Coral Triangle · Malaysia
Kota Belud — Usukan Bay & Mayne Rock
Bamboo, cat and leopard sharks resting on remote reefs with no other divers in sight
Kota Belud, on Sabah's west coast north of Kota Kinabalu, is a quiet run of submerged reefs, boulder fields and small islands worked from a single dive resort, so other groups are seldom met underwater. Mayne Rock's giant boulders, the hard coral of Mayne Reef and North Hill, and the resting sharks of Leopard Reef make up much of the diving, with Pulau Pandan for easy and night dives and Salvage Point, where the Usukan wartime wrecks once lay, for deeper divers.
About diving in Kota Belud — Usukan Bay & Mayne Rock
Every site is a boat ride from the resort, from 2 minutes out to Pulau Pandan to 45 minutes to Purple Reef. The only dive resort on this stretch of coast is itself reached by boat, and day visitors from Kota Kinabalu or Kota Belud are collected from the beach at Kampung Mengkabar village. Most of the sites are submerged reefs off the coast, and sites are chosen on the day by the weather, the current and the divers' ability. The surface interval between the first two dives is spent on the boat, with lunch back at the resort.
The underwater landscape is a mix of huge boulders, sandy valleys and broad hard coral reefs, and much of the diving is a drift with the current over these submerged reefs. The sand between the reefs holds bamboo sharks and cat sharks, leopard sharks and marble rays, with spotted eagle rays and devil rays among the many rays recorded. At Mayne Rock the boulders hide ghost pipefish, scorpionfish, frogfish, spider crabs and nudibranchs, while at Fish Bowl black coral grows at 14 to 18 m, far shallower than its usual depth.
The famous Usukan wartime wrecks, three Japanese merchant ships, were salvaged for their steel, and a pile of scrap on the seabed is all that remains at Salvage Point. The site still draws schooling fish to the artificial reef that has grown over the structures, but it lies deep and is limited to Advanced divers. Divers coming for intact wartime ships will find only that scrap. The reefs suit beginner to advanced divers who want resting sharks, macro and empty sites, but strong currents, surge and a wavy surface can all occur, so anyone prone to seasickness should come prepared.
Best time to dive Kota Belud — Usukan Bay & Mayne Rock
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair |
The dive centre stays open through the year, but the sea decides which days the boats go out. February opens the best stretch of the year on the west coast of Sabah, and it runs until July. February and March are also the cooler-water months, when plankton blooms can draw a passing whale shark. August and September keep the boats running. From October to December the Pacific typhoon season sends rough weather down the coast, and trips are cancelled more often than at any other time of year.
Dive types & marine life
Bamboo sharks and cat sharks are resident, resting on the sand and in rocky crevices; leopard sharks and marble rays are frequent in the sandy patches. Spotted eagle rays and devil rays are also seen. Whale sharks are a matter of luck, visiting in the cooler months of February and March to feed on plankton blooms.
- Reef
- Muck & macro
- Night
- Eagle rays
- Mobula rays
- Stingrays
- Whale sharks
- Barracuda
- Trevally & jacks
- Macro critters
- Frogfish
- Reef fish swarms
Best dive sites in Kota Belud — Usukan Bay & Mayne Rock
- 1
Mayne Rock
Huge rock formations from 7 to 30 m, with leopard sharks and marble rays in the sand and macro on the boulders.
- 2
Leopard Reef
Pinnacle where bamboo sharks, cat sharks and sometimes leopard sharks sleep in crevices and on the sand.
- 3
Mayne Reef
A long, extensive stretch of colourful hard coral reef.
- 4
North Hill
Relaxing drift over the healthiest coral of these reefs, from table and brain corals to pink soft coral.
- 5
Ella's Garden
Sandy channel where schooling barracuda and hunting trevally gather.
- 6
Fish Bowl
Reef sheltering millions of juvenile fish.
- 7
Purple Reef
Offshore reef under pinkish soft coral, where visibility often runs 30 to 50 m.
- 8
Pulau Pandan
Tiny uninhabited island with a 3 to 16 m reef for beginners and night dives.
Site guides
Reef
Schooling barracuda in a sandy channel, cuttlefish in the boulders
Reef
Schools of young fish sheltering in black coral trees
Pinnacle
Bamboo and cat sharks asleep in the crevices of a pinnacle
Reef
Leopard sharks and marble rays resting in the sand between giant boulders
Drift
A gentle drift north over table, brain and staghorn corals
Reef
Hairy frogfish hiding on the sand of a shallow shoal
Reef
Bobtail and pygmy squid on night dives around a tiny island
Reef
Pinkish purple soft coral with dorado and wahoo passing
Wreck
Giant groupers living under the scrap of three salvaged WW2 ships
How to get to Kota Belud — Usukan Bay & Mayne Rock
Kota Kinabalu's airport is the gateway, followed by a 1.5-hour taxi ride north to Kota Belud, the last stretch on a winding road. Boats leave from Dragon Pearl Beach at Kampung Mengkabar. Day trips from Kota Kinabalu to Mayne Rocks also run in the April to October dry season.
Dive videos
Fun Dive with Bigfin Divers, Kota Belud · SHAHRULNIZAM HASHIM on YouTube
Opening our year in style in paradise - with Bigfin Divers Kota Belud, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia · Aquatic Nomadic on YouTube
Questions divers ask
Can the Usukan Bay wrecks still be dived?+
Not as ships. The three Japanese tankers were salvaged for steel, and only a pile of scrap remains at Salvage Point, now an artificial reef with large schools of fish. It is open to Advanced divers with at least 20 dives.
Is Kota Belud suitable for beginner divers?+
Yes. Pulau Pandan, a tiny island near the resort, has safe shallow water and a fringing reef used for learning and refresher dives. Salvage Point is restricted to Advanced divers.
Do divers need recent dive experience?+
Yes. Every diver must have dived within the last 6 months; anyone who has not takes a refresher dive at Pulau Pandan, booked for the day before the fun-dive trip.
Can Mayne Rock be dived on a day trip from Kota Kinabalu?+
Yes. Day divers are collected by boat at Kampung Mengkabar, and a Kota Belud trip runs with a minimum of 3 divers.
Sources
- Bigfin Divers Borneo (Wayback) — Bigfin Divers
- Diving Kota Belud & Mantanani Island (Wayback) — Bigfin Divers
- Kota Kinabalu average sea temperature — seatemperature.org
- Big Fin Divers review — The Family Freestylers
- Kota Kinabalu diving — Borneo Dream
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