Adventure Playground Thrills And Spills In Southeast Asia

With its mesmerising coral seas, mountainous rainforests and gorgeous scenery, Southeast Asia is blessed with prime terrain for heart-pumping Nature adventures. We take you on a circuit of the region's best outdoor exploits.

SIPADAN ISLAND

Lying just off the northeast coast of Borneo is Sipadan, Malaysia’s only oceanic island. This magical isle was made famous by renowned French oceanographer, Jacques-Yves Cousteau, in his documentary Borneo: The Ghost of the Sea Turtle. But green turtles are by no means the only creatures you’ll find here: Sipadan offers prolific marine life of all shapes and sizes.

Those with the Cavern Diver certification can explore the same mysteries that Cousteau and his crew did 35 years ago at Turtle Cavern. Inside lies a macabre chamber of skeletons belonging to turtles and dolphins that got lost in the labyrinth of tunnels, became disorientated and drowned.

Elsewhere, rare and peculiar fish species call Sipadan’s corals home, including porcupine pufferfish, clown triggerfish, unicornfish and Moorish idols. Giant moray eels lurk in their grottos, observing the traffic going past, while huge gorgonian sea fans protrude like the plume of a proud peacock. Hundreds of fearsome-looking barracudas sometimes form a grey wall from the sheer weight of their numbers. Bumphead parrotfish often rumble past in bison-like hordes. A night dive may yield a chance encounter with these giant fish: Bumpheads weave a transparent cocoon before they sleep to keep their scent from predators, and this nocturnal sight is as impressive as that in the daytime.