Diving at Redang Island, Malaysia

Redang Island, called Pulau Redang in the local language, is located at 45 km offshore of Terengganu, a state at north east of Peninsula Malaysia. At the size of about 7km long and 6km wide, it's a small island. Together with some other islands, Pulau Pinang, Pulau Lima, Pulau Ekor Tebu, Pulau Perhentian Besar, Pulau Perhentian Kecil, Pulau Susu Dara, Pulau Lang Tengah and Pulau Kapas, these group of islands forms the Pulau Redang Marine Park which is abound with marvelous marine fishes, turtles and coral reefs, provides a great snorkelling and scuba-diving experience. There are more than 500 species of live corals, 1000 species of invertebrates and almost 3000 species of fishes which includes manta rays, stingrays, sharks and whale sharks, all living in harmony in the reefs fringing the islands.

Redang Island is famous for it's white sandy beaches, crystal clear blue sea, brilliant underwater world and has among the best coral reef in the world. With more than 20 different diving spots, it is a heaven for diving enthusiasts and underwater photographers. Some of them are black coral garden, shipwrecks near Pinang Island, a mysterious submerged chamber and Mini Mount.

The dive season at Redang starts around March and lasts until early October. The daily temperature ranges from 22oC in the early morning to 34oC at noon. The visibiity averages 15 metres. On good days, it can improve to 30 metres. Some of the favourite dive locations are:

Big Mount

Located about 50 to 100 meters off the northern tip of Pulau Lima, Big mount is a completely submerged oval seamount. This is arguably the best of all the dive sites around this island with a large coral pillar and highly rated by local divers.. The shallowest portion of this reef at 20 meters and the boulder terrain drops to 30 meters and is filled with many varieties of hard and soft corals, gorgonian fans, sea anemones and whip coral gardens. Divers can expect to encounter huge clownfish, sea cucumbers, starfishes, stonefish, groupers and parrotfish.

Mini Mount.

100 meters east off of Pulau Kerengga Besar, with the deepest portion at about 20 meters. The surface of the boulders are carpeted with a variety of soft corals, tubastrea corals, sea squirts, sponges and stinging hydroids. Also, here divers can see a unique blend of sponges, shrimps, moluscs, echinoderms and soft corals. This is a popular choice for night dive where divers are rewarded with an abundance of night creatures foraging for food around the reef.

Terumbu Kili

Lies at the southern tip of Pulau Pinang, this is one of the top dive sites at Redang. 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. Due to the strong currents, this site is best left to advanced and more experienced divers as you can get swept out to sea if you're not careful.

The waters around Pulau Redang also contain two historic shipwrecks: The HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse, sunk here at the start of World War II.

Other dive sites includes Tanjung Lang, Tanjung Tokong, Tanjung Gua Kawah, Pasir Panjang, Batu Mak Chantek, Pulau Paku Besar, Pulau Paku Kecil, Pulau Ling, Batu Chipor, Terumbu Putih, Black Coral Garden, "Mysterious Submerged Chamber", The Southeastern Side, The Northeastern Side, Pulau Kerangga Kecil and Pulau Ekor Tebu.

Divers, packed your bags and heading to Redang Island already?