Diving in Pulau Redang - April 2007

Just came back from my first dive trip of 2007, a 5D4N stay at Pulau Redang, Malaysia. This time, hubby's colleague and his wife joined us and we had a great time together. Totally awesome trip with perfect sunny weather (only a 20-min passing shower one of the days)! Did 8 great dives and enjoyed ourselves tremendously :D

Day 1
Once again, we opted to travel by Berjaya Air and stay at Laguna Redang Beach Resort. After reaching the island, we wasted no time to check out the Dive Centre. Good to see familiar faces once again, the ever friendly and professional group of Dive Masters and Instructors - Hitomi, Chin, James, Jimmy, Saiful, Eaing (didn't see Sangi, Andrew around though). Immediately booked ourselves for the 4.30pm dive. Couldn't wait to plunge right into the clear blue waters that looked so inviting!
Dive 1, 5.15pm - Mak Cantik (Maxi Mount)
This was my 3rd time to Mak Cantik. The underwater coral garden looks ever so beautiful. We were greeted by large schools of Golden Trevally, Yellow Tail Barracudas and reef fishes upon descent; practically surrounded by fishes! Lots of lovely hard and soft corals, Angelfishes, Anemonefishes, Damselfishes, Fusiliers, Sweetlips, Seafans, Feather Stars... slightly choppy waters but underwater was ok. Great dive! Rested early for the night as we were going for the 8am dive the next day.

Day 2
Woke up to great sunshine, had light breakfast and headed straight for the 2nd dive.
Dive 2, 8.50am - Pulau Lima North (Big Mount)

Met with high waves and strong current; had to fin like crazy and hence a relatively short dive as we breathed hard to fight the current. Nevertheless dynamic dive site with amazing boulder formation. Spotted large Butterfly fishes, Bat fishes, stingray, lots of colorful Sea Fans.Tired after the dive, we decided to rest till the 2pm dive instead of going for the 10.30am one.

Managed to catch a short nap before going for lunch. Thereafter, we were all set for the 2pm dive.
Dive 3, 3pm - Terumbu Kili (South Point, "Fish Market")

Site was relatively calm as it is partially sheltered by Pulau Pinang. Descent to a beautiful coral garden; spotted large schools of barracudas, scorpion fish which was well camouflaged against a rock, blue-spotted stingray, big fat sea cucumbers, crown of thorns, yellow boxfish, Angelfishes, Batfishes, a lone large Titan Trigger (luckily it was a distance away); and just before our 3min/5m decompression stop, spotted a Blacktip Reef Shark swimming to and fro some corals!

Ended our dive for the day; strolled around the beachfront, had some snacks before snatching a nap again. We were there on holiday, remember?

Day 3

The next day, we woke up late and skipped the morning dives. Hopped over to Redang Beach Resort and found some beachfront foodstalls. What better way to start the day with a rich Ramly Burger, Keropok Lekor and Ice Milo? Having idled enough, prepared for the next 2 dives in the afternoon.

Dive 4, 2.40pm - Terumbu Kili (South Point, "Fish Market")

Great to re-visit the "fish market" with abundance marine life again. Saw a Moray Eel immediately after descent. In fact, saw another 2 big Moray Eels along the way. Once again schools of fishes like Yellow Tail Barracudas; also spotted Nudibranchs, Cushion Stars and finally a Hawksbill Turtle feeding off the corals!

Rested a bit and had a refreshing sour plum drink before going another dive. This sour plum drink was served as a welcome drink when we first arrived. We loved it so much that we ordered it every day there! And also asked the staff for the 'secret' recipe. Shall try to make it one of these days.
Dive 5, 5pm - Pulau Kerengga (Sting Ray Garden)
Lots of Anemones and Anemonefishes, sashaying along with the gentle current. Saw a large stingray hidden among the reefs after descent, couldn't make out how big it is, but I reckon at least 1.5 to 2m from head to tail. Spotted a few more blue-spotted stingrays and then this giant stingray resting at the sandy bottom. None of us dared to swim close, chose to stay a distance away lest this menacing and sinister-looking monster decide to stir. The tail alone is at least 2m long! No wonder this site is called Sting Ray Garden. Tip of the ice-berg, swam with a school of baby Yellow Tail Barracudas; at one point I was literally surrounded by them. Cool!
After 2 great dives, we rewarded ourselves with a sumptuous dinner. For this trip, we dined at the ala-carte restaurant most of the time; I guess we just want to relax as much as possible instead of jostling with the crowd for food at the buffet restaurant. The full board package we booked allow us to dine either buffet or ala-carte with a value of RM40 per pax (excluding drinks) which could really buy us a lot of food!

Day 4

Dive 6, 8.50am - Pulau Lima (Southern Tip)
Descent to a garden of lovely table corals. Saw many reef fishes, hard and soft corals; spotted Moray eels, Nudibranchs and just before ascent, a baby Hawksbill Turtle. Great dive once again!

Dive 7, 11.10am - Garden Eel Garden
As the sea was pretty choppy on the east coast of Redang, our Dive Masters took us to the west coast where water was very calm. For this dive, we were in search of Garden Eels. Unfortunately, we weren't sharp-eye enough and didn't see any. But we were fortunate to spot 2 Lionfish, Giant Clams, Gobyfish, Pipefish. Very relaxing dive.

Dive 8, 3pm - Tg Lebah (Beehive Point)
Last dive for the trip. This site is at the west coast of Redang with pretty calm waters. Relaxing dive; able to spot many small creatures like Nudibranchs, Razor Fish, Shrimp. Sea Snake; Moray eel, Sea Stars, Lion Fish and a pair of Unicorn Fish. If not for the 18 hour 'time to fly' rule, we really felt like doing more dives. Well, safety comes first. Enjoyed the rest of the day idling and relaxing.

Day 5

Woke up early to pack our dive gears, had breakfast before heading home. Couldn't bear to leave the island paradise; must go back again one of these days :p

P.S. Already itching for another dive trip. Pulau Tioman, Aur or Dayang perhaps :D

Travel resources

• Berjaya Air http://www.berjaya-air.com/
• Redang Island Rendezvous http://www.redang.org/
• Laguna Redang Beach Resort http://www.lagunaredang.com.my/