LOCATION:
Pulau Kerengga is a series of rocky outcrops located to the southeast of the main island of Redang. Access from Pasir Panjang is by dive boats which will take about 10-15 minutes.

Diving depth is only 15 metres with a total bottom time of one hour. Because of the long dive time, I break this dive report into two portions: Kerengga - Part I and Kerengga - Part II.

DESCRIPTION:
The second portion of this dive is done mostly along the sandy area of the dive site, often nicknamed the "Stingray City" by the dive community. Did I see any? Yes. A number of blue-spotted ribbontail stingrays (Taeniura lymma). Nonetheless, spotting these stingrays is pale in comparison of being able to see the massive Jenkins whipray (Himantura jenkinsii) which can be as big as 2 metres in length with one-metre wing span.

There are also some great patches of coral here, quite comparable if not better than the first portion of my dive. The collection of soft and hard corals within the boulder rocks creates an amazing reef scene commonly seen on professional photographs. There are also a number of magnificent sea anemones (Heteractis magnifica) that you can see here.

The fish variety is very good here. I saw a pair of large golden trevally (Gnathanodon speciosus) lurking in the distance, spotted boxfish (Ostracion sp.), squirrelfish (Neoniphon sammara), chequered snapper (Lutjanus decussatus), red-breasted Maori wrasse (Cheilinus fasciatus), titan triggerfish (Balistoides viridescens), beaked coralfish (Chelmon rostratus, a species of butterflyfish), Clark's anemonefish (Amphiprion clarkii), orange-banded coralfish (Coradion chrysozonus, also a type of butterflyfish), peacock rockcod (Cephalopholis argus), etc.

I also saw another hawksbill turtle here. I spent a few minutes following its movement before letting that beautiful creature go (yes, I am a big fan of turtles!). The last portion of the dive prior to making my descend was probably the main highlight of this dive site. A big school of yellow-tail barracuda (Sphyraena flavicauda) was circling us, occasionally making a tornado-like movement. Although not comparable to the school of great barracuda in Sipadan, it was quite a warm and memorable exit from the water after a fulfilling 60 minutes of diving.

MY RATING: