Tanjung Aru Beach & Diving Downbelow Gaya Island

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Monday 20th August, 2012

Today we had decided on a lazy day so we had a bit of a lie in before making our way on the short taxi ride to Tanjung Aru Beach. We spent about 4 hours here and the sun was very intense. We did a little sunbathing and a little swimming/snorkelling but by early afternoon we had had enough sun and decided to come back to the hotel for a little siesta before showering and getting ready for the evening.

After this we made our way back along to Tanjung Aru Beach at about 5.30 and it promised to be a good sunset with not as much cloud as previous nights. When we got there, there were lots of people on the beach, some eating in the restaurants or stalls, others just there to enjoy or to photograph the sunset. As the sun became lower in the sky the colours started to change and the sky started to glow with reds and oranges. It wasn't quite a spectacular as the other evening but the colours were still amazing. We got lots of good photographs as the sun slid down behind the smaller of the islands of the coastline. After it had set we made our way to the large outdoor eating area for something to eat.

First we enjoyed corn on the cob from one of the many vendors selling them and sat on the steps overlooking the beach and ate them, and then we had a look around the various stalls trying to decide what we would eat. I decided that I wanted to try some fish from one of the stalls selling fresh fish. You pick the one you want and pay for it by weight before the stall holder cooks it in whichever way you want. I asked for it just grilled with rice. Neil ordered his fried rice and chicken and we both decided on a large fresh juice. Neil dragon fruit and me mango.

We couldn't believe the size of the juices when they arrived! There must have been over 1.5 pints in each drink! However it was hot waiting for our food and they were delicious. Very soon Neil's meal came but he had finished eating his before mine arrived. (Photo's to follow!) A 'special' blend of spices had been rubbed over the fish before it had been grilled and it was served with boiled rice. The spices were very hot and I had to take most of them off along with the raw chilli served as a garnish. I'm not really sure what kind of fish it was but it was absolutely gorgeous and freshly caught that day. After we'd finished eating we called it a day and went back to the hotel as I had to be up early on Tuesday to go diving.

Tuesday 21st August, 2012

I was up by about 7 to get ready to go diving as the minibus was coming to pick me up at 8.10. Neil got up at about 7.30 and we both went down for an early breakfast. The minibus arrived on time and we were off once again to the harbour to catch the speedboat over to Gaya island. Already on board was a couple of women who worked for the Red Cross, a couple from Germany and en English chap who was to be my buddy for the day. We all chatted easily as we sped over to the dive centre. Once there we got kitted up and within 40 mins or so we were on the dive boat making our way out to Ribbon, which was only a 10 minute boat ride from Gaya. Once kitted up we did our buddy check and I noticed that I had some deflection on the needle when I checked the reg. I was assured by the dive team that it was because I was breathing deeply. I had a nagging feeling but (foolishly!) ignored it and commenced the dive. The water was 30 degrees and we went down to about 19.8 m. We saw a stonefish, lots of starfish and a couple of lionfish along with lots of other types, parrotfish for example. Once we got down to 70 we let the 2 people from the dive team know and we started to swim up the reef a little, still looking around at the coral and various fish. I checked by air and I was at about 50 but noticed that the deflection on the needle was greater and after a few breaths also noticed that at the end of each breath I was getting some resistance. I'd only experienced this when we had practiced an out of air situation in the pool so I was pretty concerned. I swam quickly to Liz and signalled that I was having problems and was potentially very close to being out of air and that I needed to use her octopus. She quickly realised I had a problem and very soon I was on her octopus and she gave the sign for the group to ascend to 5 m where we would do a 3 min safety stop. She tried my regs a couple of times and afterwards said she could feel the resistance too and that they were probably giving the wrong reading and that as I suspected I was very close to being out of air. I think instead of having 200 in at the beginning I was probably closer to 150. Liz commented that I'd remained very calm and I think it was due to the training sessions back in the pool and the mucky puddle that is Ellerton! Once back in the boat we headed back to Gaya for our SI and to change my regs.

The second dive was at Ron's Reef. Although I was slightly apprehensive, I decided the only way to get over to it was to get straight back in the water again. As soon as I was in however I noticed a bit of an air leak on the low pressure hose. I unattached it and attached it again and to sorted itself out. The dive itself was really good. We saw a stingray, blue-spotted ray, stonefish and lionfish again in addition to many other different kinds of fish and coral. The water temperature was 30 degrees and this time we went down to 19.3 m. The first dive had lasted for 43 minutes but this only lasted for 39 and my air consumption we much better second time round!

Again we made our way back to Gaya, this time for lunch and a little longer SI of 1 hour 29 mins before we made our way out to Fan Corner. As usual this was to be our shallowest dive and we only got down to 16.1m. The water temperature was the same at 30 degrees. As soon as I did my backward entry off the boat I lost my snorkel which plummeted to the bottom. thankfully one of the dive masters found it once we got down so I was very lucky! Sometimes it's just not your day and I think that today was one of them days! However, this was by far the best dive of the day, seeing boxfish, another lionfish, nudibrach and pipefish. I was very relaxing and we moved very slowly over the reef looking under pieces of coral for different fish. Because we were shallower and moving very slowly the dive lasted for 48 minutes before we surfaced and made our way back to Gaya to shower, change and write the dives up in our log books and get them signed and stamped. This time it was after 5 before I got back to the hotel.

Neil had had a relaxing day by the pool and had done some reading and had managed to pack most of his gear away. I showered, had a beer and then we walking into KK for tea. We walked along the waterfront and decided to eat at Tascani's restaurant which served Italian and Spanish food. Neil had pizza and fries and I had the most lush paella with lots of seafood in it alongside a small crab. It was gorgeous! Starbucks was just over the road so we decided to call for a latte on our way home and also had a piece of Red Velvet Cake which was the perfect end to the evening.



Tomorrow we are up early to go on a very special trip! Watch this space! :o) n

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