Pangaea Borneo Project

Second Pangaea Borneo Project Expedition Event

Date of the second event of the Pangaea Borneo Project: February 01-10, 2011 (10 days)

The following Pangaea Ambassadors took part in this project:

BIONDO SHIMADA Akira Attilia (Japan, 19/09/1991 - Pangaea Mongolia Expedition)

D'ATH Saraya (Australia, 06/10/1995 - Pangaea Kamchatka Selection Camp)

DRAPELLA Zofia Grazyna (Poland, 30/04/1991 - Pangaea New Zealand Expedition)

OOSTHUIZEN Stefan (South Africa, 22/03/1989 - Pangaea Borneo Project, January 2011)

Malaysian YEPs:

KER Jen Ho (18/10/1994 - Pangaea Mongolia Selection Camp)

JASSANI Ravyna Rohit (27/09/1995) - NEW Young Explorer

YUN Soo Jin (05/04/1993) - NEW Young Explorer

Singaporean YEPs:

MEYER Nicolette (03/05/1993 - Pangaea Mongolia Expedition)

MEYER Andreas Ruihua (30/05/1991) - NEW Young Explorer

AN Benedict Tan Yong (05/09/1994) - NEW Young Explorer

Day 1-2 - February 01-02, 2011

We spent the first couple of days in Sandakan, Sabah waiting for Mike Horn to return to Malaysia from his trip to Europe since the first Pangaea Borneo Project expedition event. We welcomed our new Young Explorers, Ravyna, Jin, Andrea and Benedict, and were happy to meet up again with Nicolette and Jen Ho, both already Pangaea Ambassadors. Ravyna, Jin and Benedict started with their PADI course with scuba instructor Christian.

Pangaea Borneo Project - 20110201 - Day 01: Sandakan

Pangaea Borneo Project - 20110202 - Day 02: Sandakan

Day 3 - February 03, 2011: Pulau Bankawan

Blog written by Jen Ho, Andreas and Ravyna

Left… right… left… right… one wrong step could send you hurtling into the water below. The wind blows sharp on your face, the droplets prickling the skin like little needles.

After Mike Horn’s much awaited arrival, we left Sandakan, our ‘favourite’ town, for clearer waters. We had no idea where, but we were ready for a change from the dull buildings and brown waters of the harbour. And we got it.

Our mentors set about preparing for the journey ahead as we watched in awe, absorbing the new knowledge and experience. A line of ominous grey clouds brooded at us from the horizon as we set sail, and soon we were riding the waves not unlike a rodeo. It was not for the faint of stomach, and unfortunately a few of us had to promptly go to sleep to forget their queasiness, especially since Pangaea was pitched at such a sheer angle at times that we sometimes had to hold on to the deck for dear life to avoid sliding off the deck.

However, the stiff wind in our sails and the incessant drizzle was refreshing, and soon, the rain ceased and twinkling stars burst through the gloomy skies. We oohed and aahed but the night was still young – we still had our watch ahead! After taking a short nap while trying to not fall off the bunks, we peered out into the inky darkness, peered at the instruments and peered around at each other, making sure that the boat would not collide into anything. Two hours passed very quickly and with the stars gone, replaced by the ‘city of boats’ in Mike’s words, we dozed off again.

A new day came with a rare glimpse of the sun waking up through the grey blanket overhead. We had arrived at Pulau Bankawan (Bankawan Island), a pristine tropical paradise... or what used to be one. We were itching to explore what lay beneath the surface, so when it was announced that we would have our maiden dive, we prepared our diving equipment immediately and entered the water in a series of splashes. However, the sight that met us was not a pleasant one, for the slope was overrun with swathes of algae topped by coral-killing crown-of-thorns starfish.

We soon had the opportunity to Act, though! A large variety of habitats are present on the little island of Bankawan – the mangroves, the colourful reefs, and the rainforest. It is all very picturesque, but yet lurking under the spiny plants we found over 400 plastic bottles, countless pieces of Styrofoam, three tires as well as enough clothes and shoes to have a fashion show! Unfortunately, we had no time to do much more because of the intruding tide, but rubbish was still visible beneath the trees.

Following the beach clean up, we decided to take a hands on approach at saving the reef this time by collecting the crown-of-thorns starfish (COTs). We combed the area, searching for the spiny starfish which were so well camouflaged amongst the equally as rough surrounding corals. Improvising with spear guns and kitchen tongs, thirty of the highly venomous and deadly animals were collected and disposed of accordingly with no injuries. In the words of Markus Ruf, the marine biologist who is accompanying us on the trip, for every one COT that you see during the day there are thousand hiding away somewhere, so there is still much to be done, but at least we have taken the first steps.

As night fell, we snacked on pineapple tarts, peanut candies, dried mangoes, and the much ‘celebrated’ and ‘fragrant’ durian cake and dodol (it is Chinese New Year after all!). Then, we had another delicious meal of lasagne cooked by Christian. Markus then gave us an informative talk about coral reefs, followed by a photo competition judging session to end the day. Now, ‘Like a G6’ is blaring on the speakers, but the party must end somewhere with another big day coming up tomorrow, so it is, sadly, time for bed. To everybody out there, we wish you a prosperous Chinese New Year ahead!

Pangaea Borneo Project - 20110203 - Day 03: Pulau Bankawan Island Cleanup

Pangaea Borneo Project - 20110203 - Day 03: Pulau Bankawan COTs Removal

Pangaea Borneo Project - 20110303 - Young Explorer Photo Competition

Day 4 - February 04, 2011: Pulau Bankawan & Pulau Tabawau

Blog written by Nicolette, Jin Yun and Benedikt

Waking up at 7am with sun streaming into our cabins, we ate a sumptuous breakfast, comprising of Christian’s raisin bread and of course Nutella. Then we split up into two groups: the soon-to-be divers and the certified divers. The trainee divers had the opportunity of doing confined water dives while the certified divers had to clean the boat.

Jin, Ravyna and Benedict enthusiastically headed for the dive, guided by our awesome dive instructor, Christian. When Jin held her head up from underwater to watch the others dive down, an overwhelming surge of seawater enveloped her face, rushing into her mask and regulator. She blew so hard as if she’s an insane bubble machine (whatever that was)—it actually worked; she was thrilled to be embraced by the ocean. On the other hand, Ravyna found the experience enjoyable as she felt much more comfortable being underwater than being on the surface. Within a short period, Benedict became accustomed to the equipment and improved on his swimming too. Generally, it went smoothly—no one’s popping like champagne or taking the regulator out for no reason, and we covered some basic skills.

After sailing around Borneo for the last three weeks, the boat has turned into an undesirable mess. Thus, the rest of us vacuumed the floors, wiped them clean with soap, polished the fiberglass and tidied the kitchen. As a reward for our hard work, we were also allowed to dive for the last time off Pulau Bankawan to collect more Crown of Thorns starfish.

Later that day we traveled thirty minutes to Pulau Silumpat, where there are pearl farms and a coral growing facility in the vicinity. The more experienced divers did a deep dive as part of the advanced open water course. It was a strange experience to see the reef from a depth of 33m: the water absorbs the red light and therefore the colours are less vivid. Furthermore, as the air pressure increases as you go deeper you use up more air with every breath and the chance of decompression sickness can also increase. Thus at increasing depth, you have to diver shorter.

On the other hand, the trainee divers along with the rest of the crew on board Pangaea went for a little snorkeling. Being vertically straight with your head down underwater doesn’t really come naturally but it feels great when you manage to do it!

When the sun was setting, we visited some indigenous people living on sampan (local boats). These people, what some people call ‘sea gypsies’, live all their lives on boats and fish only just enough to sustain themselves. Personally this was a great experience—it’s a scene we might have watched through documentary on their lives, but we had never once thought that we’d meet some of them in person.

Pangaea Borneo Project - 20110204 - Day 04: Pulau Bankawan COTs Removal

Pangaea Borneo Project - 20110204 - Day 04: Pulau Tabawau

Pangaea Borneo Project - 20110304 - Young Explorer Photo Competition

Day 5 - February 05, 2011: Pulau Tabawau

Blog written by Jen Ho, Ravyna and Andreas

Snip! went the coral fragments between the teeth of the pliers. We are already halfway through the project... How fast time flies! This morning, we found ourselves standing at a coral farm, a relatively new venture of a Japanese entrepreneur. Pieces of coral are first cut off a live specimen and trimmed to fit into holes in concrete disks. The disks are then be tied onto a net on a frame and lowered down onto the seafloor. It was intriguing to see this artificial way of growing these unique organisms for real. Even though the reasons for this farm might be commercial, but the method is definitely a viable way of regenerating our coral reefs.

Afterwards we hurried to prepare our snorkelling gear and stepped off into the crystal clear waters. A small jellyfish or two pulsed gently alongside as we swam towards the reef, which was slightly frightening, but when we arrived at the reef, that was forgotten. Parrotfish flitted past, stopping occasionally to munch on coral, and feather stars swayed gently on large brain corals as we free-dived down to the fish. Andre even found a cone shell looking deceptively innocent in the shallows, and Nicolette spotted an eagle ray. However, just as we were about to leave a large explosion rocked the reef - it was a fish bomb, and it would not be our last encounter with this destructive fishing method in the day.

On our return we were off again to dive, but yet again the dismaying sight of some corals entangled in long lines and plastic packaging met us. Andre spotted a school of razorfish hovering over a gorgonian, but fortunately we did not see any crown-of-thorns here. Meanwhile, the three new divers did some exercises and dived around the reef.

Immediately after everybody was out of the water, we left for the port of Semporna, which turned out to be an interesting journey. About an hour from Semporna we arrived in a sort of bay enclosed by several islands. The sun was out, the clouds were like cotton candy, and the water was absolutely calm, so everybody was on deck enjoying the welcome change in the landscape. A fishing boat manned by two fishermen floated a few metres from the boat, which became the centre of attention as we waited to see how they would go about fishing.

All of a sudden, as if in slow motion, one of the men raised his hand. Everybody held their breath – we already guessed what would happen - but we could only watch in horror as the fish bomb plopped into the water and exploded violently. They nonchalantly picked up the dead fish from the water then tried to start the engine to get away, but we set our course towards them so they became more desperate. All this time, the most beautiful and colourful reef fish floated on the water, never to swim amongst the corals again.

We were absolutely enraged, because dynamite fishing or fish bombing is one of the worst methods of fishing ever invented. A huge shockwave kills all animals within a 50 to 100 meter radius instantly, as well as huge amounts of the coral, leaving a field of debris devoid of life. Indeed, even though the water was completely clear we could not see any fish amongst the coral. Furthermore, the fishermen only bothered to collect the few fish which were on the surface close to them, leaving the fish below the surface to drift away, having died in vain.

Even though possessing explosives is banned in Malaysia, it seems to be an easy way of getting a little money without too much work. After all, if you just chuck a bomb into the water, it’s so much easier than using a net, isn’t it? But that is not an excuse because fish bombing is far from sustainable, with a large swathe of habitat decimated by the bomb’s impact. Hundreds of years of growth would simply be gone in a flash, as corals only grow a few centimetres every few years.

Andre and Jacek chased them away in the dinghy to intimidate them a little but probably the only way we have to deal with this is education. Education is everything. The fishermen are simply trying to make a living, and they might not want to change their ways, but we can show the younger generation, the children in schools, that sustainable fishing with normal fishing lines or even aquaculture is the way forward. So that is our next step for the project – educate.

Passing through a massive jellyfish swarm and fleeing garfish, we arrived in Semporna where we stopped over for dinner. We encountered yet another problem at the café where we ate – shark fin soup was on sale, for only 12 ringgit per bowl! Shark finning is yet another brutal fishing method, with the fins sliced off the shark sometimes while it is still alive. Again, with this issue, education comes into play – we have to make our fellow youth realise that shark finning, fish bombing, cyanide fishing, trawling etc. etc. need to be stopped. Now.

Pangaea Borneo Project - 20110205 - Day 05: Pulau Tabawau Coral Farm Visit

Pangaea Borneo Project - 20110205 - Day 05: Pulau Tabawau Diving

Pangaea Borneo Project - 20110205 - Day 05: Pulau Tabawau Diving Course

Pangaea Borneo Project - 20110205 - Day 05: Pulau Balusuan Illegal Dynamite Fishing

Pangaea Borneo Project - 20110205 - Day 05: Sailing into Semporna

Day 6 - February 06, 2011: Pulau Bohey Dulang

Blog written by Nicolette, Jin Yun and Benedikt

We woke up to find ourselves being greeted by the sultry bear-hug of the Sun and calm breeze in Semporna. Today was a day to make a move to explore Pulau Bohey Dulang.

The volcano forms a lagoon of islands, and as it is severely eroded away, the old crater is now connected to the sea. It was a breathtaking view, when the Pangaea sailed into the volcano and we could imagine how great the mountain used to be, millions of years ago.

Getting our scuba gear ready, we took a step off the Pangaea into the warm (30 degrees Celsius!!!) tropical water. We again split up into groups: those completing their open water certificate, those doing their advanced certificate and those who were just exploring the reef. The reef had less damage than the other reefs we have already explored, as the area around the volcano is a marine protected area. It was amazing to see rare creatures such as pipefish and juvenile bump-head parrotfish. In cages, there were also clams that the nearby farm was breeding. The cages were full of clams!

After the dive we hopped into our dinghy and headed towards the volcanic island. For the first time in the last six days, we were going to really exercise our legs so as to be able to scale the steep and slippery slopes of the mountain. Going through primary rainforest, we were surprised by the great biodiversity of plants all around us. We were also told, that there were many vipers in this forest, and indeed, we did find one snake. Not being equipped with the best of hiking shoes, we managed with great difficulty to finally reach the summit. The view was stunning. We could see Pangaea in the distance, looking small in comparison to the expanse of the sea. This was a view that we will never forget for the rest of our lives.

Going down the slope was more challenging than going up. It was getting dark, and only a few of us had brought headlamps. We had to feel our way past thorns, vines and slippery rocks to gradually make our way down. With muddy boots and sweat running down our faces, we were relieved to have made it back to sea level.

Guided by the workers in the clam farm, we were shown around the facility. They breed clams, abalones and conduct research on algae. Our professional shell expert, Markus, gave us explanations about the mollusks and then we had the opportunity of having a hands-on experience with the animals. It was strange to feel the slimy, soft abalone clinging to our hands. They left a trail of mucus on our skin…

There are seven different types of clams living in the Borneo region. Some clams grow at a rate of one centimeter in a year, thus you can imagine that clam farming is a very slow process. To breed the clams, they aggravate the animal by placing it in cold and then hot water. Consequently, they will release sperms and eggs into the water, which the farmer/diver will collect using a bag. The sperms and eggs are then placed into a container with a rough surface on the bottom. After a few weeks, you can then observe tiny clams growing on this surface.

Back on the Pangaea, we enjoyed a dinner under the stars. It was our last night with Mike, as he will be leaving tomorrow for India.

Pangaea Borneo Project - 20110206 - Day 06: Sailing to Bohey Dulang

Pangaea Borneo Project - 20110206 - Day 06: Hike up Palau Bohey Dulang

Pangaea Borneo Project - 20110206 - Day 06: Underwater Exploration of Pulau Bohey Dulang

Pangaea Borneo Project - 20110306 - Young Explorer Photo Competition

Day 7 - February 07, 2011: Pulau Bohey Dulang to Pulau Bankawan to Pulau Mabul

Blog written by Andreas and Nicolette

We had an early start as we had to cover a large distance today. Sailing from the Tun Sakaran Marine Park, leaving the caldera behind us, we sailed 40 kilometers heading North-West to Pulau Bankawan, where we had carried out our beach cleanup at the start of the project. We felt a mixture of emotions as we saw the volcano disapear behind the horizon as we had learnt to appreciate its beauty over the last few days.

As Pangaea approached the Pulau Bankawan Beach, we heard the cries of “Crocodile! Crocodile!”. Everyone rushed to the stern of the boat to catch a climpse of the dangerous reptile. However on closer inspection, we can came to the conclusion that it was just a Water Monitor Lizard. Great dissapointment (perhaps in some people, relief) could be felt among the Young Explorers.

Armed with biodegradable plastic bags we picked up the rubbish that we had collected a few days back. In the mean time a colony of red ants had made a nest out of the pile of rubbish. They crawled all over our legs and into the plastic bags as we tried to remove the trash as quickly as possible. The dinghy was filled to the brim with green plastic bags and we had to do multiple trips to transport all the rubbish and people back to the Pangaea.

Back at Semporna, it was time to say goodbye to Mike, as he had to catch a plane to India. It was an emotional farewell as we really appreciate the time and effort he invests in the Pangaea project. Stocking up on supplies, the Pangaea was once again ready to sail, this time to Pulau Mabul, a popular dive site not very farm from famous Sipadan. Mabul is a fringing reef that sits on the edge of the continental shelf, unlike Sipadan which is a remnant of an old volcanic cone.

Once the Pangaea was anchored, we quickly geared up with our diving and equipment and torches and headed out to the Seven-Wonders of the World Dive Site. This dive site used to be sand patch with limited bioderversity however, by creating wooden structurs underwater coral polyps and settle and an artificial reef is created which provides a habitat for a large number of marine life. In the future, the Borneo Project could similarly aid the process of coral reef regeneration by constructing suck structures made of recycled materials underwater.

The night dive was a totally different experience from all the previous day dives we had done: seeing the underwater world with limited light gives a mysterious atmoshpere. Furthermore one can observe nocturnal animals that are not visible during the day. Some that of the animals that we were able to see were sleeping parrot fish, huge lionfish, hermit crabs, cone shells and glowing plankton. This was definitely one of the best dives of the entire project!

Pangaea Borneo Project - 20110207 - Day 07: Underwater Exploration of Pulau Mabul

Pangaea Borneo Project - 20110207 - Day 07: Sailing to Semporna

Day 8 - February 08, 2011: Pulau Mabul

Blog written by Jen Ho

Liquid gold poured over Mabul, revealing the picturesque chalets standing over the calm blue waters and backed by gently swaying coconut trees. It was a charming sight, but with it came the realisation that the end was drawing near and the morning dive we would soon be leaving on would be the last of the project before we flew off back to our countries of origin.

As the sun rose higher in the sky, we geared up and settled ourselves in the dinghies for a short trip to the other side of the island, where we would be diving. The dive site is called the Lobster Wall, but unfortunately we did not see any lobsters throughout our dive. There was a fairly strong current at the time, so we were able to simply allow ourselves to be carried along.

As we drifted we peered at the corals, spotting a crocodile fish, several gastropods – cone shells and murex shells – and nudibranches, but it was definitely the turtles which were the highlight of the dive. There was one perched serenely on a coral outcrop which seemed undisturbed by the wide-eyed divers surrounding it, and after we surfaced, we saw a few more swimming idly just beyond the reach of our free-dives. It was oddly relaxing just floating and watching their graceful strokes propel them forward, their carapaces illuminated by the shifting rays of sunlight from the surface.

Sadly, turtles worldwide are being threatened by development of their nesting grounds, unintentional catching, turtle egg poaching and more importantly the scourge of plastic waste drifting throughout our oceans. This is because turtles see transparent pieces of plastic as jellyfish, and therefore, food, and promptly swallow them. In their stomachs the plastic stays, until they have ingested so much that it causes them to die. In fact we would see that even here waste was being added to the sea.

After we dried off, we set off once more for the island itself with the aim of taking a look around the villages that coexist behind the luxurious resorts. Sadly, we found stores selling shells, some of them of fairly large size. There were even nautilus shells, which are from the animals which look like squids with shells and live in very deep waters. So even they are not safe.

More dismaying was the way the villagers were disposing of their rubbish. Christian reported seeing villagers fling bagfuls of rubbish straight into the ocean, while in the village itself we saw a little boy throwing an old bottle into the sandy road that winds through the houses. Some of them were even playing with the pieces of discarded plastic!

It was quite a sad sight especially on an island which tourists frequent. Hopefully, with education, the villagers can be taught the proper way of disposing rubbish. There was also a large mound of rubbish in a grove of coconut trees which was slowly puffing out smoke into the atmosphere! At least there is a rubbish disposal station in the village with a sign proclaiming ‘Keep Mabul Clean!’ which is definitely a step forward, but there is still much to be done about the problem.

An hour later, we had to leave the island, heading back to Semporna from which we would depart the next day in a bus. There will be a long bus journey back to Kota Kinabalu tomorrow, and it will certainly be no less eventful than the rest of this amazing project has been!

Day 9 - February 09, 2011: Bus ride from Sandakan to Kota Kinabalu

Blog written by Ravyna

Our journey was coming to a close; it was our last day on board the Pangaea. We started the day, relaxing around, having breakfast while some of us were still packing and getting ready, as we were leaving to Kota Kinabalu for our flights the next day back home.
After everyone was ready, we took the dinghies to the nearby jetty at Semporna, here we would be taking an 8 hour bus ride to Kota Kinabalu. As we waited and waited (with no luck), we were greeted with a torrential downpour, all we could do was huddle up in the shade with all our luggage and wonder how long we’ll be stuck here till our ride arrives. In the mean time, some of us took this opportunity to take pictures, write messages in each others’ journals, socialise and plan future projects and fundraising events.

After an hour or two, our bus had finally arrived!! It was time to say our goodbyes to the crew, we will all miss them so much. Thank you Jacek, Tristan and Sasha for making us feel right at home on Pangaea and for being the best crew ever! We said our goodbyes and began our long 8 hour journey to Kota Kinabalu on a spacious bus we had all to ourselves!

Many of us drifted off to sleep, while some played card games, watched movies or looked outside to entertain us during the long journey. It was surprising how all we could see on either side of the road was just palm oil plantations. It was endless! Many people would presume that since the land was covered in trees, whether it be palm trees or etcetera, it has no environmental effects, as it isn’t like the area has been deforested (which would definitely have major environmental issues), the area is full of palm trees; however, this is not true, the fact that all we saw were palm oil plantations is quite alarming.

The reason for this is because, in order to create these vast sections of palm oil plantations, the conversion of rainforests to palm trees is necessary, this means large sections of the rainforests have to be deforested in order to plant the palm trees; resulting in many environmental issues. There is a clear risk that hundreds of species could go extinct as they lose their natural habitats and most of them depend on the rainforest for their survival. Large mammals such as the orang-utans and elephants are affected particularly as they require large areas to survive; the Borneo Elephant has come into huge conflict with this growing expansion of human agriculture activities in its natural habitat. Smaller mammals may not be able to recolonise isolated patches to suitable habitats, therefore they may end up locally extinct. The expansion of the plantations is also one of the major causes of the forest fires of 1997/98 and the subsequent haze that spread from plantations into adjacent natural forests. Many rivers originate in the Heart of Borneo, and maintaining the primary forests is important ensure the island’s water supply, moderate the impacts of droughts and fires and to support ecological and economical stability in the lowlands. It is extremely important to conserve and protect the remaining small percentage of primary rainforest left before it’s all gone.

We stopped over to have dinner before continuing our journey to KK. The bus ride dragged on for an extra 2-3 hours, (in total lasting around 11-12 hours!!) until we finally arrived Masada Backpackers where we would be staying the night. Trudging up the stairwell with our luggage, all of us feeling tired and sticky from the bus ride, we finally had a hot, decent shower after 10 days. After lazing around and catching up on facebook (free wifi!). We said goodbye and thanked Markus Ruf, the marine biologist who accompanied us on the trip, for coming along on the Project, taking us on all those Marine Biology Dives and teaching us about the marine life in Sabah (especially molluscs!), it was great having him on board with us! After we had time to recover from our exhausting journey we decided to have a small farewell party since it was our last night in Borneo and to celebrate our success of the Borneo Project.

This opportunity to take part in this project has taught me so much and given me the chance to experience and learn new skills, such as diving and sailing; and though this journey may be coming to an end for us, i know that it isn’t, because what we learnt here, we will take back and share with everyone back home, spreading the message. This is just the beginning.

What did our Young Explorers have to say about their new PADI diving experience:

It’s a whole different world down there just waiting to be discovered. It’s sad how these beautiful places underwater are being treated so badly; diving gives me a chance to act and do something about it. An amazing experience =)

Ravyna Jassani (16), Malaysia

It was great to take diving to another level with the underwater navigation and the deep dive (32.6 m, which is my deepest to date!)

Ker Jen Ho (17), Malaysia

Diving gives you freedom. It adds another dimension to your life. A truly amazing experience!

Andreas Meyer (18), Singapore

Through the Pangaea Borneo project and by scuba diving, I have been able to EXPLORE the beauty of the underwater world, to LEARN about the threat it faces today and inspired to ACT to conserve our coral reefs.

Nicolette Meyer (18), Singapore

Diving has taught me what treasures lay below the surface of our oceans. You can never truly appreciate or understand all the marine life under the sea until you experience it yourself. It really makes you want to do something to protect the biodiversity that exists there.

Benedict Tan Yong An (17), Singapore

Becoming certified as a PADI Open Water Diver has enabled me to participate in the environmental activities of the Pangaea Borneo ACT Project. Not only has it given me the key to the magnificence of the underwater-world, but also a key to preserve the natural beauty of our oceans.

Akira Biondo (19), Japan

My first dive in Borneo was an amazing experience that I would not swap for the world. The Padi Diving Course enabled me to experience the beauty of the underwater world in this beautiful part of the world. I love to be under the water as much as possible; swimming with fish, sharks and stingrays.

Stefan Oosthuizen (21), South Africa

Water is my element, now I am certain about it. The PADI course enabled me to explore what we know so little about yet! The incredible biodiversity and astonishing beauty of the underwater world made me curious about the environmental issues that might be a danger to it. I am more aware now and will do my best to protect the marine life.

Zofia Drapella (19), Poland

Learning and Diving with PADI has given me a wonderful opportunity to explore the underwater world and see many new marine species of animal life. I love diving and have enjoyed every dive I have done.

Saraya D’Ath (15), Australia

Diving and the underwater world has been my passion at least since i am born. Sharing this amazing experience with other people from all parts of the world is truly the best job in the world. With Mike Horn and our young explorers we can really work on solutions to protect our marine environment for future generations. The best training is an essential start. I am proud to be a PADI instructor and i believe that you are more likely to protect what you can see and feel. Let’s go diving!

Christian Miller (33) Australia - PADI Dive Instructor