Diving Sabah? Dive Downbelow!

Downbelow’s May Danish Adventure group have just spent the last week camping at our PADI 5* IDC dive centre & learned to dive.

The 22-strong group have all completed the PADI Open Water Course & Coral Reef Conservation program & worked incredibly hard to achieve their goal. Photo above shows them surrounded by yellow snappers – the perks of being a diver!

Big thanks to the awesome Downbelow team of instructors & also our wonderful PADI Instructor Development Course (IDC) candidates who helped out assisting the team during the program.

Next in their one month adventure program they will travel to Sandakan & experience the wildlife of the mighty Kinabatangan river… have a ball boys and girls!

Our young Borneo Adventurers received a detailed briefing on the Salt Trail Jungle Trekking programme from Downbelow’s Director Joanne Swann the day before it was due to start.

Jungle trekking through Borneo’s rainforest is part of their Borneo Adventure program and comes right after completing their PADI Open Water Course at our PADI 5-Star IDC Dive Centre last week.

The Salt Trail jungle trekking programme involves walking through the thick Borneo rainforest and crossing rivers that will take 5 days 4 nights to complete, covering a total of 34KM.

It is called the Salt Trail as this was traditionally the path followed by remote village traders to go to the local market grounds and exchange their land produce for salt.

Participants will experience nature as they navigate their way through the jungle and also experience village life as they spend their nights in the houses of the villagers.

Downbelow is not just about diving! We have a handful of programs that cater to everyone, be it individuals or groups, on land or under the sea.

We can also work out a customized programme on request.

Just pick up the phone or email us to enquire more.

Downbelow’s resident PADI Course Director Richard Swann is really passionate about conservation and believes that everyone has their part to play in supporting the fight and spreading the message of conservation.

People cannot be passionate about something that they do not fully understand and because of that will fail to spread the message effectively.

That is why we try to share the knowledge with others at every opportunity. One such occasion was when our Borneo Adventure group were at our PADI 5 Star IDC Dive Centre completing their PADI Open Water Course recently.

Richard included the AWARE Coral Reef Conservation Speciality Course so the participants can learn and appreciate more of the wonderful things we see underwater.

With the right knowledge and a heart full of passion, we are hopeful that we ignited a spark that will eventually lead to a fire in their hearts to fight for the voiceless – the marine life.

Sign up for one of our conservation courses & you too can learn to appreciate your underwater environment more.

At the same time you are also supporting our conservation minded company as we are 100% AWARE supporters both financially & educationally.

Contact us if you would like to find out more about our conservation courses and projects.

The next batch of our Borneo Adventurers has arrived and is exploring Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

They are out our Gaya island dive centre learning to dive at the moment, but before they arrived on the island, they jungle trekked the Salt Trails along the ridges of the Crocker Range Mountains.

The Salt Trails is one of the popular jungle trekking routes we offer, which is a great nature outing and jungle experience for smalls groups.

Such is the Salt Trails that you never really know what to expect other than lots of virtually impenetrable jungle and river crossings.

This group, however, struck it lucky – because their trail started with spotting the largest bloom in the world – the Rafflesia.

Quite a rare occurrence, the Rafflesia takes ages to mature and in the end has a bloom that only lasts a few days. One of the icons of Sabah, it’s a sought after sight, missed by most visitors due to how difficult it is to find.

And oddity about the Rafflesia bloom, is that it has evolved to attract insects – vital to help it pollinate and procreate – in the oddest of ways. The bloom mimics rotten flesh, both in appearance and in odor.

Therefore, great as the sight of Rafflesia is, it’s difficult to hang around one too long.

Nevertheless, our Borneo Adventure group had the very rare honour of being able to cross the Rafflesia of their Sabah “Must Do” List.

Next, they’re working on crossing off “Become a Scuba Diver”.

Downbelow’s PADI 5 Star IDC Dive Centre on Gaya island in Kota Kinabalu is once again humming with excitement as we get invaded by the next group of adventurers keen on exploring Sabah through our Borneo Adventure.

In fact, so eager was the group of 19 to kick-off their adventure, that they arrived at the island early.

We were ready.

Immediately the adventurers took advantage of the gorgeous Kota Kinabalu day and headed straight for the ocean. Under the close watch of our trained instructors they snorkeled the clear waters of the Tunku Abdul Rahman park and got a taste of what was to come.

During the first week of the Borneo Adventure, participants learn how to dive. Those already qualified to dive get to further their qualifications with an advanced or speciality qualification.

During their month on Downbelow’s Borneo Adventure, the group will also be jungle trekking Sabah’s rainforest, conquer Mt. Kinabalu, whitewater raft the Padas River and go on a culture and wildlife safari when they visit Sabah’s east coast.