Search results

Found in Sabah Mataking Night Dive

Indonesia diving is truely great. With the bombing prices get better as demand falls due to security reasons. If look closely at where the dive sites are, it is extremely remote compared to say Kuta. Lembongan needs a long long boat ride to get to. Tulamben a 2 hour car ride. Menjangan...

Welcome to South East Asian dive sites, with so many to choose from where should you start? Perhaps tell us your plan. Office work somewhere then go diving, or actually work as a DM or Instructor and travel around this region? On a shoe string budget?...

Just got back from Kuwait on a work assignment. Unfortunately no time to dive or check out the dive shops. On the Kuwait Airways, read advertisment about Palm Beach Resort near the Airport. It suppose to have a dive center there. Hilton closer to the city has a water sports center. Not...

The normal Gilli Trawangan, Air, Meno are not adrenalin rush dives. A very calm site. Much of the reef is dead, but not all. West side Trawangan is OK with a few sharks and mantas. Turtle Point has turtles, but reef is not healthy and dead brown. If I remember correctly they have some...

The Zeagle shop is in Concourse at Beach Road. Go to basement and you will see an Oceanic sign, that is the shop. At the basement, there is also another dive shop called Richmond, they sell Scubapro stuff. In terms of DiveRite, make sure you call them up before you go all the way down to...

If you miss Sipadan this time round there will be no staying on Sipadan next time. As for the wife issue, here is my own experience. This was during the height of the Indonesian riots many years back. When the locals were going after the Chinese in Jakarta not sure over what issue...

I have been to richer dive sites with greater marine biodiversity before, for example Sangalaki, Derawan, Kakaban, Maratua, Bali... I have been to more prestine sites before, for example Pulau Weh, Miri... But all sites have something unique, Mataking would be Frogfish heaven for me. Best...

My journey started from Singapore. Flew to Kota Kinabalu on Australian Airlines. Then used Malaysian Airlines to get to Tawau. 1 hour car ride from Tawau to Semporna. Then travel North East 1.25 hour on a twin 200 hp from Semporna to Mataking. So I am guessing it is about 40...

The resort is done Balinese style. Arrivals are greeted with Mataking song and of course drink. Food is really the best buffet I have ever had for a dive resort. I actually look forward to the meals. They even have crisp salad, instead of the limp stuff due to temperature. Rooms are...

Mataking actually consist of Besar (big) and Kechil (small). There is a 200 meter sandbar connecting the two. During low tide it is clearly visible. It is still kind of crossable during high tide. The sites all border the deep ocean trench, so it is regularly bathed by the rich ocean...

Besides Sipadan / Mabul area, you may want to consider Maratua Nabucco. I know they can do NITROX mixes there, but not sure about the sorb part. I did hear once in awhile divers with rebreathers going there. So the sorb might be coming from the commercial oil rig divers in Balikpapan...

Sipadan Mabul Resort (SMART) used to have a few sets of Draeger rebreathers, not sure if they still do. The resort owner and technical dive center was really into the rebreather stuff. They also had some apollo scooters. The resort however is not that luxurious. Borneo Divers does not...

Was there in June/July 2003. Had a great time. Rooms are clean and luxurious. Has a brackish water pool. Food is fresh and delicious. The dive center is large and well organized. The Bangka sites are rich with color and coral. No crowd. Each site has its unique terrain which...

Was told by some locals to that area that the staff was sent to Aston in Jakarta for training. The owner is still the same. The resort is functional, and recently caters to Taiwanese. Is it still in a state of disrepair? I guess that is all relative, and hope to hear from your trip...

Mataking had an ADEX 2004 offer, valid until end of this year. If interested, PM me and I will pass you the details. No, I do not work for Mataking, it just so happens I may end up at that resort very soon since it appears ideal for the family and the kids have school holidays. Neither do...

When I stood on the pier and looked at the resort, it looked unoccupied. The blue roof of the resort appeared uneven and certain sections caved in. The Dive Center on the pier was also empty. The pier itself was not well maintained with loose walkways and structural supports. Did 3 day...

I thought the Paradise resort was no longer operational. Could be wrong. Anyway, to dive bangka area, one of the newer resorts is http://www.ganggaisland.com/ Gangga is very well run, both resort and dive center. The resort managers are avid divers themselves. Here is a trip report...

This resort is in Likupang northern tip of Sulawesi. About maybe 1.5 - 2 hour car ride from Manado. The last time I saw it in June/July 2003, it looked very run down and delapitated. The structure is impressive and big, but lacks maintenance. Not sure if there were any staff inside. The...

Most opertors are located on Gili Trawangan, the bigger of the islands. It is also the island with the healthiest coral (in relative terms) on the western shore. Gili Air and Meno has a fringing reef around it, but badly bombed. Still there is a lot of macro life at certain spots. The...