Dive Site Map - Kota Belud

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MAYNE ROCK

​Our most popular dive site. With its huge rock formations, this site has an interesting and varied topography which divers want to explore again and again! The giant boulders are covered with pink soft coral and brightly coloured feather stars and tube worms. Fusiliers, snapper and sardines swarm over the rocky contours of the reef where larger jacks and mackerel dart in to catch prey. In the sandy patches we often spy leopard sharks and marble rays hanging out. This is also a great macro site with critters such as ghost pipefish, scorpionfish, frogfish, juvenile reef fish, spider crabs, cowries, colourful nudibranchs and tiny shrimps to search for.
Depth: 7 - 30 meters
​Distance: 20 mins by boat

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MAYNE REEF

​Mayne Reef is a huge extensive stretch of very colourful hard coral reef. Drift effortlessly over sandy valleys, huge coral bommies and rivers of neon fusiliers and bright yellow snappers. This is the best place to count numerous stingrays and see how many sharks you can find sleeping under the coral!
Depth: 7 - 30 meters
​Distance: 20 mins by boat

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ELLA'S GARDEN

Begin the dive in a sand channel where we often see big barracudas schooling or trevally hunting. Swim out to the big boulder rocks where giant cuttlefish, octopus and bigfin reef squid make home. Drift over huge flat table corals and round barrel sponges and perhaps encounter an eagle ray gliding by. As you reach the shallow rocky area you will encounter an explosion of life, as shimmering schools of fish gather to feed in the current.
Depth: 8 - 26 meters
Distance: 25 mins by boat

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NORTH HILL

​A relaxing drift dive north over stunning coral streching across the landscape. This site exhibits our most beautiful and healthy coral coverage. A variety of coral bommies, table corals, brain corals, staghorn reefs, whip corals, cabbages, barrel sponges and pink soft corals make this our favourite reef. 
Depth: 7 - 25 meters
​Distance: 25 mins by boat

​ Apex Avenue
Another extensive drift dive over stunning reef, stretches of white sand and colourful soft corals. Spot sharks resting on the sandy bottom and look out for huge patrolling Spanish mackerel, Apex predators of the reef.
Depth: 10-25 meters
Distance: 30 minutes by boat

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FISH BOWL

​Fish Bowl is so called because of the millions of juvenile fish which shelter here on the reef. Black coral thrives here, a particularly unusual type of coral which is actually only black when dried, but under water appears like big pale white, green and yellow bushes. This type of coral is usually only found at depths of 30 meters and below yet here it grows at 14-18 meters deep. A very busy dive site, with schools of barracudas, sardines and juvinelle scat sheltering amongst the black coral trees. Also be sure to take time to hunt in the sand as this can be a great critter dive, with seahorses, pygmy squid, saw-blade and whip coral shrimp to search for.
Depth: 5 - 25 meters
Distance: 15 mins by boat

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SALVAGE POINT

This is the site where the famous Japanese USUKAN WW2 Wrecks previously lay; Merchant Tankers Kolusei Maru, Hiyori Maru and Higane Maru. The ships were sunk by deadly torpedoes fired by American Submarine USS Hammerhead back in 1944.
Sadly, they were very recently salvaged for valuable steel and a pile of scrap metal on the sea bed is now all that remains of the ships. Nonetheless, this is still a great site to explore for the artificial reef that has thrived around the structures and the huge schools of fish which shelter here. Watch out for predatory tuna and jacks hunting in the blue. Schools of barracuda and snapper blanket the top of the wreck and a chance to encounter large pelagic fish makes this a spectacular site. Keep a look out for eagle rays, huge marble rays and giant groupers that live under the remains of the wreck.
Bare in mind that over 128 passengers and crew lost their lives here. Viewing the ghostly wreck remains in the dark blue deep makes for an especially eerie dive.
Please note this site is for Advanced divers or above only with minimum 20 dives. We recommend diving Salvage Point as part of your Advanced Open Water course, or dive deeper as part of your Deep Speciality course!
Depth: 26 - 40 meters
​Distance: 30 mins by boat

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LEOPARD REEF

This pinacle site is another great place to look for sharks, with many bamboo sharks, cat sharks and possibly leopard sharks resting on the sandy bottom and sleeping between rocky crevices. This is also a great macro site with nudibranchs galore.
Depth: 14-25 meters
​Distance: 30 mins by boat

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PURPLE REEF

A stunning reef covered in gorgeous pinkish purple soft coral. This site is situated further out towards open ocean, therefore expect excellent visibility, often over 30 to 50 meters! Expect to see lots of nudibranchs, small sharks, moray eels, cephalopods and larger pelagic fish passing by such as dorado, wahoo and tuna.
Depth: 18-40 meters
​Distance: 45 mins by boat

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PULAU PANDAN

​This tiny uninhabited island is a perfect location for beginner divers and snorkelers. A great easy dive site, this island has a shallow beach and a sloping coral reef which extends all the way around the island with healthy coral gardens and tropical reef fish.
Pulau Pandan is also a great location for night dives, where you can experience the nocturnal creatures of the reef hunting in the darkness. See strange sponge and decorator crabs, morays eels, barchfin scorpionfish, cat sharks, lobsters and minute critters such as pygmy and bobtail squid. Remember to turn off your torch for a minute to experience the incredible bioluminescence glowing in the darkness!
Depth: 3 - 16 meters
Distance: 2 mins by boat

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LOCAL SITES
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​Only 2-20 minutes away, our local reefs are perfect for beginners; safe, shallow with moderate currents. Local reefs are comprised of hard and soft corals with schools of colourful reef fish. On a dive here you will encounter many different marine species such as lionfish, scorpionfish, stingrays, turtles, lobsters, cuttlefish, squid, giant grouper, moray eels and of course NEMO! Theses are perfect sites to begin your underwater adventure!
Depth: 5 - 18 meters
​Distance: 5 - 10 mins by boat

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MANTANANI
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Actually three islands approximately 40km away from the mainland, Mantanani makes a lovely day trip for divers and snorkelers alike. Mantanani offers postcard scenery with stunning white sandbars, coconut trees swaying in the warm breeze and crystal clear turquoise waters. The Island is famously known for its stunning visibility, often reaching between 15 to 40 meters! There are many different dive sites around the three islands comprising of hard coral gardens, sandy slopes, fringing reefs and steep drop-offs. Mantanani is a great place to spot giant sea turtles!
Depth: 5 - 30 meters
​Distance: 1 hours 20 mins by boat

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