A turtle moment - September 30, 2007

Off the eastern coast of Borneo lies the tiny island of Sipadan. Measuring no more than 12 hectares, this unassuming looking island hides its treasures below the surface of the water. Located in one of the world's richest marine habitats, Sipadan forms the pinnacle of an ancient volcano that rises 600 metres from the ocean bed. The sheer underwater cliffs and the diversity of rare fish, sharks, manta rays and turtles have resulted in Sipadan becoming one of the top diving destinations in the world. There's even an underwater turtle graveyard, a vast cavern 20 metres under the sea where you can see the skeletal remains of turtles who lost their way at night and drowned!

Well, I don't have my diving license, but I decided to head there any way to see if I could catch a glimpse of these elusive creatures as a snorkeller. Snorkelling is one of my all-time favourite activities; surrounded by an eerie silence and gliding through a school of iridescence and vivid colours, I get to play for a few hours in a breathtakingly beautiful, alien world that seems to tolerate (or ignore) me as I paddle by. I've gone on many snorkelling trips over the years, and the life under the sea never fails to amaze and surprise me.

But now that I've snorkelled at Sipadan, the stakes have been raised! Along with the huge number of new and exotic fish species, I was absolutely thrilled to see a baby shark bob along the edge of the cliff wall. Minutes later, a large greenback sea turtle measuring two metres across floated by me.

I then realized that I was surrounded by turtles -- looming suddenly out of the dark water, these graceful animals floated nonchalantly around me, some passing underneath me, others veering off to my right or left. I looked in front of me and saw the knobby head of a turtle heading straight for me. As he turned at the last minute, I looked deep into his shining black eyes. What was he thinking? I like to imagine that he deliberately came up to me to check me out, and our "moment" was him accepting me into his world. Okay maybe not, but I still felt honoured and privileged to be in his presence.

Unfortunately, I don't have an underwater camera so I was not able to capture these amazing creatures. Here's a photo of our "crew" after a full day of snorkelling and diving, and the gorgeous sunset as we returned to the mainland.