Pulau Aur more than a divers isle
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By Habsah Marjuni New Straits Times 28 January, 2004
Pular Aur The island is located about 60km off Mersing, Johor.
It is a small island with three nearby islands – Pulau Dayang, Pulau Lang and Pulau Pinang. It is four to five hours by boat from Mersing, which is about four hours drive from Kuala Lumpur and three hours from Singapore.
Dive site Telok Jawa, Pulau Dayang Depth: 25-50 feet Level: Open Water and above Telok Jawa is located on the north of Pulau Dayang with plenty marine life. Coral fans would love this place.
Rayner's Rock, Pulau Dayang Depth: 40-100 feet Level: Advance Open Water and above It is "the" place. Not to be missed. Manta ray and the occasional whale shark have been sighted here. To increase chances of such sightings, do early morning dives about 7am. Visibility can be up to 80 feet on good days.
Crocodile Rock, Pulau Dayang Depth: 30-50 feet Level: Open Water and above It's a very easy dive. Lots of hard corals and reef fishes. You can also see some nudibranches, turtles and giant squids.
The Channel (wreck), Pulau Aur Depth: 90 feet Level: Advance Open Water and above You will be able to find an intact fishing boat and a big fishing sampan. You won't be able to find any big fish but current can be quite bad.
Pulau Lang Depth: 25-80 feet Level: Open Water and above Most night dives are done here. There are some 'cool' fish here: huge red snappers and blue spotted ray; turtles, leather jackets and many hard corals.
Teluk Meriam Depth: 20-60 feet Level: Open Water and above Many open water courses are done here. The Ming Dynasty wreck is, however, no longer here, presumably removed by the local authorities.
The Pinnacles Depth: 70 feet Level: Advance Open Water and above Diving here can be quite difficult. Strong current and bad visibility can ruin this beautiful spot. Manta and whale sharks have been spotted before.
Best Times to visit not during the monsoon season, of course! The resorts are usually closed from November until March. Fruits season is usually from August until September. It is the time to have durian and mango parties.
On the northeast side of the island is a small resort by the name of Atlantis Bay. A very appropriate name for a very beautiful place.
Endot Bunah, 63, and his children own and operate the resort since 1990.
Endot himself is a celebrity of sorts on the island. His father was the penghulu here, while Endot was a member of a Singapore-based Opposition political party and was an election candidate in the 1950s! The affable man often takes out his old albums to share memories with guests. His daughter Fadilah, who's also a great cook, now runs the show at Atlantis Bay.
The resort, although virtually unknown among Malaysians, has been attracting many foreign tourists, mostly diving enthusiasts.
About two kilometres south of the Divers' Lodge is the biggest village on Pulau Aur.
It has an interesting name – Kampung Teluk Berhala – and everyone seems to be related to each other.
There's a school, a police station, a small surau, a balai raya and a jetty there.
There's also the friendly Makcik Fatimah who owns the only grocery store in the village. It may be small but it is well-stocked.
There's also the only public telephone on the island, solar powered and accepts only telephone cards. According to Normi, Fatimah's daughter, the telephone is unreliable.
Further south is another cove called Teluk Sebukang. It's quite hard to reach by foot so a boat ride is advisable. Just go to the jetty and ask any available boatman his schedule. For a price, you can take a boat ride to the nearby island of Dayang or other villages on Pulau Aur.
Cool comfortat ‘back to basic’ diver’s lodge getting to the Divers' Lodge on Pulau Aur is not a simple task, but it is worth all the climbing effort.
The rooms come with attached bathroom, complete with hot water shower, air-conditioning and a two-tier queen-sized bed.
Pulau Aur is a diver's island but among the 70-odd guests there, many were not divers – proving yet again, there is much to do for visitors even in places where diving seems to be the only activity worth mentioning.
Visitors could feed the fish or get acquainted with Wakin, a male monkey that is a pet of Dave Yiu, the owner and operator of the Divers' Lodge. It has sort of become the resort's mascot.
Still the lure of the sea is great when eager divers go out to pursue their hobby. Non-divers can follow them out and even from the boat, one can admire beauty from the deep as fish and even giant squids pop up to show themselves.
The Divers' Lodge was opened about four years ago and caters mainly for divers. There are also the occasional families or marine science students.
With 18 rooms for guests and three for staff, it can easily accommodate 70 people at any one time. What it offers is 'back to basics' facilities (despite the hot shower and air-conditioning) in a 'back to nature' setting.
The divers are mostly Singaporeans and expatriates living in Singapore. They usually make their bookings at Yiu's office in Singapore, take a bus ride to Mersing or Tanjung Leman and board one of the boats to Pulau Aur.
Yiu is a qualified diving instructor and has a few dive masters working for him. Thus, divers, novice or experienced, are assured of a worthwhile outing.
For non-divers, the Divers' Lodge is a fun place for chilling out.
There's the delicious spread of food at the dining hall, prepared and cooked by locals in standard hotel style. The mini doughnuts during afternoon tea and the nasi lemak for breakfast are really out of this world! Dinners are usually outdoors – barbeque.
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