IN JACQUES COUSTEAU'S PLAYGROUND

The playground is open, at least for Liz!

Sipadan is on the must see list of divers around the world. Ever since Jacques Cousteau in 1980 said, "I have seen other places like Sipadan...45 years ago, but now no more. Now we have found an untouched piece of art." 

He was right. This truly is an incredible place.

Two nudibranchs looking for lunch.

Just off the coast of Borneo, Sipidan has had its problems. Long disputed territory between Malaysia and Indonesia, this island was also the site of the Sipadan Abu Sayyaf hostage crisis, where divers and resort workers were kidnapped by a terrorist group in 2000.


Since then, all the resorts have been demolished, as ordered by the government, and the island has returned to its (almost) natural state. Only 120 people each day are allowed in the area, with divers and snorkelers required to sign in at the jetty, with a heavy armed military presence.

That may sound extreme, but it's comforting to know that the Malaysian government is serious about protecting what is one of the best dive sites in the world, surrounded by a sheer reef wall that drops down more than 2000 feet just off shore. It truly did not disappoint.


With massive schools of Jacks, Giant Trevally, Giant Barracuda, more turtles than we could count, Nudibranchs, Black and White Tip Reef Sharks, beautiful hard and soft corals, and numerous other reef fish we don't know the names of. And with dive sites such as Drop Off, Barracuda Point and Turtle Cave, we were in scuba diving heaven. 

A beautiful sea anemone. 

Sleeping shark...Liz hopes. He was.

Schools of barracuda circle Sipadan constantly.

We literally got lost swimming in the clouds of jackfish that frequent Sipadan's reef.

Heading into the jungle for a few days. Hoping to see lots of birds, monkeys, orangutans, and maybe even the endangered pygmy elephant. 


We also have a fun volunteer project lined up that we hope to write about later this week when we're back in civilization.