02°16.669N / 104°06.938E
We left at 9.15 and motored to Pulau Tinggi arriving at 10.20. We had seen Whisper HR go in on the AIS so the skipper tracked him on the chart plotter so we just followed his track in. It was between Pulua Tinggi and some smaller islands with reef around them. We anchored in around 6 metres of lovely clear water and then headed to the little island for a snorkel. It was lovely to be in the water again. The reef was pretty good – best we have seen in a long time and we saw three small stingrays hiding shyly under the coral – brown with lovely aqua blue spots. And a couple of slug things that float along with graceful wing like cloaks. The weather was looking threatening so we returned to our boats, battened down and put out more chain. Then there was the biggest clap of thunder and we could smell ozone so it must have been very close. The raindrops were huge and it was very windy and the beautiful calm water became very choppy. By 5.30 it was starting to settle so Investigator II put a call out that everyone was invited to their (rather large) catamaran for sundowners. There were 15 boats in with about 11 dinghies tied off the back. At 7pm we all got in our dinghies and went through a gap in the reef and went ashore for dinner where the restaurant had a big table set up for us courtesy of Rubicon Star booking for us all earlier in the day. It was a very nice meal of chicken soup, rice, fish, omelette and vegetables and slices of orange and orange cordial (a dry island). We had a lovely evening and the locals came down to take photos of the mass exodus of dinghies.
Miles: 6 TTT: 634
Sunday 15 May – Pulau Tinggi
A restful day. We headed over to another lovely little island in Bob and the water was so clear you could see the starfish on the bottom. We walked about the island and Braveheart came in then we went back to the first island and snorkelled the western side where there were a lot of staghorns and heaps of fish and then did the eastern side again but it wasn’t as clear today. Had a quiet afternoon on the boat reading hearing the odd turtle pop his head up and take a breath before diving again. Chris from Braveheart popped over to borrow a carton of beer – they have guests and had under estimated what they would need!!! A quiet night.
Monday 16 May – Pulau Tinggi to Pulau Seri Buat / Sembilang
02°41.850N / 103°53.858E
Left at 8.30 with Cilantro and motored north towards the Tiomans. The water totally flat and a beautiful day. The boat is really dirty – think it must be all the crap in the air and water coming around Singapore. The air should get clearer from here on. Not so many fishermen out here – only saw two boats today. Puluas Tinggi and Sibu are all jungle and Tinggi has a mountain on it. We arrived and went around Pulaus Seri Buat and Sembalang and came back around to the northern side between the two islands These islands don’t have the jungle that the others had. There is a reef exposed between them at low tide so we couldn’t go too far in. We jumped in Bob and had a look around. The water was so clear you couldn’t tell how shallow/deep it was. There looks as though there might be some reef worth snorkelling on. We just got back to the boats at 5pm and it bucketed down rain. Had a quiet night on board.
Miles: 28 TTT: 662
Tuesday 17 May – Pulau Seri Buat / Sembilang to the Tioman Islands
02°49.086N / 104°09.063E
We were going to snorkel but it was high tide and the water clarity wasn’t good and we couldnt actually find the good reef we saw yesterday and the water was pretty murky and then a big cloud covered the sun so we went back to the boat and upanchored at 11.10 and headed for the Tioman Islands. It was another motor day although we did have the headsail out for a while. We arrived and had a good look around for somewhere to anchor. The marina was full but we didn’t want to go in anyway. We went over to where Braveheart were but they were in behind the reef and quite close to shore and they advised the holding wasn’t the best. So we came back to where two other yachts were anchored. We could see the reef so at 2.50 we anchored in 12.5 metres and went back to 9m and the anchor dug in well to sand. We jumped off the back of the boat and swam towing Bob to the reef and had a good snorkel. Really interesting reef – lots of nemos and soft coral with some quite good hard stuff too with more colour than we have seen in a while. Saw a huge coral trout – red with yellow spots and then I saw my first black tipped reef shark which took off in alarm at our approach. I was yelling under water and pointing but the skipper thought I was pointing and getting excited about the coral trout (as if!!). Stayed in for a little while but decided that was enough snorkelling and excitement for one day!! We went ashore with Cilantro and Wavesweeper and walked the length of the road in the town of Telek Tekek. We watched the police playing volleyball but instead of using their hands they use their feet – would take your head off if they kicked you!!! Then came back to the pirate bar on the beach for sundowners and then went to the Chinese restaurant for dinner and had an excellent meal including a bottle of wine purchased at the duty free next door. Tioman Island is where they made the musical South Pacific. It is mountainous and covered in jungle – extremely picturesque. It is fascinating to watch the planes come in to land as they bank very sharply to miss the mountain (and Braveheart!) and look as though they are going to fly into the hill and then land at the shortish runway. The town is a long road with mini marts, a few duty free shops (not as cheap as Langkawi) and souvenir shops. Out of town there are a couple of resorts and a golf course
Miles: 18 TTT: 652
Wednesday 18 May – Telek Tekek Tiomans
Congratulations to Amber and Josh on their engagement!
We have a few big boats come past from the mainland which gives us a bit of a rockup but otherwise we are quite comfy here. Took the dinghies into the marina and checked out the airport duty free. Ran into Braveheart who have their daughter and son in law and granddaughter Amber and her new fiance Josh on board. Amber and Josh are only here for a few days. Amber did the Indonesian rally with Chris and Judy. Anyway it was big congratulations to Amber and Josh on their engagement. They went off on a 4WD trip over the island which they later reported was quite scary. Sandra, May and I left the boys and checked all the shops/stores out along the road then met up with the boys for lunch. We went to the Chinese seafood restaurant on the beach. The beers were the cheapest we had found but the meals were expensive so we just ate local food which was more economic. We came back to the boats and Peter and I snorkelled the reef off the back of our boat for about ¾ hr. We saw a stingray with the blue dots and three of the biggest coral trout ever and it was a really great snorkel. We all ended up at the Chinese again for dinner.
Thursday 19 May – Telek Tekek, Tiomans
It blew up quit windy and as we had been sitting in 18.5m of water last night we stayed (it is spring tides) aboard for the morning and I had a cleanup. Cilantro were finally able to get their gas tank filled. Had a snorkel off the back of the boat and found that I have worn out my first pair of flippers!!! Late in the afternoon we went for a walk up over the hill past the beautiful golf course to a pretty ritzy resort so walked though and had a look. We saw a huge monitor lizard walking in a shallow creek and there were a few monkey hanging around the resort. As we walked back up the hill there were a couple of families of monkeys on the side of the road. They can be a bit daunting as they come towards you expecting to be fed. So we crossed the road and there were more. Anyway they were friendly enough. Most of the eateries werec losed except the chinese so we came back to the boat and ate on board. As we were coming out just on dusk the water was crystal clear and you could really see the coral.
Friday 20 May – Telek Tekek, Tiomans
Went ashore and did some shopping. It is very hot in the little town and also in the marina (one of the boats has reported rats!). When we came back we could see dolphins leaping out of the water – lovely to see. Had a swim off the back of the boat and watched a heap of rally boats come in. At 5 we went ashore with Cilantro and met up with Braveheart and walked towards the other end of the island. This appeared to be the backpacker end. We had a happy hour drink at a bar then found a restaurant for dinner. It was up the side of the hill with a lovely outlook but the food was ordinary. As we walked back the place was just coming to life and the atmosphere was very laid back and really friendly with a totally different feel to the other end of town. It was a really enjoyable walk back under the street lights.
Feeling more relaxed and enjoying this beautiful island.
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| Week 5 |
Love
Dell and Peter
