Snorkeling, what better way to see the spectacular underwater marine life if you are not yet ready to step into the world of diving. Gliding through the water with your fins, mask & snorkel viewing the beautiful corals & other marine life.
First off, let’s get down to the basics. What is snorkeling? The dictionary defines snorkeling as the practice of swimming on or underwater water while equipped with a diving mask, a shaped breathing tube called a snorkel, and fins.
The snorkeling equipment allows you to swim while breathing with your face and body submerged underwater. Unlike scuba diving though, you are confined to staying on the surface (unless you are taught to skin dive – but we will talk about this in a different blog) as you don’t want your snorkel to fill up with water.
A snorkeling trip with Scuba Junkie KK starts early in the morning at Jesselton point where you meet our friendly team. The destination is decided on the morning of your activity but it will be a few sites within the Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine park. Your day is designed to give you plenty of time in the water exploring three different spots around TARP as well as some time to relax on the flawless white sandy beaches & enjoy the ocean view.
The boat ride will take around 15-20 minutes. Upon reaching the island, everything is prepared for you & all you have to do is jump into the crystal blue ocean!
Depending on numbers, our snorkelers will either join our dive boats or have their own dedicated snorkeling boat, either way our staff will be on hand to help you with safety advice, tips on the best places to snorkel as well as helping you identify a variety of marine life.
Two morning trips which are around 45 minutes to 1 hour are followed by a relaxing lunch on one of the Islands, while enjoying the tropical paradise. The third and final trip of the day takes place after everyone has had enough time to digest lunch, usually around 2pm. After the third trip our speedboats safely shuttle you back to Kota Kinabalu, while you enjoy the views of the Islands and Mt. Kinabalu while discussing the marvels that you have just seen with buddies and our team.
We have a great variety of sites which are amazing for snorkeling, popular ones being Eel Garden, Gaya & The Rock, Mamutik which are known for seeing Black tip Reef Sharks in the shallows, don’t worry though they are super chilled and just swim pass not even noticing you are there! Fish Feeding & Coral Garden around Sapi Island along with South Sulug are great sites known for seeing schools of Barracuda, bigeye snapper, turtles & lots of Clownfish in anemones, all shallow enough for snorkelers to enjoy!
If you are inspired by this post to try snorkeling, let us know!
Diving uses up a lot of energy & always makes us feel hungry at the end of the day after some amazing dives. What better way to sort out those hunger pains with going to eat a delicious meal & drink at one of these restaurants that we have rated our top 7 in Kota Kinabalu!
El Centro Cafe is an excellent meeting place for travelers and locals that offers delicious international food and drinks at really reasonable prices. The atmosphere is fun, relaxed and has a great vibe for hanging out with friends and enjoying good food and music! El Centro has a variety of daily happy hour drink specials & tapas and hosts regular events like pub quiz, live music and local art exhibitions. This is the perfect place to unwind after a day of diving in KK!
As you can tell from the name, Shamrock is an Irish Bar that serves not just beer, but also some great food too. Shamrock is located at Waterfront Kota Kinabalu, one of the best places you can enjoy the amazing sunset of Sabah with a beer in your hand. The restaurant can be quite crowded in the evening as early as before sunset time as everyone is eager to get the best spot to view the sunset so be sure to come here early! It’s a great place to go for those who are looking for fun & chilled night as it has live music at night.
Shoney’s is a western restaurant located in the heart of Kota Kinabalu, it is famous among locals & tourists. From lamb chop, steaks, spaghetti to desserts, you can find any western cuisine that you like here. Like the two restaurants above, Shoney’s serves alcoholic drinks as well. The atmosphere in the restaurant is very cozy & it feels good to hang out here with your friends.
Sri Latha is an Indian restaurant located at Bandaran Berjaya area. They serve your foods here on a banana leaf. You can eat with either your bare hands or with cutlery. If you are looking for a unique dining experience, then be sure to visit this place! The foods here are tasty & you get several side dishes & curries together with your rice. Sri Latha also offer vegetarian & vegan options. Besides main dish, you can order a variety of rotis that they have here for a light snack.
Ang’s Hotel Restaurant is located just beside Ang’s Hotel, it is an open restaurant just beside the street. Ang’s Restaurant is a famous local dining restaurant that serves Chinese cuisine. Their chicken wings with oyster sauce is must-try dish here! The place is pretty packed in the evening so you might have to wait for a while to get a table here but they serve foods quite fast once you sit down.
Bak Kut Teh is one of dishes that you got to try when in Malaysia. It is literally translated as pork bone tea soup. It is a dish where meat & pork ribs are cooked in a herbal soup. There are several bak kut the restaurants you can find at the city centre, one of them is Yu Kee Bak Kut Teh. the food here are served in individual portions so you will be able to order & taste different dishes even if you come here by yourself.
Living Seed restaurant has been open for quite some time in Sabah. Their 1st restaurant is located outside of Kota Kinabalu, but they have recently opened another branch at the city centre so you won’t need to go far to get some vegetarian food! This new Living Seed Restaurant is located inside Suria Sabah, one of the most frequently visited shopping malls in Sabah. They have this economy rice set where many pre-cooked dishes laid out in one corner & you can just choose whichever dish that you like to go with your rice. Otherwise they also have ala-carte option where there are a variety of vegetarian foods that you can choose from the menu.
Did you know Whale Sharks are the largest fish on the planet? And are in no way related to whales. Although they are sharks, they are very docile and pose no real threats to humans.
Whale sharks can grow to be up to 12 meters long and can weigh up to 20 tons (the size of a bus!!), making them the world’s largest fish. Despite their size, they are very docile creatures that are completely harmless to divers. They only eat plankton and small fish that are filtered from the ocean by their large mouths, which are located on the front of the head rather than the underside, as opposed to the underside of most shark species.
Although little is known about this massive creature, whale sharks are thought to live to be over 100 years old, reaching maturity at around 30 years. They are thought to have a rapid growth rate when young, which then slows down, taking them a long time to mature and increasing the vulnerability of this iconic species.
Do you want to learn some more interesting facts about these beautiful gentle giants? Have a look at this excellent whale shark article from Dive The World!
This is a very common question & the easiest answer is in the water! Of course there is an element of luck you have to be in the right place at the right time, however if they are around you will find them within the Tunku Abdul Rahman marine park.
There have been lucky student divers in the past that have been able to see these amazing creatures while taking their PADI Open Water course. Can you imagine seeing one of your first Open water dive? What an experience!
There can be no guarantee of seeing a whale shark as when you are diving in the ocean it is such a vast space. I read somewhere that diving is like going on safari, not like going to the zoo, which is quite realistic. However, the more you dive the better chance you have of seeing this magical creature!
Don’t worry though, if you don’t manage to spot one there are still plenty of amazing things to see such as Eagle rays, school of Barracuda, Snappers, Turtles, Black Tip reef sharks & much much more!
The million-dollar question! Of course nature is quite random but it is typically March- April time in Kota Kinabalu when we gain large plankton blooms which draw in the Whale Sharks in.
Whale sharks have sensory cells in the nasal grooves above the mouth, and these help the whale shark detect food in the water. It has been suggested that whale shark movement patterns are linked with coral spawning and plankton blooms.
It is important to remember that sharing water with these amazing creatures is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that most people check off their bucket list. However, it is critical that we understand the do’s and don’ts of our behaviour around them, and that we treat these creatures with the utmost respect.
Scuba Junkie adheres to standards & guidelines to ensure we do not endanger, harm or harass the animal. This also means divers can make the most of their whale shark encounter.
We hope you will join us in trying to spot these beautiful animals! Don’t forget nature can change their mind & we can have random visits at other times in the year too! If you are not looking it might just pop up and surprise you!
Trash on the beach is not only unsightly, but it also creates threats for many of the underwater critters we love to see. Turtles will mistake plastic bags for jelly fish and eat them. This can cause huge problems for them, consuming plastic can make it difficult for them to eat other foods. It can also block their digestive system leading to painful fatalities. Tangled fishing lines left in the water can lead to entanglement for Manta and Devil Rays, or even sharks. There are many ways we want to protect our oceans, beach cleaning is one that everyone can easily get involved with!
Of course, protecting marine life is not the only reason. We also need to protect ourselves. Many people love playing around on the beach. Kids and adults love building sand castles and we want everyone to be able to do that without fearing risk of cutting themselves on discarded metal or glass.
There isn’t much equipment needed for a beach clean.
Pieces of glass or rusting metal can often be found along the beach. If you choose to pick these things up, be extremely careful! Even if you are just picking up a plastic bag – be careful! In many places these bags could contain substances that you would much rather didn’t explode on you (another great reason to wear gloves!). Be cautious when collecting trash!
Not all rubbish you see has to be removed. If you have limited bags then always put plastic bottles and plastic bags in first – these are the biggest threat to the underwater world.
Some people find beach cleaning a chore, but it can be easy to make it fun. Create competitions and have prizes for people who collect the most rubbish in the shortest amount of time.
Once you have completed your beach clean make sure all the rubbish is properly disposed of. Getting plastic recycled will give you even more eco-points. Recording the trash that you picked up can also be extremely helpful. There are many different operations that value and use this information. Have a look online to see what organisations near you will want this information and what recommendations they have for waste disposal.
Getting other people involved will make it a lot more fun for you. Explain to people what you are doing and why what you are doing is important. Kids and adults from all over the world can get involved!
People often find themselves discouraged when the tide changes and the beach they just worked so hard to clean is, once again, covered in plastic bottles / bags. But don’t be disheartened! It may not feel like it, but everything you do helps! One bag of rubbish you take off the beach is one less bag of plastic that a turtle might try to eat. That bag of rubbish may contain a fishing line that a shark or ray could have become entangled in and died. As one person you may not be able to change everything, but getting yourself and others involves DOES make a difference!
A beach clean doesn’t have to be a huge organised event. Many divers spend times on islands relaxing during their surface interval. If you look around and happen to notice a few bottles or some trash lying around, grab a bag and pick them up. It’ll take 5 minutes, and who knows, maybe it will give you some good diving karma!
Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park (TARP) also nick named the KK Marine Park features 5 beautiful islands Gaya, Sapi, Manukan, Mamutik and Sulug. This famous marine park has been a marine park for more then 40 years and its marine life is carefully monitored and protected by Sabah Parks. As a result this area is home to thousands of schooling fish, pristine coral reefs, cool creepy critters such as Frogfish, Octopus, Sea horses, Orangutan crabs and much more! We also have some of the larger marine life such as Turtles, Black Tip Reef Sharks, Eagle rays, Cowtail Rays and even during Spring season the Whale Sharks sometimes come and visit.
All types of divers are welcome here, it is a great place for beginners and also fantastic for experienced divers who want to do a bit of photography. We often have snorkelers too who enjoy the sites of the outer reef rather then the beach seeing much more and get a bit of island time between intervals.There is something here to meet every divers and snorkelers tastes
The largest island within the marine park and the closest to Kota Kinabalu. The name Gaya came from a Bajau word “Gayo”which means big. The island is 3,700 acres in size and has an elevation of up to 300 meters. The island is covered in dense tropical forest which is a forest reserve. On the island, there is a 20km long hiking path . There is great wildlife to be seen such as monitor lizards, bearded pigs and the beautiful hornbill birds. One of the popular sites of Gaya island is the legendary beach at Police Bay. There is a long stretch of white sand which slopes out gradually to the sea and make its a perfect spot for swimming and snorkelling in the crystal blue waters. The reefs around Gaya are still in great condition, making it a fantastic spot for diving.
A mixture of shallow macro diving and shallow sloping walls full of coral reefs! Dive sites around this Island range from 5m-30m and offers some amazing macro life such as Frog Fish, Scorpion Fish, Lion Fish, Seahorses, Nudibranchʼs as well as larger marine life such as Turtles, Barracuda, Tuna and even Reef Sharks can be seen.
Sapi means ‘cow’ and the island is said to be shaped like a cow’s head.
Known to be the most beautiful island within the KK marine park. Connected to Gaya via Zip line (a.k.a Flying Fox) which is 235 Meter-long 771 (feet), this is open to thrill seekers who want to fly across the ocean at a vast speed between the two islands, known as the Coral Flyer. This is the world’s longest island to island zip line.
Sapi island is only 25 acres and the second smallest island of TARP. There is not only a wide variety of marine life, but on the island there are also Bearded pigs and monitor lizards.
Sapi offers some amazing white pristine beaches with fantastic reefs for diving. Diving ranges from 8-25m and divers can expect to see Stingrays, Fusiliers, Crocodile Fish, Cuttlefish, Octopus, Moray Eels, lots of nudibranchs, Stone Fish and Anemone Fish plus much more
This is the second largest island in TARP quite a popular island for our residents as it has long stretched of beautiful beach for relaxing on and snorkelling around. It is also covered with dense vegetation and has great hiking trails. This Island has very healthy coral reefs teaming with many reef fish and you can even see the very rare and valuable Black Coral diving at this Island. Dive sites vary from 7-25m which makes this island ideal for all levels of divers.
This is the smallest island in the clusters of TARP at about 15 acres in size. However this island goes to show that size is not always everything! A peaceful and mesmerising island with a quiet beach to laze around on. The rich coral reefs are diverse in marine life. Mamutik Island offers divers and snorkelers very healthy coral reefs teaming with a large variety of large and small reef fish. There are also lots of rare macro life such as Frog fish, Lion Fish, Leaf Fish, plus many more. This island is also home to a giant underwater statue of a Seahorse! The Island itself is like an Island post card with pristine white sandy beaches-most of our divers never want to leave
Located on the most southern tip of KK marine park Sulug is the most remote and least visited by tourists. It is around 20 acres. The island has no amenities, thus this island offers nature at its best! A long sand spit extending outwards into the ocean. The diving here is ranked among the best in the marine park with common sightings of sea snakes, turtles, rays, frog fish, morays, lots of nudibranchs, and the coral is pristine with an abundance of marine life-truly a divers haven. We highly recommend you dive here for your 2nd or 3rd day diving within the park.
