Sipadan Island is twenty miles off Malaysian Borneo's north-east coast. There is a flooded cave system beneath it, in which turtles get lost and drown
Sipadan is a tiny oceanic island some 22 miles off Borneo's north-east coast. It is celebrated as a diving destination where one can see a plurality of turtles. A notable feature of the island is a flooded cave system beneath it. It takes about 50 minutes to explore all its tunnels and caverns, with a maximum depth of 17 metres; in pitch darkness, of course, so a torch is essential. For many hundreds of years, turtles have entered this labyrinth, become lost and drowned. The remains of hawksbill and green turtles - and, indeed, one dolphin - are evident on top of a thick layer of fine sediment in some of the chambers, which are the home of countless thousands of worms, shrimps and crabs that live on the products of decomposition. It should be added that divers need to exercise excellent buoyancy control to avoid disturbing the fine silt, which could reduce visibility to zero. On the ceiling of the chambers. there is a thin layer of red oil; again the product of decomposition. Altogether, it is a very special though distinctly eerie place, though it makes for an exciting and memorable cave dive.
Size: 4101px × 2637px
Location: Flooded cave system under Sipadan Island, Malaysian Borneo.
Photo credit: © Terence Dormer / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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