Tun Sakaran Marine Park is a 35,000 ha archipelago located at the entrance of Darvel Bay, off Semporna and is a unique blend of nature and marine biodiversity. It is the perfect holiday spot for nature lovers, culture seekers, snorkelers, hikers and divers. Tourists can hike, meet the Sea Gypsies, scuba dive, snorkel and watch birds the whole day at this wonderful park.
Compared to Semporna town, nature remains comparatively unspoiled here and the marine life here, also not as astounding as Sipadan and Mabul island, is still very good and has been compared to the Australia’s Great Barrier Reef (according to the scientific study by marine biologists).
However, it is not just nature’s bounty that makes the place so attractive. The crowning glory of the place is the people who live here – the nomadic Sea Gypsies, called Bajau Laut, who have woven a special type of give-and-take relationship with the waters of the area. They live in houseboats, or homes built on stilts on top of coral reefs. Their unique lifestyle and bonds with nature are added attractions for visitors.
The Tun Sakaran Marine Park (TSMP) is also called the Semporna Islands Park and consists of 8 islands and 2 reefs.
There are tour and dive operators based in Semporna who organize daily trips to the islands of the Tun Sakaran Marine Park. Some dive centers conduct PADI dive courses at the park.
There are 21 dive sites such as Church Reef (Tabah Siramba), Kapikan Reef, Mantabuan, Ribbon Reef, Sibuan Reef, etc.
The island of Bohey Dulang has a ascending trail towards its top. The trail goes up to the 353 meters high peak and is rewarding with fauna such as birds, butterflies and monkeys (long-tailed macaques) and of course the views of the blue lagoon and TSMP Islands.
Since 2006, Bohey Dulang is home to a hatchery called Giant Clam and Marine Invertebrate Hatchery, set up with the collaboration between Sabah Parks and the Semporna Islands Darwin Project project (SIDP). Rare species of giant clams are bred at the hatchery.
The island of Bohey Dulang was categorised a bird sanctuary as early as 1933, and it is now a part of Tun Sakaran Marine Park. The high density of birds on the island makes it a paradise for bird watchers.
List of bird species that have been recorded: Pied Imperial Pigeon, Metallic Pigeon, Nicobar Pigeon, Tabon scrubfowl, Collared kingfisher and Pied Hornbill, Sea eagles along with owls, raptors, flycatchers, thrushes, bulbuls and sunbirds.
The nomadic and very poor tribes of Sea Gypsies, locally known as Bajau Laut, mainly inhabit the islands of Bohey Dulang, Bodgaya, Mantabuan, Sibuan, and Maiga. Their life within their wooden boats or on water village and their unique chemistry with water are unique.
Those who want to visit the place have to stay in the nearby islands of Pulau Mataking, Pom Pom Island, or Singamata, or in Semporna Town. All these places have good hotels and resorts that can regularly take visitors to the park. There are no accommodation inside the park at the moment.
The speed boat ride from the islands of Pom Pom and Mataking will take about 20 minutes to the park and organize trips to the Park on the daily basis. Semporna is about 15 minutes away and Pulau Mabul is the farthest and getting there will take more than one hour (depending on the tide).