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DIVING THE SPRATLEY ISLANDS
Layang Layang is a man made island that sits on a long string of reefs in the middle of the South China Sea. Collectively called the Spratleys, these islands and atolls are much coveted by neighbouring countries. The Malaysians put foot to "soil" and claimed Swallow's Reef by building a small naval outpost.
Nowadays, the Royal Malaysian Navy shares the island with divers who want to see what this isolated atoll has to offer. Tales of pelagics are rife. At certain times of the year hammerheads are said to appear in massive numbers.
We travelled 'out of season' and knew we wouldn't see them, but were still impressed with the quantity of pelagic life. Constant currents across the reef attract masses of big fish - small white tips, large grey sharks out in the blue, dog tooth tuna and giant trevally are all in residence along with clusters of striped barracuda and swirling schools of jacks. There are large turtles on the reef tops and families of juvenile sharks under bommies.
There were small critters too - minute juvenile razor fish, arc-eyed hawkfish and ghost pipe fish hiding in the corals. Inside the lagoon, an easy shore dive across the sandy bottom was the place to hunt out mantis shrimp, tiny gobies and the Picasso trigger fish.
There is something for everyone at Layang Layang - now we know why it has such a good reputation!
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TRAVELOGUE: Flights: Malaysian Airlines to Kota Kinabalu Complete reports on this area are in Diving the World |
PROS AND CONS: For people who like to see "big stuff" this is an ideal destination. There's always a pelagic or several on every site on every day. The seas here can be rough though and poor sailors should think about that as you can't escape the conditions. The only downside is that this is not a resort with a "luxury" tag. The rooms are comfy but not to eeryone's taste. |
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