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
Reef
Volcanic boulders stacked into tunnels, with a cave at 21 m
Pinnacle
Offshore pinnacle with barracuda, napoleon wrasse and blacktips
Reef
Sloping reef and island-side pinnacles, dived off a mooring
Reef
Gentle coral slope to an 18-metre sand bottom, no current
Reef
Coral slope from 2 to 18 m with wide monoculture coral stands
Pinnacle
Twin rock islets over boulder coral, overhangs and small walls
Pinnacle
Coral-covered pinnacle with walls falling to 40 metres
Reef
Walk-in shore dive over a sandy bay and shallow fringing reef
Similar dives elsewhere
An easy reef slope and mini wall, also dived from Krabi
A 40 m drop-off on the west side, with 20 to 30 m of visibility
Table corals and barrel sponges straight off the beach
Coral plateau that breaks the surface, and a ridge out at 30 m