Location: Pulau Redang, Malaysia
No. of dives: 5+1
Accessibility to dive sites: 8.5
Marine Animal Density: 7.3
Dive site terrain Quality: 8.5
Marine Animal Diversity: 7.6
Visibility: 6.0
Overall Score: 7.6
Entry: Boat
Difficulty: OW-AOW
Dive Sites: Fringing reefs/Sandy Bottoms/Pinnacles
Underwater camera: Canon Powershot A80
Underwater casing: Canon Waterproof Case WP-DC900 for Powershot A80 by Canon
Underwater strobe: Fantasea Cool Flash Nano
Underwater filter: NIL
Post editing: PS CS3
Members: Rockson, Lilian, Sam, Winnie and 22 other snorkeling members
DI & DM: Teng Jan Shir, Rina, King, Alex and Leong
Resort: Redang Pelangi Resort (Contact: 019 475 1357)
Reason of my visit: To dive the sandy bottoms of Redang, to see the different side of Redang’s dive sites, wanted to see the blue-ring octopus and to find frogfish
Dive sites
- Rina’s Reef x 2
- Cina Terjun
- Tanjung Tengah(help take pictures for 10 discovery divers)
- Tanjung Tengah(night dive)
- Terumbu Kiri
Rewards of this trip
- Frogfish, ornate ghost pipefish, seahorse and leafy filefish
- Big schools of reef fishes(diamondfish, bigeye snappers, fusiliers, needlefish, damsels, giant sweetlips, razorfish and anthiars
- Group of 7 blue spotted stingrays togather at one site, normally we see them lone
- Several hawksbill turtles
- Good weather, clam sea
- Many longs dives, >60mins(which is rare with Pelangi coz they limit all bottom time to max 45mins regardless of how much air is left)
- Met DI/DM Rina and King, finally got to meet them
- Met Leong, Cecilia’s(wanderingbabe) hubby
Challenges of this trip
- Thermocline at 20m and below, bad viz(1-2m)
- Lost buddies again, at Rina’s reef, dove alone, it was a peaceful 45mins alone
- No blue-ring octopus
- No weird nudis at the sandy bottoms
Regrets of this trip
- All pictures of the ornate ghost pipefish and razorfish are bad
- Way under exposed yellow boxfish pic
Cost
- 5 dives = RM300 (1 dive free for helping take pictures)
- SVIP bus B’worth – Merang – B’worth = RM140
- Pelangi resort off season package RM330(for extra bed)
Notes
- It was a last minute trip for me. Joint the trip because there was one more place on the SVIP bus and added extra bed to the room.
- I’ll be back for the sandy bottom dives sites, there is so much more to explore, to be continue…
About Pulau Redang
Redang Island, paradise of the Malaysian east coast group of marine park islands, is situated 45km northeast of Kuala Terengganu. Gazetted as a Marine Park in 1994, it is a heaven for scuba diving and ideal for memorable holidays with crystal clear water, powdery white sandy beaches, spectacular off shore snorkeling. The island is also an important conservation site for sea turtles. Previously, the indiscriminate economic exploitation of turtle eggs had caused fewer turtles returning to nest on the island. This has led the Terengganu state government to set up the Koperasi Setiajaya Pulau Redang in 1989, a cooperative aiming to develop and manage socio-economic programmes that could improve the livelihood of Pulau Redang locals without endangering its natural resources.[citation needed]
The waters around Pulau Redang also contain two historic shipwrecks. H.M.S Prince of Wales and H.M.S Repulse were sunk here at the start of World War II, setting the stage for the Japanese occupation of Malaya.
The Pulau Redang archipelago comprises Pulau Redang, Pulau Lima, Pulau Paku Besar, Pulau Paku Kecil, Pulau Kerengga Kecil, Pulau Kerengga Besar, Pulau Ekor Tebu, Pulau Ling and Pulau Pinang. Pulau Redang is the biggest of all the islands in the Marine Park, measuring about 7 km long and 6 km wide. It's highest peak is Bukit Besar at 359 metres above sea level. The boundary of the Pulau Redang Marine Park is established by a line linking all points 2 nautical miles (3.7 km) from the shores of Pulau Redang, Pulau Lima, Pulau Ekor Tebu and Pulau Pinang. The other nearby islands of Pulau Perhentian Besar, Pulau Perhentian Kecil, Pulau Lang Tengah, Pulau Kapas and Pulau Susu Dara are also gazetted and protected as Marine Parks. Today, only the bigger islands like Redang, Lang Tengah, Perhentian and Kapas have resort facilities for visitors. The management of Marine Parks primarily involves protection of the sensitive marine and terrestrial ecosystems by controlling the impact from human activities. These include waste & pollution management and conservation of coral reefs and terrestrial habitats.
The 2000 film, Summer Holiday was filmed on the Laguna Redang resort, and a replica of the tea house now serves as the resort's gift shop.
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