by I thought all the beautiful island in west coast of Sabah was gone until I met Mantanani Islands (Pulau Mantanani). Sapi and Manukan Islands? They are not even in top 10 most beautiful islands of Sabah (but they were, 30 years ago), and it is funny that most tourists flow to these islands. That would make them think that all islands of Sabah are dirty, polluted and lack of corals. Local divers also expresses their concern about the dwindling corals and fish species in Tunku Abdul Rahman Park. Due to increasing pollution and garbage from the shore (especially Gaya Island), very soon swimming in Sapi Manukan will be same as swimming in toilet bowl.
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Mantanani is fairly accessible (prior booking with travel agent is required). Just drive 1 hour to the jetty of Kampung Kuala Abai in Kota Belud, then take a boat to Mantanani. The boat ride takes 40 to 50 minutes depending on the sea condition. If the weather is bad, they might cancel the trip. Mantanani consists of 3 islands, namely, Mantanani Besar (the biggest) Island, Mantanani Kecil (Kechil) Island and Lingisan Island (smallest). Above is the map to Mantanani. In fact, these islands are so tiny that they are not appear in most Sabah map. I draw the map myself just for you to get an idea, the shape and scale are not accurate, so don’t use it in textbook ye.
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Above is the view of Kg Kuala Abai (Kuala Abai Village) fishing willage. To go to Mantanani, you need to arrange the tour with the island operator prior to the visit. I went 2-day-1-night with Mari Mari Dive Lodge (of Traverse Tours), the sole operator of Mantanani Kecil Island. On Mantanani Besar, there are a few operators such as Mantanani Resort.
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Lucky tourists would see dolphin in the boat ride. They usually follow behind the fishing boats. This is no guarantee and too bad I didn’t see any. Though it was a sunny day, the sea was so choppy that I felt the boat was riding on something rock solid and I got free shower from splashes. After 45 minutes, I arrived the jetty of Mari Mari Dive Lodge (MMDL). MMDL is built 400 Meters away from the shore of Mantanani Kecil. If not, tourists will have to walk extra 400 M from the island to jetty during low tide, which is too shallow for boat to enter. You can walk from MMDL to the island when it is low tide, but watch out for the venomous stonefishes and stingray that can hide really well in the sand. Better way is to snorkel to the island during high tide or ask the boatman to send you there. MMDL is a structure of 3 stilt houses joined together, i.e., a 4-room twin-bed accommodation, a dive lodge and a dining area.
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Manatanani is also known as “Mermaid Island”, due to the presence of an endangered sea cow “dugong / duyung”, which is occasionally found grazing on the sea grass around the island. Sighting is rare and the most recent sighting was reported last month. Taking beautiful photos of Mantanani is so easy, coz everything is like a picture, the blue sky, crystal clear sea and white sandy beach… The visibility of the water can reach 20 Meters, so clean that as if it is drinkable.
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Though very few Sabahans know about Mantanani, many tourists from Europe, Hong Kong, China, Japan and Korea had discovered this pristine island by words of mouth. You would be impressed if you see the photos. FYI, the dark patches under the sea are rocks and corals, in case you misunderstand they are something dirty.
The photo above is Lingisan Island, which is named after frigate birds that fly around there in the evening. Lingisan is very small and nobody lives on it. The big island behind it is Mantanani Besar. Personally I call it “flower pot” island coz of its round shape and dense vegetation on top. I was so curious what was inside its cave.
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Before I came, I was not too excited about this trip coz I heard about the fish bombing activity in Mantanani, thinking that it was a degraded island. However, what I saw in snorkelling and diving was a huge number of corals like an underwater garden. Since the setup of a police base on Mantanani Besar, the fish bombing is greatly reduced. Some fishing boats like to come here to fish. There are over 15 dive sites in Mantanani, more adventurous divers can try out muck diving and wreck diving. You would see turtles, bumphead parrot fish, big stingray, giant clam, moray and eagle eel, nudibranch, finger corals and many other marine life.
The underwater current is quite strong under the sea. Instead of fighting it, divers can use the current as an “escalator”, go with the flow to “glide” above the corals. In one of the dives, my dive group was swept to 1.5 KM away within an hour! The boat man took nearly an hour to locate us. Honestly, I was quite pissed, but forgot it soon.
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Besides the sandy beach, Mantanani Kecil has a nice view behind. You can walk to a small cliff behind the island and enjoy a bird view of its rocky shore (see photo above). The sea under the cliff looks deep and rough, so it is meant for watching only. There are only a few MMDL workers live on Mantanani Kecil, and they look after the power generators and water supply on this island. All communication is cut off on Mantanani Kecil, so no need to worry about phone call from your office. Kayaking is allowed if the sea is calm.
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Mantanani Besar is a few KM away from Mantanani Kecil and mainly resided by local fishermen. The people there are very friendly and I saw some youngsters were playing volley ball in the evening. I visited there briefly to buy something, as there is no shop on Mantanani Kecil and Lingisan. Sadly, Mantanani Besar didn’t give me a good impression coz I saw rubbish everywhere on the beach. There were many cows wandering along the beach but too bad they were not the sea cow that I was looking for.
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After the shopping, I toured around the islands and checked out the other side of Mantanani Besar. It is a rocky shore with interesting mushroom rock formation, probably the collaborative work of wind and water over years. I climbed onto the rock and walked around. The surface was slippery, rough and sharp, so I moved carefully with naked feet. Do visit this when you come to Mantanani.
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Lingisan Island is the one I most eager to check out because of its big cave. A closer look reveals that it is not a deep cave and its bottom only submerges a few feet under the water during high tide. The staff told us that only swiftlets and bats live inside, and the owner comes to collect edible bird nest from the cave sometimes. It is a small but very unique island.
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Sunset was approaching and we returned to MMDL. Everything was painted with gold color. Jesus light came out at north, later I had to call it a day. Most tourists only opt for day trip so most of them had left around 3:30pm. Unlike honeymoon couple who can make baby at night, I got nothing to do. But hey, this is a holiday, so I shouldn’t do anything right? Living in city for too long, I was not used to leaving my brain stops thinking for a moment.
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Whole day of water sports already made me so tired. Surprisingly, Mantanani is supplied with 24-hour of pleasing sea breeze, so I don’t feel warm even in hot afternoon. I even slept a while on the veranda, just to enjoy the gentle wind, sound of ocean and freedom. The next morning I waked up very early to take sunrise photos and was rewarded by magnificent view of Mt. Kinabalu.
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Hopefully government will gazette Mantanani as a National Park, so we could preserve its beauty and marine ecology for future generations to enjoy. There aren’t many pristine islands left in Sabah west coast.
However, with weak enforcement of Sabah government, who recently denied the presence of illegal coral mining that destroyed tons of coral reef in Tawau and release of effluents into Segaliud River by oil palm mills nearby, I am not so optimistic about our conservation.
Related Post
Mantanani Besar Island
Photos taken off Kota Belud, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo
thanks for the highlight! i never knew we have such treasures in our own shore!
Selfishly I was hoping Matanani Island will go unnoticed and be kept a “secret” from tourism activities which will be devastating to the rich ecosystem and the people living there. Like the dugongs which used to play around the island, they are never seen again.
I’ve stayed in Matanani and I’ve never seen such pristine waters in the country. However signs of a bleak future are here coz tourist resorts are sprouting up with parts of the island sold! I’m not sure if the locals are given a fair deal to sell their piece of eden. If i have the money, i would have bought the island and make sure it remains undeveloped.
dugong> you know what? a UK tourist also said the same thing to me. I do agree that mantanani is a newly discovered pristine island and might be best left untouched. many tourists may not be a good thing. but once it is a well-known destination, there is a chance for it to become a national park and get protected coz the decline of dugong is linked to fish bombing activity there.
hello, is me again yawen. How u goin there, my dad ever ask the price to been there bt seems like the director over there like not very friendly. Me, my dad and my mom only have 3 person…would like have a vacation at there…the price is quite high and unaffordable…so, my dad request for a cheaper price or local price, however, the director just reply my dad: har?? only 3 people ar?? we wish to been there….hope u have information to help us to get a cheaper price…im a sabahans, a tourism student….Im love sabah because im born here…i rely do want to experience the uniques place in my places. same as my family too. thank you…
Hi yawen, you could try to get quotations from all operators of Mantanani Besar and Mantanani Kecil, then pick the cheaper one. Since Mantanani is a bit far away from KK and they include land+boat transport and lunch and snorkelling equipments, do expect a minimal price of RM280++ per pax for non-group order. Good luck.
Beautiful pics…a long time ago I heard that Mantanani folks are known for their fierce behavior cos they are mainly from the Irranun group. Anyways from your pictures…this is definitely one of the places I’d like to go someday. Thanks.
Thanks Disney. The people of Mantanani once involved in the Double-10 rebel with Albert Kwok during Japanese WWII occupation. The Japanese army was so mad that they went to this island and gun down many villagers…
Did you go alone or as part of a group?
The beautiful water reminds me of Kapalai, nice to know we have something like this at the West Coast too… cheaper honeymoon ;-p
Emily> I followed a company trip. If you really want to enjoy this place, I strongly recommend you to get a diving license.
Is it worth to stay overnight there or a one day return trip with do?
Hock Song> A day trip is good enough. At night you will have nothing to do and very bored. The only bonus for overnight are sunset and sunrise view.
Great Job!! Such a wonderful explaination and photography on the wonders in Sabah, makes me want to be there now. Thank you for contributing to Sabah’s tourism!!
You are welcome, Ann. 🙂
thanks for sharing such beautiful islands.I’m going sabah in wek time.but I’m in tight budget plus i only got 1 day if I want to go mantanani island to relax at bench but package prices kinda expensive..i still a student..
I was thinking can it possible to be Free& easy ways to go there.is it difficult to travelby myself,book speed boat myself?Please kindly give advice.
jessyca
jessyca> I’m afraid there is no free and easy package. You have to book it with travel agent..
You may consider Pulau Tiga as an alternative. I think their day trip is around RM180.
hi. can i find out from you if it’s possible for me to get to Kota belud on my own and then get a public transport to the jetty to Mantanai island. are there any puclic vans/bus/transportion plying the kota belud and the jetty route? i am on a tight budget and so trying to cut expenses in all ways. thanks.do let me know if you have the info.
Hi Tan, you need to book a tour with travel agent for Mantanani trip, you cannot go there yourself or they won’t entertain you. for more info, please visit: http://www.traversetours.com
Hi, If through http://www.traversetours.com will book 2D 1N Mantanani Island Package and completed payment?Do they contact me for pick up?
Shuk Pui, please contact Traverse Tours directly. I’m not working for them.
hye, can u tell me how u get here ? by ur self or by pacakges ?
Hi Donna, you need to book a tour package to go to Mantanani. You may contact Traverse Tours at: http://www.traversetours.com/
Btw, Mantanani Kecil Island is close at the moment, so you will be sent to Mantanani Besar.
Traveling direct to destination site by your own self without going through travel agent or tour operator for example is always great but then again, you have to take into account the on hand knowledge based, safety & precautions done by the professionals. Besides the difference in cost by doing yourself or through an established tour company is not that much. There are core ‘Backpackers’ who acclimatized in slim budget but that is another story. Holidays are suppose to be fun, hassle free & most of all safe.
I agree with you Seto. Some places in Sabah are not accessible by public transport, so the only option is to follow the tour group. If we go on our own, we will bear all the risk and unprotected by tourist insurance.
10 years later and everything is dead and destroyed. the whole coral reef gone. a huge coral cemetery
Oh no 🙁 is it really that bad?