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The
island resort of Layang Layang lies 300km north west of Kota
Kinabalu, Northern Borneo. It is a cigar shaped atoll formed
by thirteen coral reefs linked together, providing an incredible
dive site 7.3km long and 2.2km wide, with a central lagoon
reputed to be 60mtrs deep.
The
outer reefs drop to 2000 mtrs with the reef tops just visible
at low tide, except for a small low lying area of 15 acres
which was originally reclaimed from the sea in 1982 by the
Royal Malaysian Navy for a 'shore' base. Subsequently the
luxury holiday and diving resort of Layang Layang was buiIt.
The
main feature of the island, as seen from the air, is the 1000 mtr
runway. This is the no-nonsense way to travel to the resort,
taking just 11/2 hours by 'Twin Otter' from Kota Kinabalu
airport.
When
I visited in June'98 the resort was run by an Australian couple,
Steve and Coralie Steward. Steve is a commercial diver who
trained in Bovisand, Plymouth and who has dived world wide;
Coralie is a trained nurse who deals with all medical problems,
including decompression and evacuation procedures.
The
resort certainly lives up to its three star status, built
in a rich brown timber, Malaysian style, with covered walkways
connecting all the main buildings. The accommodation is very
comfortable with queen-sized beds, colour TV, fridge, a kettle
and pot and a good-sized table for the camera gear. The toilet
/ shower area is designed so that you can watch the TV while
having a warm shower between dives. They have a very nice
freshwater swimming pool set between the restaurant and the
living accommodation, if you get time to use it between diving
and eating. There is also a small shop selling T-shirts, books,
videos and small items for the diver. There is no provision
for E6 processing although it has been discussed. The leisure
area is a large well-appointed lounge and bar with the walls
covered in locally-taken photographs. The bookshelves are
full of underwater world books and videos just in case you
need photographic inspiration in the evenings.
The
food is excellent, being a mixture of Asian and European,
served buffet style three times a day with early breakfast
and afternoon tea if you feel peckish between meals. Tea,
coffee, Milo etc. are always available during daylight hours
and the bar is open throughout the day offering all kinds
of drinks. The dive centre is spacious and well equipped with
tanks for washing gear and cameras.
The
dive boats are some of the best I have used, being twinhulled
and very stable with easy exit and entry via a short ladder.
The
dive sites are located around the outside of the atoll so
all dives are boat dives, including the optional night dives,
unless you want to dive around the jetty. I did try this once,
following a boat dive, but the visibility was poor due to
the weather conditions so there was not much to be found.
I was told 'it was a bad week'.
The
corals and sponges were in very good condition. I did not
detect any damage you could put down to divers or the infamous
dynamite fishermen, only that caused by natural wave action
and some silting from the rainwater run-off at the eastern
end of the island.
The
first dive of the day was at the eastern end of the island
to take advantage of the rising sun on the reef, this was
before the cooked breakfast at 8.30am. This dive site, known
as 'The Point', extends around the end of the island to either
'Gorgonian Forest' to the north or 'bog Tooth Lair' to the
south - usually current-dependent. Here the reef drops from
the surface to 10mtrs, then steeply to 25mtrs, then vertically
to 40mtrs and beyond. This is the area of the Hammerhead Shark,
which attracts all the divers down to the resort maximum depth
of 40mtrs, on the first dive of the day. However, during my
stay the elusive Hammerheads did not put in an appearance
- as with so many of my trips *they were here last month at
25mtrs'!
I
liked this particular dive site in the 15 to 20mtr range.
Here there was a prof usion of corals and fish life: four
different types of clown fish, some in those photogenic anemone
'balls', eight different types of Butterfly Fish and six different
nuclibranchs. I saw a shoal of Yellow Striped Barracuda on
two occasions and a shoal of Big-eye Jacks, although not as
photo-friendly as the shoals at Sipadan. Trigger Fish, Puffers
and Rabbit Fish, the list goes on, With my macro/portrait
set-up I would shoot a roll of film before being'air embarrassed'.
Time was never a problem as the dive-guides would just wait
in the water or boat until all the divers surfaced.
The
mid-morning dive at 11.30am could have been at any of the
eight designated sites along the south of the island, each
with a different aspect, Some were sheer walls from the surface
to eternity and others had sandy patches at 10mtrs with coral
bommies shelving to the reef edge at 20/25mtrs, then down.
I loved the Red-eyed Hawk Fish as they waited on small coral
outcrops to be photographed with a black or blue background
before moving off to another 'perch' for a different photographic
angle. Dozens of reef fish patrolled their own 'patches' unconcerned
at my presence. It was during such an absorbing dive that
I heard the familiar bang-bang signal from our dive guide
- this time he was close enough for me to hear - to point
out a passing Manta 'flying' close to the reef a few metres
away. All along the south end you have the opportunity to
see White-tipped Reef Sharks, Turtles, lone Barracuda, and
if you are lucky a range of large pelagics as they pass the
island.
The
afternoon dive at 3.30pm was usually sited at the west end.
The most popular site was 'D; Wall', a sheer wall with ledges
and caves and the opportunity to see Lemon Sharks, Sting Rays
and a resident Leaf Scorpion Fish. There were a few soft corals
on the wall together with Gorgonians and Fan Corals but these
were not as prolific as one might expect with the unobstructed
water movement along the reef.
On
the north west tip of the island there are two sites called
'Wrasse Strip' and 'Valley'. This area, I discovered, was
one of the best macro/portrait sites on the island: Banner
Fish, Pipe Fish, Butterfly Fish in profusion, Emperor Angelfish,
the beautiful Moorish Idols and a passing shoal of Bumphead
Parrot Fish, all in 10 to 15mtrs of water over an almost continuous
forest of coral. Not so popular with the 'deepies' but a great
photographic dive.
Layang
Layang offers a great opportunity for the adventurous diver
with so many sites to explore, but luck and timing have to
be part of the equation if you are going for the'Big Fish'.
For
me, photography was my reason for being there and apart from
the poor weather (my story for 1998) I enjoyed the experience
immensely and would go back, but next time with a group of
like-minded photographers. I would also go with Dive Quest
who, through their sister company Bird Quest, could advise
me of the best time to go to avoid the annual ornithological
odour experienced by some, and much loved by the 'twitchers',
as is ozone by the divers!
Dive
Quest, Two Jays, Kemple End, Stonyhurst, Clitheroe, BB7 9QY. |
