Sibu & Tinggi Islands · Malaysia · Drift · Muck & macro
Jefferies Rock
A rock that shows above water only at low tide
Photo: Wolfgang Ahlmer · CC BY 4.0
A rock just around the north-eastern corner of Rimba Resort on Pulau Sibu that breaks the surface only at low tide. Strong currents run past it, so it is dived as a drift, and the shallow rock combines schooling fish with small life such as nudibranchs and flatworms.
0Where it is and how deep
2.2310° N, 104.0608° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
Divers drop into the shallow water around the rock and work their way down to its deepest point at 10 m, passing through schools of fusiliers and damsels the whole way. Nudibranchs and flatworms are a regular find on the rock. A resident barracuda and a three-finned turtle live here too, though neither shows on every dive.
Marine life and season
- Reef fish swarms
- Nudibranchs
- Barracuda
- Sea turtles
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-season | Off-season | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Fair | Good | Good | Fair | Off-season |
Season follows Sibu & Tinggi Islands: Most resorts close for the monsoon from December into February; visibility also dips in August, the warmest month.
Know before you go
- Strong currents run around the rock; the dive is planned as a drift.
Questions divers ask
Why is Jefferies Rock dived as a drift?+
Strong currents run past the rock, so the boat drops divers into the shallows and the group drifts down the rock to its deepest point at 10 m.
Sources
- Diving at Rimba Resort — Rimba Resort / Hi-Tide Divers
- Rimba Resort — OpenStreetMap
Photo credits
- Two dark clownfish with white bands and orange faces shelter among the brown tentacles of a large sea anemone by Wolfgang Ahlmer, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
More dive sites in Sibu & Tinggi Islands
Reef
Named for the barracuda school that met its first divers
A large, shy green turtle that lives on the reef
Coral garden
Massive, undamaged hard-coral formations off Pulau Tinggi
Coral garden
An islet with one tree, ringed all round by hard and soft coral
Reef
Soft coral layered over hard coral, with bumphead parrotfish passing
Similar dives elsewhere
A drifted slope of soft and black coral off Pamilacan's tip
A hard drift off the point, with tuna and barracuda in the flow
A drifted wall under a 200-year-old Spanish watchtower
Black coral on the deeper reef, dived as a drift