Downbelow Dive Centre will facilitate a free Project AWARE beach and reef clean-up on 20 September, co-sponsored by Sabah Parks.
Downbelow Dive Centre will provide the speedboat transfers to their dive station on Gaya island, also the location of the Sabah Park Headquarters for the Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park.
The clean-up operation will be based here and will entail rubbish collection from the beach and river mouth, as well as from the reefs in the immediate vicinity. An open-water dive qualification is required for the latter activity.
Downbelow Dive Centre has made their diving infrastructure available for this event, and Sabah Parks has agreed to waive the park entry and jetty fees, which means this Project AWARE sponsored event is completely free for participants.
As a result divers cleaning the reefs will have equipment available at no cost to them and for everybody, the boat transfers, lunch, park fees and jetty fees will also be free of charge.
In summary:
Date: Saturday, 20 September 2008
Time: 10:30am – 4:00pm
Location: Depart from Sabah Parks Jetty in front of Hyatt Regency Kinabalu
Event Location: Gaya Island, Tunku Adbul Rahman Marine Park
Cost: As many bags of rubbish as you can collect.
Included: Return transfers, lunch, equipment rental, party entry fees, jetty fees
Remember, you’ll be out in the sun all day, so bring along at least sunscreen and a hat.
We only had space for 30 participants at this particular event, and we’ve already filled the quota. In future more such events are planned, so join the KK Dive Club and make sure you’re in the loop next time.
Downbelow is an efficient dive operation, uniquely perched on the shores of a sheltered cove on Gaya Island in the Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park (TARP) about 10 minutes from Kota Kinabalu city.
Run by master dive instructors and veteran divers Richard and Joanne, Downbelow pride themselves on professional, friendly and knowledgeable service, traits they instil in all their staff.
A PADI Certified Dive Centre, Downbelow is also licensed under the Malaysian Ministry of Culture, Arts & Tourism. Their equipment, from speedboat to regulators, are maintained to stringent standards for excellent dives both around Kota Kinabalu and the rest of Sabah.
As marine biologists, Richard and Joanne’s passion for the underwater world burns bright and is evident in the enthusiasm with which they conduct their dive operations and dives.
Also teachers of underwater photography, Richard and Joanne has documented the TARP in detail themselves, and the accuracy with which they can find small, wondrous critters hidden in the nooks and crannies of the park’s coral reefs, is truly astounding.
Taking clients slightly off the usual tourist track to expose them to a world below the water and above, less trodden by the everyday tourist, is a veritable trademark of Downbelow. That said, a near obsessive standard of safety is always paramount though, whether it be diving, trekking in the jungle or taking on Mt. Kinabalu.
If you’re interested in diving in Kota Kinabalu, Downbelow offers the following:
| Program | Duration | Malaysian (RM) |
Non Malaysian (RM) |
| Non-Diving | |||
| Snorkel & Lunch | 1 Day | 95 | 100 |
| Discover Snorkelling | 1 Day | 190 | 220 |
| Skin Diver | 1 Day | 370 | 400 |
| Diving | |||
| Daily Dives | 1 Day/3 Dives | 310 | 340 |
| Scuba Review | Half Day/2 Dives | 310 | 340 |
| Night Dive | Dept. 5pm | 200 | 230 |
| Discover Scuba | Half Day | 230 | 260 |
| Open Water Course | 4 Days/9 Dives | 1,270 | 1,300 |
| Referral Course | 2 Days/4 Dives | 800 | 830 |
| Advance Open Water | 2 Days/5 Dives | 950 | 980 |
| Rescue Diver | 3 Days/5 Dives | 1,120 | 1,150 |
| Underwater Photography | 1 Day/2 Dives | 760 | 790 |
| Peak Performance Buoyancy | 1 Day/2 Dives | 520 | 550 |
| Fish Identification | 1 Day/2 Dives | 520 | 550 |
| Dive Master | 14 Days | TBC | TBC |
| Instructor | 15 Days | TBC | TBC |
If you would like to book any of the above or just want more information about what the courses entail, send us an email at info@sabahbah.com, or contact Downbelow directly on info@divedownbelow.com.
Think climbing Mt. Kinabalu, enjoying the beach at the Tip of Borneo, cruising down the Kinabatangan river and diving in the Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park (TARP) – how often do we enjoy these treasures?
Well, some of that is about to change.
A Dive Club for KK
Downbelow Marine and Wildlife Adventures is a PADI Certified dive centre and specialises in Borneo adventures with an office in Likas Square and a dive station based on Gaya Island.
Downbelow also established the KK Dive Club with the main purpose of getting locals down below more often for less, to appreciate the splendour of the corals and marine life we have right here on our doorstep in Kota Kinabalu.
The Dive Club does it cheaper
If you live in Sabah, whether you’re a Sabahan or a foreigner, you qualify for the excellent dive rates the KK Dive Club has to offer. A normal fun-dive day consisting of return boat transfers to the Downbelow Dive Station on Pulau Gaya, 3 fun dives in the TARP and lunch, will cost KK Dive Club members a mere RM 145.
Your only other expense will be the park dive fee payable to Sabah Parks, which is RM20 per diving day for Malaysians and RM50 for non-Malaysians.
If, however, you are taking part in a diving course, the dive fee is valid for up to 4 consecutive diving days, which now also covers night dives, as opposed to before where an additional fee was required for night dives in the park.
An annual fee of RM100 gets you into the KK Dive Club family, which includes a Downbelow t-shirt as a welcome gift. Membership entitles you to affordable diving days, discounted dive courses, PADI Aware events, social outings and get-togethers.
Get Busy in the Water with KK Dive Club
A regular schedule of KK Dive Club days will keep you busy and, subject to certain conditions and minimum club member requirements, outings on request can also be arranged.
How to get involved? Download the KK Dive Club membership form, fill it in and visit the Downbelow office at 9A 1st Floor, Likas Square Commercial Centre to pay your membership fee.
Alternatively, email dive@kkdiveclub.com for more information or to get the skinny about what’s next on the KK Dive Club schedule.
With top rated dive sites like Sipadan and Layang Layang, it would be a great opportunity missed if your holiday in Sabah didn’t include at least a few dives.
If you’re planning to come to Sabah for a holiday, why not take the opportunity to dive in Kota Kinabalu or experiencing what Borneo diving can be?
If you travel alone, or if you want a diving holiday, but struggle to rally your friends, then join a busy operator that will inevitably hook you up with like minded divers, or will show you the sights of Sabah and Kota Kinabalu because that’s what they love doing.
Visit the Sabahbah.com Diving in Kota Kinabalu page and see what diving opportunities await you on Borneo, and how close to Kota Kinabalu diving really can take place.
