Living Long (Beach) and Diving Deep
Trip Start
Nov 01, 2007
1
64
81
Trip End
Jun 28, 2008
Where I stayed
Pulau Perhentian Kecil,
Malaysia
Saturday, May 3, 2008
The big news of the week is that I learned to snorkel. Yes, water 'fraidy cat herself is now a bona fide snorkeller. We went three days snorkelling in total - the first day I spent just getting the hang of things, but even then we did see quite a bit of coral and lots of fish. The second day we went on a snorkelling day trip (more about that in a moment) and the third day we spent around Long Beach (where we were staying) and then round the other side of the island near Coral Bay. Sadly, a lot of the coral is dead in certain areas on the island, but it was still fun for me.
Okay, so the snorkelling trip - our first stop was a spot where we might get to see turtles - which we did. We saw two big (nearly 1m long) green turtles, and Malcolm got to swim alongside one while it came up for air. I was rather amazed at how graceful a turtle is in water - certainly compared to how awkward they are on land.
When our guide told us where we were headed next, I was a bit worried.....Shark Point. Huh?!? Say what?? The grin on Malcolm's face said it all. We got in the water again, this time with me clinging on to Malcolm's hand as we swam. No problem so far.....we're okay.....just swimming around...............then the guide points below us. Gulp. I look down to see two grey dorsal fins a couple of meters below us.....Actually, the sharks we saw were Black Tip Reef sharks, which were only a little more than a metre long. And they were honestly beautiful. We saw two together, and then had three more sightings - could've been more sharks, or possibly just the same two over again. Either way, it was really neat. Malcolm also swam along with one of the sharks for a bit too.
We also went to one spot where there were lots of fish and the guide gave us bread to feed the fish. It was heaps of fun as they would come right up and nibble the bread while you were still holding it. After a well deserved lunch break we went back out again and this time got to see a few parrotfish (we think Bumphead Parrotfish). They are a LOT bigger than I thought they would be! I wish that I knew the names of some of the fish we saw - the colours really were amazing, and they were just so beautiful. Some of the ones (the very few!) that I can name are: clownfish (ie. Nemo), butterfly fish (different types), barracudas, wrasse (several types), blue-barred parrotfish, and a variety of groupers.
All in all, it was really amazing. I loved it, and I can't wait until we go to Borneo now, where I am hoping to get in a couple more days of snorkelling while Malcolm learns to dive.
Otherwise, we spent the week reading, swimming, playing frisbee, and eating. The chalets we stayed in were only roughly 20 meters from the beach, so not too far to travel each day! The restaurant at the place we stayed showed movies every night, so that took care of our entertainment too. We did manage to stretch our brains a bit with a few games of chess and checkers though, so it wasn't all just mindless fun!
We are off tomorrow to Kota Bharu for a couple of days, and then we are taking the Jungle Railway to KL. We have opted to skip the Tamana Negara rainforest as we decided to spend longer in the Perhentians.
All our love,
K & M
Comments
Not Jealous
No,honestly, really, not at all, really! Apart from the elephants, snorkelling is the most fun I have ever had, apart from the paragliding....and the rainforest walks.........I'm living on my memories and enjoying yours too. Take care on the diving. Do black tipped sharks bite? Say hello to Nemo. Love you.Mum xx
you guys!!
so... snorkeling well done karryn, was just looking at my friends pics from Australia last night and she was snorkeling with an under water camera and had taken pics of sharks - I couldn't believe it really .... i would have been petrified!!
So malaysia has always been the place i would want to go to on my honey moon and your there, lapping it up!! the beaches look amazing, you guys are looking good too, with your aerobic poses'!
Off to banchory this weekend to see mum,, hope to hear fae you's again soon!
fee fee x