Mabul Island
Mention Mabul Island and visions of swaying coconut trees and idyllic water villages come to mind. And that’s just above the water. Located only about 15 minutes by speedboat from the famous Sipadan Island, Mabul has gained its own recognition as one of the best muckdiving (a term used to describe limited visibility dives at shallow sites with usually sandy bottoms) sites in the world.
Mabul is a small oval shaped island fringed by sandy beaches and perched on the northwest corner of a larger 200hectare reef. The reef is on the edge of the continental shelf and the seabed surrounding the reef slopes out to 25 to 30 meters deep.
Mabul is also renowned for its amazing array of macrolife, making it an underwater photographer’s dream location to capture some of the rarest cological species on film. Flamboyant cuttlefish, blueringed octopus, spikefin gobies, frogfish and moray eels are just some of the spectacular critters you will encounter beneath the waters of Mabul.
Although all the excitement is underwater, you can always set your scuba gear aside for a day to laze on Mabul’s soft sand to work on your tan.