Layang-Layang Island, Sabah, 1999 by Krazy Kiwi

Layang-Layang Island, Sabah, 1999
Author: Krazy Kiwi

Situated 300 kilometres off the coast of East Malaysia, to the locals she's called Terumbu Layang-Layang or Swallow's Reef but now known worldwide as a top dive destination called Layang-Layang Island. A part of Sabah, the "land below the wind" (formerly known as North Borneo) she lies 7 degrees north of the equator in the South China Sea.

Over 10yrs ago the Malaysian Federal Govt began reclamation works & created a small island on this atoll. From the air the 1st thing you notice is how much space the airstrip takes up on this tiny plot of land. 6 hectares in size & just under 2 kilometres long this island houses a bird sanctuary, the resort itself, and a small Navy Base (off-limits to resort guests).

I flew on Singapore airlines from Perth to Kuala Lumpur (KL). A 2 hr wait & then flew Malaysian airlines to KL to overnight at Kota Kinabalu (KK). Our luggage was checked all the way to KK & nothing went astray. A 2 month visa is automatically granted for valid passport holders from most countries, though you are advised to check with the Malaysian Embassy in your own country. At the resort the currency is Malaysian Ringgit and they do accept the major credit cards - Visa, Mastercard & American Express.

Up early the next morning a 1hr private charter flight from KK took us out to LL Island. Only 3 of us on this flight so plenty of room to stretch out in the 16 seater plane. I hadn't even exited the plane when I heard a booming voice inquiring "Which one of you is it that knows Strike?" I own up with a meek "Me" & this hulk of a guy says, "So this is the Krazy Kiwi, I've been warned about you". Geeze Strike what lies have you told now ;-) I got off on a good footing with Steve & Coralie from then on as I can give as good as I get, and Steve was sure dishing out the sheep jokes from then on (another story in itself if you're not an Aussie).

Coralie ferried us in to the reception lounge, welcoming us to the island & the brief began. Schedule of meal & dive times. Filled out the usual registration papers & nominated what credit card you would use for the bar & souvenirs (no need for cash until checkout time when you paid the bill). Signed our lives away acknowledging we had been warned not to enter the no-go zone (naval base). Advised to read the information pamphlet in our room which explained where everything was & other do's & do nots. Put anything of value in to a safe locker at reception. Then escorted to our room so we could prepare for the 2nd dive of the day. As you pay for 3 dives a day you get the dive you missed (dive #1 on arrival day) as the morning dive on the day before you are due to fly out. The option to snorkel on the next 2 dives for that final day is up to you. Dive, eat, sleep - that was my routine :-)

NON-DIVERS - if you don't dive/snorkel you can still enjoy yourself. Many people bird watch (Noddies, Terns, Boobies, Sea Swallows) in comfort under the shade of a couple of pergolas. Some hire a bike & wear themselves out riding around the island. Run up & down the airstrip if you feel athletic. Sleep at every chance (which I did frequently as I need as much beauty sleep as I can get :-) Or as one very enthusiastic group did, flew over with tonnes of equipment & set up a ham radio station in one of the resorts conference rooms. Children usually loll around the pool but an adult must be in attendance for their safety. There are heaps of books & magazines to read. Videos were shown on the main tv in the reception lounge (as long as the world cup soccer wasn't on :-)

DIVE PACKAGE - covers 3 dives a day, twin share accommodation, 5 meals a day, tanks, weight belt & weights, dive guides and return flights between KK & LL. Night dives cost you nothing if you shored dived within the lagoon. If night diving outside the lagoon it cost Malaysian Ringgit $60 per dive, which covered overtime for boat operator & dive master.

RESORT - 82 rooms & 4 suites in 6 blocks of tropical hardwood timber structures. All rooms are air-conditioned & equipped with a pair of extra size beds, private amenities, TV, refrigerator, telephone & a private balcony. Hair dryer available from reception for that accidental partial floods of camera gear L Fresh water swimming pool. A small Souvenir shop and a couple of Conference rooms. Operating period 1 Feb - 31 Oct.

POWER & WATER - Generators run 24hrs a day. Electricity is 220v, 50 cycles using a plug with 3 rectangular prongs similar to British plugs. A few converters were available from reception but bring your own if it is the busy season. The water is desalinated but you are advised to boil the water 1st or drink mineral water to be on the safe side.

FOOD & DRINK - Restaurant serves Asian & Continental specialties. If you have any special dietary needs the chef will whip up anything (within reason) on request. The bar serves anything from cocktails, soft drinks, beer and wine to spirits. Coffee/Tea facilities are available all day - self help. Most people, if not participating in a night met for pre-dinner drinks around 6.30 - 7pm. After dinner everyone met in the bar/lounge area to watch the video highlights taken of that days diving.

DIVE SETUP - PADI dive centre headed by certified instructors with qualified dive masters of various nationalities eg. Japanese, German, etc. Some of the dive masters are on working holidays so the turnaround of staff is constant with many rotating between dive duties at Sipadan Island & LL. They have a small fleet of catamaran dive boats with twin outboard motors that can carry up to 12 max. to ferry you around in comfort. Most dive sites are only 15 minutes from the dock & divers don lycra sits or light wetsuits before boarding their assigned boat. Rental gear - BCD, regulators, fins, masks, snorkels, booties & dive suits - are available but most of the gear size is medium/small. You can also take a dive course if you have the time.

DIVE SPOTS - On the seaward side, 13 reefs make up this ring-shaped atoll circle about 24 kilometres in circumference. The best diving is the outside fringes and most of the dive sites are either steep sloping reefs or sheer walls disappearing into the abyss. 14 main dive sites - Valley, Wrasse Strip, Crack Reef, Navigator Lane, Gorgonian Forest, The Point, Dogtooth Lair, Wreck Point, Tunnel, Runway, Old Channel, Snapper Ledge, D' Wall. Temperatures in the water while we were there ranged from 28-32 deg Celsius depending on the weather conditions ie a couple days of rain & large swell. Vis averages 21 - 30+ metres. Even though June & July are normally the hottest & driest months the el nino effect could certainly be seen here.

Even though similar in marine life to Sipadan Island it still was very different. On the large side you could see anything from manta rays, napoleon wrasse, giant humphead wrasse, hawksbill turtle, dog tooth tuna, various types of gro(u)per, spotted sharks, white tip reef sharks, hammerhead sharks to hard corals, gorgonian sea fans & soft corals. On the smaller side there were 100s of anthias, hawkfishes, parrotfish, wrasses of various colours & shapes, goatfish, blennies & gobies, clownfish, nudibranchs, various angel & damsel fishes, rockcod, the odd scorpionfish. The barrel sponges there are huge. Wrasse strip is home to some striking variations of sea anemones.

Night dives were a good time to locate pipefish, small octopus, catfish, eels, flounders & soul hiding in the sand, and all those minute creatures you could find on sea urchins, sea cucumbers & featherstars, upside down jellyfish, hermit crabs, mantis shrimp (translucent grey).

To round it all off, in particular spots you would find schools of trevally, barracudas, moorish idols, butterfly fishes, sweetlips, bigeyes, fusilers, snapper, bream, seaperch, surgeonfish & unicornfish. The only downside to the dives was avoiding the wrath of the triggerfish (Titan & Peach-faced). Boy, were they vicious during laying time & really made you move if they decided to go for your face or take a bite out of you fins.

DIVE ROUTINE - Met 15mins before dive boat due to depart to don wetsuit & take in the dive plan. Videographer takes shots of your 1st 2 dives while at LL which you can purchase with highlights. All your dive gear is already aboard the boat so you just need to remember your camera gear, bathers (in my case) & dive mask. At the dive site your dive guide slips into the water to check which way current is going while you are gearing up. We did the dive plan, but if the current picked up & you were going against it, you just turned around & took the easy way back as long as you stayed with your buddy. The boat follows along at a safe distance. Safety sausages & air horns are recommended. Dive plan is head down to our planned maximum depth & then work our way back up the wall.

The daily routine goes like this - 7am your room phone rings to wake you for the 1st dive of the day at 8am. Up to you whether you turn over & snatch a few mores minutes of kip or stroll down to the verandah for your caffeine/tannin fixes & toast. 10am hot buffet breakfast. Change of film before the next dive briefing at 11 for Dive # 2. 1.30pm buffet lunch & rest till the 3rd dive at 3pm. Night dives were held at your convenience. Afternoon tea at 5:30pm. Dinner time at 7:30pm.

Tipping is customary. All tips go into the box at reception for equal distribution. You can book through your normal travel agent or directly with the Layang-Layang Island Resort Office. There was no time difference between Perth & LL. It is 8hrs ahead of GMT. Kuala Lumpur Sales & Reservations Office - T028, 3rd Floor, Sungei Wang Plaza, Jalan Sultan Ismail, 55100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Tel: 603-2433166 Fax: 603-2433177 E-mail: layang@pop.jaring.my