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Even though Mataking Island covers only 40 acres, you would be mistaken for thinking that the only thing to do is scuba diving. There is much to explore on the island itself and if you are still looking for more, the Island Activity Coordinator can arrange excursions to nearby islands and fishing villages.
You can take relaxation seriously and indulge in one of the many treatments offered by the Jamu Spa, or if you are one of the more active types, pull together a team for a game of beach volleyball or soccer.
For night time entertainment, cultural performances are done on request. You are also free to bring along your own Karaoke DVD/CD system and sing the night away; or just relax with a few drinks at the bar. If you are looking for something completely different, venture to the quieter side of the island and you may be lucky enough to see a turtle laying her eggs on the beach. |
Below are some more ideas for keeping yourself busy on Mataking.
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Scuba Diving
There are over thirty dive sites in the vicinity of Mataking, with an abundance of macro and pelagic marine life waiting to be discovered. The water is crystal clear and visibility is high, with a wide choice of wall and slope diving, particularly around the island of Mataking itself.
Some of the species that you can expect to spot here, with a colourful backdrop of hard and soft coral, are barracuda, trevally, spanish mackerel, ribbon eel, giant clams, gobies, eagle ray, giant frogfish, mandarin fishes and a variety of shrimps. Keep a special look out for the rare pygmy seahorse and the curious-looking orang-utan crab.
Many of these creatures may be keeping an eye on you as you send a postcard home in Malaysia’s only underwater post office. The post office is situated in a wreck that was sunk close to the island to create an artificial reef.
Night dives are very popular here, and scores of different creatures come out to play on the house reef when the sun sets.
The legendary Sipadan Island is in the vicinity (about one to two hours away) and special excursions to this diver’s Mecca are also possible. Sipadan is as famous for the abundance of large marine life such as turtles, sharks and massive schools of Barracuda as it is for its unique underwater topography of caves and walls.
Never tried Scuba Diving before? The dive centre has a full training facility, offering everything from two-hour introductory Discover Scuba Diving courses to PADI Dive Master training and a variety of PADI Speciality courses.  |
Other Sea Sports
Those that do not want to venture too deep, can rent snorkelling equipment from the diving and sea sport centre and explore the shallow waters just off the beach. Snorkelling around Mataking Island is some of the best in Malaysia, thanks to the high visibility, abundance of coral and marine life and the shallow waters. It is also possible to take a “snorkelling safari” a bit further out to sea to explore different places with your mask and fins.
Sea Kayaks are for rent and you can easily paddle around this small island in one of these. You can also rent an ASL paddle or Kookaburra boat to do the same.
Fishing trips are also available.
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Day and night jungle trekking
One half of the island has been preserved in its natural state and the lush tropical jungle is home to numerous small animals and birds. A trail through the forest allows you to explore it at your own pace by day or with the assistance of a guide at night.
During the day time, you can expect to encounter large monitor lizards, swaying from side to side as they walk through the undergrowth, or many of the colourful bird species that make their home in the tall tree tops. At night, you will be surrounded by fireflies, while coconut crabs hastily scurry away. If you are lucky, you may even see a turtle come to lay her eggs in the sand.
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Take part in a conservation programme
The Reef Dive Resort has numerous initiatives to help conserve the environment, particularly the fragile coral reef ecosystems. You can enquire at the resort how you can participate in any of these worthwhile conservation projects.
The underwater post office – the only one of its kind in Malaysia and one of only four in the world – is one of these conservation initiatives. Apart from providing a unique way to send greetings home, the post box is situated in a wreck that acts as an artificial reef, providing a home for many sea creatures and a place for corals to grow.
In cooperation with Reef Ball Asia the resort has also started constructing and planting “reef balls,” specially designed artificial reef structures, in the water around the island. These act as homes for fish and are also a place for coral to attach themselves. This enables nature to slowly rebuild reefs that were destroyed in the past by harmful practices such as bomb fishing.
The Artificial Reef Farm and the Coral Reef Farm are two other underwater conservation projects that aim to rebuild the reefs around Mataking Island. The Artificial Reef is a wooden structure that attracts large schools of fish as it provides shelter from predators. In the Coral Reef Farm, different species of coral are actively cultivated for transplant to other areas in the vicinity. Some of these corals may also be sold to rebuild damaged reefs in other areas such as the Phillipines, Fiji, Tonga and Indonesia.
Turtles often come to the sandy beaches of the island to lay their eggs. These eggs are collected and put in the turtle hatchery to keep them safe from natural predators till they hatch. If you are lucky enough to be on the island when one of these batches hatch, you can help release the baby turtles into the sea. |
Take a tour around the island
You can easily explore the island by yourself on foot, but guided tours are available if you would like to know what you are seeing. It is a small island, so the sea is almost never out of your sight, but there are interesting stops along the way:
A peacock sanctuary is home to a handful of proud birds that eagerly put their magnificent plumage on display. The 20m high King’s watchtower gives a fantastic panoramic view over Mataking and the surrounding islands. A sandbar connects Mataking Kecil (Small Mataking) to the main island and it is the perfect spot for a secluded picnic lunch. |
Go island hopping
The sea around Mataking is dotted with smaller, mostly uninhabited islands and you can easily spend a day in the sunshine, hopping from one to the other and snorkelling in the water around. The Reef Dive Resort offers island hopping tours to the neighbouring islands of Pandanan, Bohayan and Timba-Timba, as well as tours to fish and sea weed farms and nearby fishing villages. Fishing trips are also available. |
Spa
The Jamu Spa has a wide range of treatments and packages to ensure that you are rejuvenated and relaxed upon your departure from the island. The Spa is located at the edge of the island, with soothing views over the sea as it stretches to the horizon.
The Royal Spa Treatments combine different therapies such as foot baths, body scrubs, body and facial masks, massage and fragrant baths to create an all-round regal indulgence for your body and mind. The Scrub and Massage packages focus on either of these treatments to pamper you. The outdoor Jacuzzi can be enjoyed at anytime and is the ideal way to start your Spa experience. |
Other activities
For the active ones: Telematches, beach soccer and volleyball, coconut bowling competition, kite flying.
For the arty ones: Cooking lessons, dancing lessons, handicraft making lessons, batik painting, wooden plague painting, dry art paper. |
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