Redang
18-21 Oct'03
Northern Pasir Panjang beach from Tanjung Tengah.
Our family at Redang 2003.
Just when we thought we would not have a family vacation in Redang this year, an opportunity came up that gave us a chance to visit just before the start of monsoon season. I had just returned from Redang 2 days ago after attending a coral spawning seminar. As the weather was still fine with no monsoon in sight, we decided to make use of the long weekend to visit Redang. Primary schools in Singapore were closed for a few days for PSLE marking. Timothy had just finished his Secondary 2 year-end exams and we decided it was alright for him to skip school for 2 days, so off we went. It was a welcome change from peak season in June as most resorts had closed for the year and Pasir Panjang was almost deserted.
Laguna pool; nice weather upon our arrival; Redang Bay closed for the monsoon and new Redang Beach chalets.
18 Oct
This was the family's first visit to Laguna and it
started with the resort van transferring us from KT bus station to Laguna's rest house in KT town. Equipped with sofas, deck
chairs, TV, showers and toilets, guests could wait here comfortably for
their pickup to Merang or for their coach back home. We went for a
simple breakfast across the road, then transferred to Merang. S.H. Liu,
my instructor for the Rescue Diver course, was also on the same boat
going out to Redang.
At the river mouth, we noticed the waves were quite rough as it hit the shallow breakers. The boat had to slowly and carefully negotiate the waves before picking up speed in deeper waters. We were told that during the monsoon storms, the waves at the river mouth were sometimes large enough to capsize a boat.
We arrived around 10:30am, had our welcome drinks at the refreshment bar next to the reception, then checked into our sea-view room on the upper floor. The room had a big balcony, a queen sized bed and 2 single beds. After settling in, we explored the facilities around the resort, had lunch, then joined the afternoon snorkelling session to Pulau Lima. Sea conditions were calm. However, it seemed like there were fewer fishes around, though there were a lot of anemones with various species of clownfish.
In the evening, we snorkelled around Shark Bay and Redang Reef. Like Lima, there didn't seem to be as many fishes at this time of year compared to June - maybe there were no crowds feeding them! Even the baby sharks had disappeared except for a lone shark pup, but we did manage to spot a turtle. Perhaps the other shark pups had left the bay and gone elsewhere. Pasir Panjang beach was quiet and almost deserted. Most resorts had closed around mid October, and the only resorts still open were Berjaya, Coral, Reef and Laguna. All, except Berjaya, would close by end of October.
Nice seaview from our room and dining hall.
Strange blue jellyfish(?), stingray and bamboo sharks at Tg.Cina Terjun.
19 Oct
Unlike our previous trips which were filled with
activities, this was going to be a very relaxed family vacation. This
was partly because Sarah was going to have her school examinations in a
fortnight and one of the conditions for coming along to Redang was that
she would set aside mornings revising for her exams. With such a
comfortable room, she could do her work seated at the coffee table.
The snorkelling trips each day were always to the same two destinations - Marine Park Centre in the morning, and Pulau Lima in the afternoon. We decided to skip the rest of the boat trips, and just snorkelled around the house reefs.
Diving at Tg. Cina Terjun
This afternoon, I followed Liu and
Irene for a dive at Tanjung Cina Terjun. As I did not have a buddy, I
was paired with Irene, a German lady training to be a divemaster at
Laguna. Irene would be leading this dive. Tanjung Cina Terjun was my favourite
spot in Redang and this dive did not disappoint - there were lots of
sting rays about on the sandy bottom, a school of about 6 large white
puffers, scorpionfish, lionfish, snappers, an interesting blue jellyfish
that was either dead or dying, and even a pair of bamboo sharks sleeping
under a rock. Towards the end of my dive, Irene and I got separated. As
visibility wasn't very good, I aborted my search for her and headed back
to the reef where we started our dive. Before ascending, I sat still and
waited all alone to observe whether any reef creatures would come out of
hiding. I was amply rewarded when a short while later, a number of
stingrays, both large and small, appeared out of hiding from the sandy
bottom! Amazing!
We returned to Shark Bay hoping to catch a glimpse of the baby sharks but didn't see any. We were told that one of the signs of the approaching monsoon was when certain species of fish not normally resident in the house reefs start to come into the sheltered bay, indicating that rough weather was about to start. We did not spot anything unusual, other than the lack of shark pups, so monsoon season was probably not due for yet.
20 Oct
The waves at Pasir Panjang were bigger today and it
had rained overnight - possibly signs of the coming monsoon.
Mid-October landscapes: empty beaches, rivers at Pasir Panjang and squirrels aplenty.
Tg.Mak Cantik, northern and southern Pasir Panjang beach from top of Tanjung Tengah.
Changing beach landscapes
We went for a walk on the beach to see
how things had changed during this time of year. Other than Pasir Panjang beach being really deserted, there was a lot more coral
rubble on the beach, washed up both by strong waves and due to erosion of the fine sandy layer on the beach, which uncovered
coral rubble lying underneath. Visibility in the water was poorer due to
waves churning up sand and sediment on the seabed. This was obvious when
we snorkelled at Shark Bay - visibility in the shallow areas closest to
the beach were restricted to an arm's length and improved gradually as
we went out into deeper waters.
We also noticed rivers were starting to form naturally at 4 locations along the beach: by the side of More More Tea gift shop, between Redang Beach and Redang Lagoon and flowing out to Shark Bay, between Redang Pelangi and Coral Redang, and in front of Redang Holiday. The rivers had begun to cut deep channels in the sand especially at Coral Redang. We were told that these rivers can run quite deep at the height of the monsoon, when heavy rains cause heavy runoffs from the hills inland. Sometimes, at other times of the year, these rivers can also form when there are periods of heavy rain. When the rivers dry up, they leave behind deep channels that appear as if someone had excavated the sand.
At the end of the monsoon, fine sand is naturally deposited back on the eroded beach, the rivers dry up and over time are filled back up with sand. That is the natural cycle of the beach at Pasir Panjang as we were told.
Tanjung Tengah
We took the opportunity to climb up
Tanjung Tengah just next to Shark Bay. This small hill provided a good
view of both northern and southern Pasir Panjang. Initially, we took the
wrong path which led us only halfway up the hill. We had to come back
down again. Eventually, I found the correct path which was at the corner
of Shark Bay. The entrance to the path looked like a dumping ground with
litter and debris. Leaving the family on the beach, I scaled some small
rocks and found a trail going up all the way to the top and eventually
reached the summit where I was rewarded with an excellent view of the
beach below.
Snorkelling at Shark Bay in the evening, we were followed by a school of damsels and wrasses, even though we did not have any food with us. They were probably so used to being fed that they associated humans with food. We encountered a turtle, a barracuda, squid, and an orange-striped triggerfish that followed us around which was quite unnerving. This particular chap was probably a resident here as I had always seen one in Shark Bay over the years. So perhaps, like the damsels, it was also waiting for handouts!
Terengganu museum and dinner with Seng Lip's family.
21 Oct
It had rained again last night. We had to check out early
to catch the morning boat as it was going to be low tide in the
afternoon and they did not want to risk the boat getting stuck at the
shallow river mouth in Merang.
In KT, we dropped by Ping Anchorage to visit Alex Lee, then headed to Seng Lip's home. Seng Lip & his family graciously hosted us for the day until we left on the night coach. We visited the Terengganu Museum - the largest museum in Malaysia. Its roof design was similar to that at Laguna Resort and very characteristic of Terengganu Malay architecture. This museum is worth a visit if you've got about 2 hours to spare and want to learn about the local history and culture. We also visited the market and wet market downtown, where a lot of local souvenirs and handicrafts were on sale.
Throughout our 4D/3N stay, we had light rain mostly in the evenings, and the waves at Pasir Panjang were noticeably bigger. Other than that, visiting Redang in late October was fine. In a way, we enjoyed it more as there were no crowds - just a peaceful, quiet vacation. And the family's verdict on Laguna? Loved it!
P.S.: We were told that the monsoon rains started in early November, about 2-3 weeks after we'd left).
