Introduction
The Marine Park Centre jetty in Pulau Pinang, just across the channel facing the southern tip of Redang.
Pulau Redang and its neighbouring islands is a protected Malaysian Marine Park and also one of the most popular islands off Peninsular Malaysia for snorkelling and diving due to its rich diversity of coral reefs and other marine life.
Pulau Redang is located in the South China Sea off the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia within 5°44' - 5°50' North latitude and 102°59' - 103°5' East longitude. It lies about 45 km north-northeast of Kuala Terengganu, the state capital of Terengganu, and about 22 km off Tanjung Merang, the closest point on the mainland.
Local words
Common Malay words used in this website include tanjung (cape), teluk (bay), sungei (river), kampung (village), pasir (sand/beach), panjang (long), besar (big), kecil (small), dalam (deep) and tengah (middle).
Aerial view of Kampung Air before it was torn down. Photo ©Dept.of Fisheries, Malaysia.
The first settlers of Pulau Redang were believed to be the Bugis from Celebes, Indonesia. They established their first village at Teluk Kalong and later moved south to Pulau Pinang ("betel nut palm island"), the island where the Marine Park Centre is located.
Until recently, Kampung Air ("water village") at Pulau Redang was home to a community of about 250 fishermen families believed to be descendants of these original Bugis settlers. Many have since left the fishing trade and moved into the rapidly growing tourism industry. When Kampung Air was torn down in 2001, a number of these families were relocated to the village inland, while others chose to move back to the mainland.
Pulau Redang and its neighbouring islands became a protected Malaysian Marine Park in 1991 and is currently managed by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (NRE), Malaysia. Impact from human activities are managed to protect the marine environment and to conserve its coral reefs.
Pulau Redang Marine Park showing Redang and all its neighbouring islands.
The Pulau Redang archipelago comprises Pulau Redang, Pulau Lima, Pulau Paku Besar, Pulau Paku Kecil, Pulau Kerengga Kecil, Pulau Kerengga Besar, Pulau Ekor Tebu, Pulau Ling and Pulau Pinang.
Pulau Redang is the biggest of all the islands in the Marine Park, measuring about 7 km long and 6 km wide. It's highest peak is Bukit Besar at 359 metres above sea level. The boundary of the Pulau Redang Marine Park is established by a line linking all points 2 nautical miles from the shores of Pulau Redang, Pulau Lima, Pulau Ekor Tebu and Pulau Pinang.
The other nearby islands of Pulau Perhentian Besar, Pulau Perhentian Kecil, Pulau Lang Tengah, Pulau Kapas and Pulau Susu Dara are also gazetted and protected as Marine Parks. Today, only the bigger islands like Redang, Lang Tengah, Perhentian and Kapas have resort facilities for visitors.
Geology
Distribution of corals, mangroves and sandy beaches in Redang.
Redang island is made up mainly of granite and sedimentary rocks. Soil cover is generally thin and not agriculturally productive, except around the Sungei Redang (Redang river) basin and the summit of Bukit Besar, the highest peak on Redang.
Sandy beaches are found primarily on Teluk Kalong and Pasir Panjang in the east, Teluk Dalam and Chagar Hutang in the north, and Mak Kepit and Mak Simpan in the west. Most resorts are located around the sandy beaches at Teluk Kalong and Pasir Panjang. Berjaya Beach Resort is located at Teluk Dalam, a bay that is so sheltered that it is hardly affected by the northeast monsoon, while Berjaya Spa Resort is located on a hill in the south facing the Marine Park Centre.
The rest of the exposed coastline is dominated by rocky outcrops, steep walls & cliffs, with caves and grottos cut by wave erosion in the sedimentary rock areas. Some of these caves can be seen in the northeastern shore at Tanjung Gua Kawah.
Rivers
Sungei Redang, the main river, splices the island vertically in the middle and flows south, emerging opposite the Marine Park Centre. It is flanked by 2 hilly ridges and mangroves are found along the tidal reaches of its estuary and also near Teluk Dalam.
Rivers from surface runoffs cut the beaches at Pasir Panjang during the rainy season.
During the rainy season, large quantities of water run off the thin soil cover, forming rivers that often cut across the sandy beaches into the sea. During the monsoon season, the long continuous beach at Pasir Panjang is often divided into sections by these rivers. By the end of monsoon season, they dry up and disappear and the beach is restored once again.
The village and resorts get their water mainly from the ground, as well as from a water pipeline fed from the mainland.
Flora and fauna
The interior of the island is covered with thick vegetation comprising mainly dipterocarpus forests in the east, and shorea forests in the west. Coconut trees line sandy shores, while the 'sukun' or breadfruit tree is fairly abundant on Pulau Pinang. Island fauna comprise mainly small reptiles and amphibians such as snakes, monitor lizards, geckos, toads & frogs, small mammals such as macaque monkeys, bats, mousedeer, rodents, even domestic goats and sheep, and more than 50 species of birds.
