Tioman · Malaysia · Reef · Wall
Rinkin
Sand shallows, coral garden and a sheer wall to 18 metres
Area photo: TMbux · CC BY-SA 3.0
Five minutes east of Juara Bay, a gradual sandy bottom in 5 to 8 metres runs into a sloping coral garden alongside a sheer rock wall that reaches around 18 metres. The two halves make it an easy dive with somewhere to go: sand and coral shallow, rock face deep, and mild current at most.
Where it is and how deep
2.8018° N, 104.2116° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
Five minutes east of Juara Bay the dive starts over a gradual sandy bottom in five to eight metres. It is open, flat ground and it does not take long to cross, but the sand is worth going slowly over on the way out rather than saving for the return, when depth and gas are both pushing you shallower and back towards the boat.
Beyond the sand the ground rises into a sloping coral garden that runs alongside a sheer rock face dropping to around eighteen metres, and the meeting of the two is the interesting part of the dive: coral on the slope, a sheer rock face beside it. Current is mild at most, so you can work the wall in one direction and come back over the coral rather than committing to a drift, finishing on the five to eight metre sand.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-season | Fair | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Fair | Off-season | Off-season |
Season follows Tioman: Northeast monsoon brings rough seas and closed resorts November-January; calmest conditions and best visibility run May-September.
Sources
- Rinkin - Scubago — Scubago
More dive sites in Tioman
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Sloping reef and island-side pinnacles, dived off a mooring
Pinnacle
Twin rock islets over boulder coral, overhangs and small walls
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Towering rock formations and walls to 30 metres, often drifted
Reef
Volcanic boulders stacked into tunnels, with a cave at 21 m
Reef
Boulders and overhangs sloping to a 30-metre sand bottom
Pinnacle
Coral-covered pinnacle with walls falling to 40 metres
Pinnacle
Untouched hard and soft coral on a rock topping out at 8 m
Easy shallow reef with blacktip sharks and green turtles
Similar dives elsewhere
An easy reef slope and mini wall, also dived from Krabi
Coral plateau that breaks the surface, and a ridge out at 30 m
A 40 m drop-off on the west side, with 20 to 30 m of visibility
Shallow coral-block reef the dive tables list as a night dive