of the names selected on the list for a daily permit. We've been lucky enough to have been chosen 3 times during our week stay nearby on the Seaventures Oil Rig - other divers tried to get the same and couldn't so we felt very fortunate.
Eventually, it is time to return to theSeaventures Oil Rig. I love watching it appear, developing from a dot in the distance to the brightly coloured towering metal frame that looms over us as our boat pulls up close. An operator lowers the outdoor lift for us and we all step onboard to rise 10 meters to main platform. As we reach the top, Andy, Ben and Sam jump off the platform and into the sea below once again. Some of the other divers and the rig crew come to the edge to watch this - not too many of the grow-ups are game for tyring the jump. Standing on the edge of the lift gives you a dizzying sensation and you can look down to see the schools of fish in the water below, sometimes the odd turtle as well. It takes a 9 or 11 yearl old kid to jump without thinking ... or, in Sam's case, a 6-year old with the confidence of a teenager.
The rig as a dive resort is a brilliant idea. Apparently it was brought to the Mabul island area and placed just off shore by a wealthy family who were going to use it for other purposes, but ended up converting it to a dive resort. There are some dive accommodations on the little island of Mabul as well and on nearby Kapalai. But this converted oil rig has to be the coolest spot. Where else can you stay and have unlimited offshore diving 24 hours a day? The crew on the rig are very friendly and, aside from the dive instructors, most of the people who work on the rig come from the tiny village of locals on Mabul.
We've seen so many new underwater creatures since we've been here. We've found 4-inch tall sea horses clinging to muddy grasses on silty ocean floor. We've hovered around the Goliath Grouper that hangs out in the artificial reef off of Mabul. We've hung out with Giant Barracudas on Mabul and Sipadan. We've done a night dive with our friends and Andy off the wall of Mabul armed with only strong flashlights and abundant quantities of childlike excitement.
Some of the most interesting creatures we've seen are our old favorites, the reef sharks. They've been here there and everywhere around the islands. They are so used to people floating about them that they barely bat an eyelid when divers swim past and snap their photos like a group of hungry paparazzi. Ben saw a 4-foot long Leopard shark while snorkelling off Sipadan - leaving the rest of us all green with envy. The ocean creatures around here seem as laid-back as the villagers and even the sharks are too busy floating, resting and hunting to pay us much attention.
On board the rig, we've whiled away evenings playing card games with divers from Ireland, Switzerland, Germany and all over Southeast Asia. There's been viciously competive rounds of Spoons and slower, but more strategic, games of Village Idiot. In the background, the television over the bar has been showing parts of the 2012 Olympics back home in England. We accompany the television like most audiences, with a running commentary of our own. All of a sudden, we are all elevated to judges and have something to say about everything from the outfits to the way the hopefuls run, throw or even play it up for the cameras.
A couple of evenings, we've taken the boat transport to Mabul. The island is composed partly of stilt-chalet style dive resorts over and near the water and partly of local Malaysian and Philippino residences, wooden houses raised over the sand. The little village at the heart of Mabul is full of what seems like hundreds of children. It's fun to watch them play - some are playing marbles-like games where there is a tossing of coins or soda lids into a little sandy arena, others are on little bicycles or walking in groups. Everywhere we walk in the village, locals are friendly and wave and call Hallo. They especially love the kids and Sam, as the smallest, is a huge hit.
Back on the rig, Andy, Ben and Sam get star treatment. The rig crew smile everytime they are near and the chef makes them their own special meals of pizzas and french fries (the rest of us have a buffet, though it is very tasty too!!). Everyone has been chatting with them and telling us how wonderful they are. We are always proud of them. Well, when they aren't trying to kill one another, sneak an extra Sprite from the bar staff, or running and sliding on the main deck as if it were an amusement park!!
We've had to say goodbye to most of the lovely friends we've made here as they are reluctanty drifting back to their homes. Time is up and it is our turn too. We have made our final descent on the lift now too and the staff came and waved goodbye, our divemasters and all the assorted rig crew we've be-friended peering ove the edge of the deck until we can barely see them any longer. Then the oil rig itself became smaller and smaller until it looked like a construction set toy and finally disappeared into the horizon.
All the pics: https://picasaweb.google.com/105332575943799967078/201207MalaysiaSempornaDiving
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