Snorkellers arriving at the Redang Marine Park Centre jetty.
Pulau Redang or Redang Island is one of the premier Malaysian Marine Parks in Peninsular Malaysia, offering some of the best snorkelling and diving due to its rich diversity of coral reefs and marine life. Its white sandy beaches and clear waters make it one of the most popular beach destinations in the region.
Redang is located off the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia.
Common Malay words in local names include: pulau (island), tanjung (cape), teluk (bay), sungei (river), kampung (village), pasir (sand/beach), panjang (long), besar (big), kecil (small), dalam (deep) and tengah (middle).
Pulau Redang is located in the South China Sea off the northeast coast of Peninsular Malaysia within 5°44' - 5°50' North latitude and 102°59' - 103°5' East longitude. It lies about 45km north-northeast of Kuala Terengganu, the state capital of Terengganu, and about 22km off Tanjung Merang, the closest point on the mainland.
TOP: Aerial view of Kampung Air before it was torn down. Photo ©Dept.of Fisheries, Malaysia. BOTTOM: Islands in the Redang Marine Park.
In 1991, Pulau Redang and its smaller neighbouring islands of Pulau Lima, Pulau Paku Besar, Pulau Paku Kecil, Pulau Kerengga Kecil, Pulau Kerengga Besar, Pulau Ekor Tebu, Pulau Ling and Pulau Pinang became a protected Malaysian Marine Park and is currently managed by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (NRE), Malaysia.
The Pulau Redang Marine Park boundary extends 3.2km out from the shores of Pulau Redang, Pulau Lima, Pulau Ekor Tebu and Pulau Pinang.
As a marine park, impact from human activities are managed to protect the marine environment and to conserve its coral reefs. Fishing is not allowed within the 3.2km radius while collection of all marine life including shells and corals are strictly prohibited.
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") where the present Marine Park Centre is located. The villagers on Redang are believed to be descendents of these original Bugis settlers.
In the early 70s, when land in Pulau Pinang became scarce, some villagers moved to the Redang river estuary. The state government built a water village for these residents in 1976 which became home to about 250 fishermen families. Known as Kampung Air ("water village"), it comprised wooden houses built on stilts. Kampung Air was torn down in 2001 and some families relocated to the village inland while others went back to the mainland. Many of the residents have since left the fishing trade and moved into the tourism industry, running village restaurants, boat services or working in the resorts.
The first resorts on Redang appeared around the late 80s. With the declaration of Redang as a marine park in 1991 came gradual development of more resorts to cater to local marine enthusiasts who flocked to the relatively unspoilt island to snorkel and dive. By the turn of the century, most of the existing resorts today were already operational. In 2000, with the release of the successful Hong Kong movie 'Summer Holiday', much of which was shot on Redang, the island was thrust into the international spotlight. The movie generated much publicity, awareness and interest both locally and overseas and sparked development of a few new resorts and expansion of existing ones to cater for the increasing number of visitors. In 2003, the Berjaya Group completed work on the airport and the first direct flights between KL and Redang commenced in March 2004, with direct flights between Singapore and Redang commencing a year later.
Distribution of corals, mangroves and sandy beaches in Redang.
TOP: Pitcher plant near Redang village. BOTTOM: River at Pasir Panjang during the rainy season.
Pulau Redang measures about 7km long and 6km wide with it's highest peak, Bukit Besar, located 359 metres above sea level. The 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 at Pasir Panjang with a few at Teluk Kalong while Berjaya Redang is the only resort at Teluk Dalam, a bay that is so sheltered that it is hardly affected by the northeast monsoon.
The rest of the exposed coastline is dominated by rocky outcrops, steep walls and cliffs while caves and grottos cut out by wave erosion can be found in sedimentary rock areas. Some of these caves can be seen in the northeastern shore at Tanjung Gua Kawah.
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. 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. By the end of monsoon season, these dry up and disappear and the beach is restored once again.
While there is piped fresh water from the mainland, this only supplies the village homes and Berjaya resort which helped to set up the piped water access to the village. All other resorts get their water from the ground or transport them in from the mainland. From 2009, most resorts will have access to piped fresh water from the mainland as part of the state government's infrastructure development for island tourism.
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, civet cats, rodents, domestic goats and sheep and more than 50 species of birds.
