Malaysia's state of Terengganu is blessed with three marine
parks - the Perhentian Archipelago, the Redang Archipelago and the islands around
Pulau Tenggol. These marine parks are protected under the Marine Parks regulations
administered by the Department of Fisheries, thereby preserving the marine environment
around the area.
The Perhentian islands, which means 'Stopover Islands' in Malay is Terengganu's northernmost
park. They offer relaxed diving in an idyllic, serene atmosphere. Only 20km by ferry
from Kuala Besut, this Marine Park consists of Pulau Perhentian Besar ('Big Stopover'
Island) and Pulau Perhentian Kecil ('Little Stopover' Island) with several smaller
islets to the northwest.
The two main islands are heavily forested and ringed with sandy beaches, typical
of tropical islands. Accomodation for visitors are predominantly aimed at budget
travellers and is mostly on the larger Pulau Perhentian Besar, which not only has
wonderful beaches but also forest trails over the hills.
The beaches are more suited to swimmers and snorkellers rather than divers because
they lead to shallow water over sand with lots of rays, cuttlefish and parrotfish.
For divers, the group of small rocky islets to the nortwest of Pulau Perhentian Kecil
is a location not to be missed. The tiny islets have irregular patches of stunted
soft tree corals in many colours and deeper down, one can explore the wonders of
king-size barrel sponges with Alabaster Sea Cucumbers. Common to the area are harp
and black corals, while large hard corals are absent. There are large off-white soft
tree corals growing on an experimental artificial reef laid down for the Deparment
of Fisheries to the west of Pulau Perhentian Kecil. The rate of growth is unusual
for this region.
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