A Sunset to die for at Lankayan Island

Underwater scenery with a three banded anenome fish

“You guys should put some seats up there” shouts Kev. 32 years old, Australian, tourist, but personal trainer at home with the appearance of a well-tanned dive instructor from the average tourist brochure. “I could have watched this I for hours, I’ve never seen anything quite like it”. His wife Denise nods and I can only agree, we just made a dive that went straight to our personal top-3′s.

A green dot in blue waters

Even if you’re not a diver, Lankayan is a great place to be

Place of action is a small island off the coast of Malaysian Borneo that is so blatantly beautiful that you could live there. Anyone who has ever Googled “Lankayan” knows what I’m talking about: pictures of a small green postage stamp surrounded by the most beautiful blue waters one can imagine. Upon arrival, it turns out to be much more beautiful than the pictures, how often does that happen? When we walk the wooden pier, it is just clear waters all around us, full of corals with tiny shark fins cutting though the surface. It looks like an aquarium but it is real! The young sharks, not more than fifty centimeters long are a sign that the reef here is healthy, says the leader of the island resort. “Almost nowhere else in the world you see something like that in a touristy place” he explains, “Lankayan has been heavily protected since 2001, it’s all take nothing, leave only bubbles”.

Underwater scenery

Common sight at Lankayan Island: Turtles!

That is why the place is still very popular among turtles, loads of them still come ashore to lay eggs, during certain periods it’s even a daily occurrence. And the hatching can be watched too as the eggs are dug up and placed in a protected area. There is nothing that beats the sight of baby turtles making a run for it during sunset. Truly magic!

Baby turtle portrait (during counting of hatched eggs)

Quick photo-opp before release

Off they go! Shame only less than 1% makes it to adulthood