Terengganu Marine Park
Among the most popular sites are the “Big Mount” (a large coral pillar), “Picture Wall” (a small coral facade brimming with sea fans and corals) and “Cathedral Arches” (a magnificently varied canyon network patrolled by huge groupers). Turtle Bay, at the northern end of the island, is a good place to spot large groups of sea turtles.
It is approximately 45 minutes jetty ride. from Merang (Jetty port) to Redang island. Temperature range from 31 to 34 degrees Celsius during the day. With a strong breeze of wind will still keep a cooling circling air to the island. Shining white beach sand with crystal clear light blue sea water give an unforgettable soothing relaxation sensation to people at the Redang island.
DIVE SITES
Redang Island
The adjacent islands of Pulau Pinang, Pulau Ling, Pulau Ekor Tebu, Pulau Kerengga Besar, Pulau Kerengga Kecil, Pulau Paku Besar, Pulau Paku Kecil and Pulau Lima are excellent for snorkeling, swimming and scuba diving. Redang group of islands offer diver’s a true underwater haven with more than 25 dive sites, rich with a diversity of marine life. Islands and dive sites are just a few minutes apart and guests can travel between islands by a variety of boats.
Favorite Dives: Big Mount is an oval seamount completely submerge and is located 50 meters towards the northern tip of P. Lima. The shallowest portion of this reef at 20 meters and the boulder terrain drops to 30 meters. Divers has the opportunity to observe macro life forms to possible encounters with the huge clownfish, sea cucumbers, starfishes, stonefish, groupers and parrotfish.,
Mini Mount. Situated 100 meters east of P. Kerengga Besar, with the deepest portion at about 20 meters. The faces of the boulders are carpeted with a variety of soft corals, tubastrea corals, sea squirts, sponges and stinging hydroids. Popular choice for night dive where divers are rewarded with an abundance of night creatures foraging for food around the reef.
Terumbu Kiri. The rocky seascape is encrusted with both hard and soft corals at about 15 meters, and slopes down to 20 meters at the sandy bottom. Fish life includes cardinal fish, damselfish, chromis, snappers, parrotfish and soldierfish. While in the open water you are likely to encounter jacks, fusiliers, yellowtail, batfish and black tip sharks.
Perhentian Island
The Perhentian islands, comprises of Pulau Perhentian Besar and Pulau Perhentian Kecil lies 20km from the coast of Kuala Besut. On the edge of the Pulau Redang’s Marine Park, Perhentian’s coral fringed waters provide excellent underwater scenery. For divers, the group of small rocky islets to the northwest of Pulau Perhentian Kecil is a location not to be missed. Common to the area are harp and black corals, while large hard corals are also present. The waters at Perhentian are crystal clear and within the turquoise waters of the islands dwell an amazing variety of marine life. Don’t be surprise if you see dolphins and pilot whales in July and August, which is during the peak of the dry season. There are abundant of corals in Perhentian, especially the colorful soft corals and gorgonian sea fans.
Favorite Dives: Tokong Laut is a rocky outcrop islet situated on the northwest of P. Perhentian Kecil and is accessible by a 30 minute speedboat ride. The boulder-like terrain gradually sloped down to about 30 metres. Soft corals in all colors and sizes carpet the seascape offering refuge for numerous small reef fish and mollusks. Jacks, barracudas, kingfish, black tip sharks and nurse sharks are usually sighted.
North of Pulau Susu. Diving is interesting with good water clarity and abundant reef fish. Expect to see damselfishes, wrasses, triggerfishes and a moray eel peeping out of its lair.
Terumbu Tiga. Rated to be one of the top dive sites around Perhentian together with Tokong Laut. Slopes down to about 20 meters at the sandy bottom and visibility fluctuate between 5 to 15 meters. The granite boulders support various corals, sea fans and coral whips. Schools of fusiliers, rainbow runners, jacks and batfishes swim about searching for a feed. Black tip sharks can occasionally be observed at the outer reaches of the reef.
Lang Tengah Island
Pulau Lang Tengah is located in between Pulau Perhentian and Pulau Redang on the East Coast of Peninsula Malaysia. According to locals, Lang Tengah takes its name from ‘Lang’ which comes from helang which means ‘eagle’ in the Malay language, and tengah, meaning ‘middle’. Thus, Lang Tengah means eagles resting on the middle island.
The island is small. Very small. A round-island trip by speed boat takes only 10 minutes. The beach is narrow and land is limited. However, Lang Tengah Island gains its advantages from its size. Due to the limitation on the land, there are only 4 resort operators on the island, ensuring a peaceful visit. This away from it all island has a number of beautiful resorts and is fast gaining popularity as a diver’s haven.
Favorite Dives: Batu Kuching got its name from a squarish boulder perched on top of other boulders that resemble a cat. The boulder terrain plunges down to about 20 meters where sea whips are dominant. Good place to see glass sweepers, wrasses, butterfly fish and snappers.
Terembu Kuning
This site is a rocky outcrop sloping down to the seabed at about 20 meters. Hard corals dominated the seascape providing refuge for groupers, barramundi cods and nurse sharks. Pelagics such as batfish, jacks and fusiliers swims about in the blue water.
Tanjung Nibong Laut
Angular shape rock bottoms out at about 25 meters. Located on the tip of the island, this site is usually swept by currents that attract pelagic such as barracudas, jacks and if you are lucky the whale shark. At the coral garden, reef fishes such as butterfly fish, wrasses, rabbit fish and turtles can be observed
Kapas Island
Pulau Kapas and Pulau Gemia (located to the north of Pulau Kapas) are merely 20 to 30 minutes by speedboat from the mainland off the coastal town of Marang, 15 kilometers south of Kuala Terengganu. Water visibility varies between 5 to 15 metres at best. The close proximity to the mainland makes Pulau Kapas ideal for non-diving tourist.
This island is renowned for its pure emerald waters, white sandy beaches, swaying palm trees, caves with swallows’ nests, dazzling marine life, and superb coral formation. A long kept secret by lovers of the underwater world, this island offers many secluded areas, which are unspoiled and quiet. Activities that can be undertaken here are scuba diving; swimming, snorkeling, wind surfing, kayaking, boating, picnicking, or just lazing around.
Tenggol Island Group
The Tenggol group of islands one of the best diving, is the most southerly of Terengganu’s Marine Parks. It consists of Pulau Tenggol, Pulau Nyireh (Nyireh Island), Tokong Timur, Tokong Talang, Tokong Burung and Tokong Kemudi. Tenggol is another beautiful diving getaway and lies just 45 minutes off Kuala Dungun in the south of Terengganu. It is small – just 3km long and 2km wide. However, this doesn’t prevent it from being a paradise for many people, especially diving enthusiasts.
The interior of the island is filled with steep, rocky cliffs. This rocky terrain extends from the interior of the island to the ocean and has created a dramatic ‘drop-off’ – a sort of vertical canvas of marine life – that divers never seem to tire of.
The main island, Pulau Tenggol, is about 50ha in size and is one of the most beautiful and serene islands off Peninsular Malaysia’s east coast. It is also famous for its spectacular rocky cliffs that offer many excellent dive sites. Here, one can find pristine coral formations and a number of submerged rocks with excellent coral growths. The deep waters surrounding the island offer good visibility especially during the months of April until June. Marine life that can be seen here includes sharks, rays, nudibranch and a wide variety of hard and soft coral.
Favorite Dives: Tokong Air Tawar, a well sheltered bay is excellent for checkout dives and night dives from the shore. Depth gradually increases down the gentle slope to about 20 meters. Hard corals dominate the terrain with sporadic soft corals adding a touch of color to the monochromatic seascape. Shy garden eels can be observed towards the right of the bay at about 10 meters depth on the sandy bottom.
Batu Tokong Laut. One of the more popular sites for advance divers seeking out schools of fish. Located in the open sea, the boulder-like terrain features interesting swim through tunnels and crevices for divers to explore. Some of the fish sighted include batfish, fusiliers, jacks and kingfish.
Batu Tokong Kamudi. Extending down to slightly more than 30 meters, the seascape has a good mix of hard and soft corals. Christmas tree worms carpet the face of porite mounds. Except to see lots of sea anemone, nudibranchs, butterflyfish, wrasses, parrotfish and large snappers.
