Mabul & Kapalai · Malaysia · Reef · Sand slope · Drift
Kapalai House Reef
Resident turtles around an old wooden boat wreck on the slope
The house reef in front of the Kapalai dive station is a gentle sand-and-coral slope, dived at walking pace in a mild current. Nudibranchs, resident turtles around an old wooden boat wreck, cuttlefish hovering off the slope and jawfish in the open sand are the regular cast, and nothing in the profile or the current pushes you along.
Also known as Cleaning Station.
Where it is and how deep
4.2208° N, 118.6891° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The entry point is about 100 metres from the dive station. You descend first to the top of the reef at around 5 metres, then make your way gently down the slope. Nothing about the profile is demanding and the current is typically mild, so this is a dive to spend time on rather than one to swim through, and the Kapalai sites run one into the next, so you may well finish on a different one.
Cruising along at about 16 metres brings you past colourful nudibranchs and the resident turtles, which hang around an old wooden boat wreck. One or more cuttlefish are often hovering in the water alongside the slope, holding position and watching you as you pass, pulses of colour playing over their backs. Look at the open sand too: the large holes in it are inhabited by jawfish, a more common sight here than in most places.
It is a gentle drift rather than a swim, easy enough for beginners and still worth an experienced diver's time, with a small surprise at most turns. With the top of the reef back at about 5 metres, the shallow end is an easy place to run a dive out slowly rather than a stretch of open water to cross at the end of it.
Marine life and season
- Sea turtles
- Nudibranchs
- Octopus & cuttlefish
- Macro critters
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good |
Season follows Mabul & Kapalai: Diveable year-round with little seasonal variation; muck subjects are present in all months.
Photos from Kapalai House Reef
Greg Tee from Amsterdam, The Netherlands · CC BY 2.0
Dive videos
Diving Kapalai House Reef - Mabul, Malaysia · Scubabeat on YouTube
Sunset/Night Dive at Kapalai House Reef | @irlanzry #nrfdiveadventures · Irla Nzry on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is the Kapalai house reef?+
The reef top is at about 5 metres and the dive works gently down the slope, cruising at about 16 metres. There is no demanding stage to the profile and the current is typically mild.
Do you see turtles at Kapalai?+
Yes - resident turtles hang around an old wooden boat wreck on the slope, and are among the most reliable sightings on the house reef along with nudibranchs, cuttlefish and jawfish.
Sources
- Diving Sites - Kapalai — Dive The World
- Pulau Kapalai (OpenStreetMap) — OpenStreetMap
Photo credits
- A camouflage grouper with mouth open at a reef cleaning station while small fish pick at its gills by Greg Tee from Amsterdam, The Netherlands, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Close-up of a grouper's spotted face at an underwater cleaning station with a small cleaner fish near its gills by Greg Tee from Amsterdam, The Netherlands, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
In The Logbook
- Liveaboard vs resort diving: which suits you?Trip planning · 6 min read
- The best shore dives in the worldShore diving · 8 min read
More dive sites in Mabul & Kapalai
Reef
Resident turtles around an old wooden boat wreck
Muck & macro
Crocodilefish and leaf scorpionfish frozen against the rubble
Sand slope
Hundreds of garden eels swaying over an open sand flat
Muck & macro
Frogfish and flamboyant cuttlefish on rubble inside 10 metres
Wall
Cracks full of lobsters and tunnels behind the reef face
Reef
Mandarinfish dancing at dusk among black sea urchin spines
Muck & macro
Chromodoris, phyllidia and pyjama slugs over sand and rubble
Frogfish in red, yellow and black under the platform legs
Similar dives elsewhere
A gentle drift over coral and sand to 18 m
White sand to 15 m, no current, twenty minutes from town
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
Shallow slope worked to 18 m for bobtail squid and Spanish dancers
Hard coral, soft coral and sea fans on a sand slope to 20 m