One long-haul international flight, one short domestic flight, a 1.5 hour car transfer and a 45 minute boat ride later, we had made it to Mabul Island in Malaysia. A place I had been studying for nearly a year before actually arriving. It wasn’t until I became an overly-obsessed scuba diver that I even learned of Mabul, or the group of islands that make up the Semporna Archipelago in the Celebes Sea. In 1989, Jacques Cousteau said this island chain was one of the most “untouched places on earth,” coining it one of the best dive destinations our planet had to offer. Thirty years later, I had to see it for myself first hand.
Under normal circumstances, traveling on all these modes of transport with an oversized dive bag and unnecessary amounts of camera equipment is a challenge. Now, imagine that you are injured and you’re trying to do it. I was four weeks into a back injury that had me fully immobilized the first two weeks. I sprained my lumbar muscles lifting tanks—go figure. By week four, I had limited mobility in my hips, thighs and lower back, but thankfully could walk.
The thought of not making it to one of our first stops on our 24-month expedition, and to a place deemed so magical by the one and only explorer himself, seemed to not be an option.
What makes this far off place so special? And why would someone like me traverse all the way here while suffering a pretty significant injury?
Diving in Malaysia can be divided into two regions: the east coast of the Malay Peninsula and the west called Sabah, Borneo. The east is a bit more accessible from mainland Malaysia while the west, well … that is reserved for those who are not faint of heart. I’ve come to find that the harder the dive site is to get to, the better. Sabah, Borneo is one of those places, and quite literally a diver’s paradise. The archipelago is made up of close to 50 islands which are all surrounded by spectacular coral reefs and water so clear you can see right to the bottom. Located in the Coral Triangle, a region known for its rich biodiversity, you can see major pelagic action all the way through to the best macro dives of your life.
As we disembarked the boat, we stepped foot on Scuba Junkie’s dive deck, my home for the next week straight. That dive deck made me feel like I officially made it to scuba diving heaven. The place was HUGE and had everything a diver could dream of—gear, tanks, boats, interesting people who were just as obsessed with diving as I was. Starting nearly 20 years ago, Scuba Junkie became the biggest dive operation out of the archipelago—and the only one whose values are firmly rooted in ocean conservation, awareness and education. My kind of place.
When looking to find ocean conservation wins in Malaysia as part of the Edges of Earth expedition, it was hard to come by. Sadly, Malaysia has a rough history of land and sea degradation, most notably when it comes to its rainforests. The conversion of land for agriculture, logging (including illegal logging), and the expansion of palm oil plantations have been major contributors to deforestation. This has resulted in the loss of biodiversity, habitat destruction, and increased carbon emissions. For as much as I love palm trees, it was devastating to see how much rainforest has been lost to the fields of palms on that 1.5 hour drive to the archipelago that I was mentioning earlier.
But, back to Scuba Junkie. According to the local divemasters and instructors, the dive center was founded on the premise that for every dive that they have the luxury of going on, equals how much they have to give back to the ocean as a way of saying thanks. I love this. And when I learned about it, I wanted to share it with as many people as I could. Because THIS is how to run your dive operation, period.
As divers, we are so beyond fortunate to be living in a time where we have access to pristine dive sites, beautiful oceans, and untouched places. It’s our duty and obligation to give back to the ocean and keep these edges of earth thriving, long after we are gone.
Not to mention, if you are running an operation that brings people together to go out to sea, this has to be table stakes. And that’s exactly what Scuba Junkie showed me. How to build an eco-tourism business that works.
My time in Mabul wasn’t the typical dive all day and celebrate all night, as my back injury got progressively worse day by day to the point where I could hardly walk. I didn’t get to go on a single dive. Yes, it was depressing watching Scuba Junkie’s 15 boats take divers out to the legendary Sipadan and Kapalai islands without me. But, I was in Malaysia surrounded by incredible people—I wasn’t going to let immobility rain fully on my parade.
The Scuba Junkie team took care of me—they went to the closest town to get me heat pads, brought food to my room, left me yoga mats to try and loosen me up and let me vent to them about my unique situation for hours on end. Above all else though, I got to really learn about (and see first hand) their conservation and community building efforts called Scuba Junkie SEAS—from sea turtle restoration and protection to their beach clean ups to their Zero to Hero program. I’ll give you the high level rundown …
Unfortunately, turtle poaching has been a significant issue in the archipelago. Sea turtles are highly valued for their meat, shells, and eggs, which are considered a delicacy and used in traditional medicine. The archipelago turtle population includes several endangered species, such as green, hawksbill and leatherback. These turtles face a variety of threats, including habitat loss, pollution and illegal poaching. Scuba Junkie SEAS has created a turtle nesting sanctuary, where the team collects nests and provides safe haven for them so they can avoid poaching. The team will dig holes, sift sand, and incentivize the locals to get involved and help with collection.
Like many other coastal areas around the world, the archipelago is facing a growing and significant waste problem. As tourism has increased in the region, so has the amount of waste generated by visitors and local communities. Improper waste management and disposal practices have led to significant pollution of the archipelago's beaches, waters, and marine ecosystems.
That’s why, back in 2018, Scuba Junkie banned all single use plastic on premise. Since then, the team has been working to encourage the Sabah government to make this compulsory at all hotels and resorts in the state. Additionally, the Scuba Junkie SEAS team started fast and structured weekly beach clean ups, removing bags and bags of waste where they send it back to Semporna (the nearby biggest town where my heat pads came from) to be property recycled. These beach cleanups have staff, the locals and divers getting stuck right into it, sweating through any clothes that they are wearing as this is hard work in the blazing Malaysian sun.
And lastly, my favorite—the “Zero to Hero” program. Young Malaysians who are interested in the ocean but have no experience can come for a 3 month internship where at the end, they become certified divemasters. As part of the program, they get a 2-year contract to work with Scuba Junkie. For those that make it through the rigorous program, this becomes their home and their employment for years, if not a lifetime. Those that went through the program that we had a chance to meet with said this changed their lives forever. And, not to mention, the divemasters then pass on their ocean conservation knowledge to visiting divers as their way of giving back. Their mission is to instill in everyone who comes through Scuba Junkie the conservation philosophy the operator has fully embraced. Epic.
At the end of the week, I was being carried off the dive deck in agonizing pain. I was dreading the 45 minute boat ride, 1.5 hour car transfer, one short domestic flight and one long-haul international flight that I knew was coming my way. But, for me, it was worth it.
The best practices I saw at Scuba Junkie at the beginning of a 24-month expedition set the bar high. We are on the search for those who are doing it right—bringing people from all corners of the world closer to the ocean through their work. And this team has it figured out. As divers, it's our responsibility to do the research to support and give our business to operations that give back to our planet and make it a priority.
If we want to keep having these incredible experiences that make our lives so rich and fulfilling, we have to be aware of the challenges the ocean faces.
Scuba Junkie provided lots of ways to make that possible for all those who step foot on that huge dive deck—reminding me why I got involved in this special sport of scuba in the first place. If you are looking for an eco-smart dive destination, you better be heading to the 0.2 square kilometer island called Mabul to meet the epic Scuba Junkie family.
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