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Dive Downbelow

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Asia

Location

Kota Kinabalu, SB

Malaysia

6° 0' 45.4248" N, 116° 1' 13.8612" E

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Downbelow Marine and Wildlife Adventures

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Bio

Downbelow Marine & Wildlife Adventures is a PADI 5 Star IDC Diver Training Centre in Sabah, Borneo with a dive shop, classroom & travel centre in Kota Kinabalu and a beach-side dive centre on the nearby Gaya Island, just 10 minutes away by boat.

The dive centre, surrounded by tropical jungle and vibrant reefs, is where you can learn to dive in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. Downbelow uses the latest training methods and regularly serviced, quality diving equipment to conduct all levels of diver training, from Discover SCUBA through to IDC Staff Instructor.

For the aspiring professional SCUBA diver, diving internships are on offer and ranges in length from 1 to 6 months, enabling even non-divers to quickly progress from zero to fully qualified open water diving instructors, ready for employment anywhere in the world. Under the leadership of resident PADI Course Director Richard Swann, Downbelow’s Go Pro Instructor Development team team-teaches, giving candidates the full advantage of their collective decades worth of experience. For a one-stop shop that provides the best PADI SCUBA diving facilities and the widest range of PADI courses in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah; when you dive Sabah, DiveDownbelow.

My Blog Entries

Submitted by Dive Downbelow on Dec. 20/12

Dolphins in Tunku Abdul Rahman Park - Sabah

Yesterday was an exceptionally great day for us as we stumbled upon a pod of Pacific Bottlenose dolphins.

Submitted by Dive Downbelow on Dec. 02/12

Downbelow Teams Up with Kinabalu International School

This weekend past Downbelow teamed up with locally based Kinabalu International School for a marine-debris clean-up.

The group, lead by teacher, dive enthausiast and PADI OWSI, Gareth Pearson, included 36 students, teachers and extra volunteers.

They worked in 2 groups; 1 which combed and cleaned the beach, and another that joined Downbelow's boats to snorkel to the rocky shallows for cleaning the shores not accible by land.

After a humongous effort and working hard the whole day long, the group managed to collect a whopping 647kg of rubbish.

Submitted by Dive Downbelow on Nov. 26/12

Downbelow zaps Illegally Dumped Net

Our resident PADI Course Director Richard decided, over the weekend, to dive an old site that hasn't been visited in over 5 years.

PADI IDC Staff Instructor Bob went along for the dive. As they descended onto the site, they were horrified to discover a huge net choking the reef.

Submitted by Dive Downbelow on Nov. 12/12

Total Tally of Finathon Funds

Asia's first Finathon held last weekend was, by all accounts, a resounding success.

After noting every contribution - big and small - we finally know, to the exact penny, what was donated.

The response we received from the local business community, many individuals and even the Ministry of Tourism, surprised even us. Shark finning is obviously very important to many people.

Thanks to everyone's heartfelt generosity, Downbelow's Finathon netted a stagerring RM 15,079.10 (AU$ 4,734.64 / US$ 4,925.39 at current rates).

Submitted by Dive Downbelow on Nov. 02/12

Tourism Ministry Supports our Finathon

Minister of Tourism, Arts & Culture, Datuk Masidi Manjun, sent a letter of support for Downbelow's Project AWARE Finathon taking place Sunday, 4 November.

“I applaud the initiative taken by Downbelow," Datuk Masidi says in his faxed letter, “to raise awareness against shark fin products and to highlight the plight of sharks in our oceans.”

Datuk Masidi and his Ministry are very vocal about the plight of sharks and are lobbying for a total ban of shark finning and fishing in Sabah's waters.

Submitted by Dive Downbelow on Oct. 16/12

Hyatt & Downbelow Tackle Trash

Yesterday we joined forces with Hyatt Regency Kinabalu to tackle the tide of marine debris on the shores of Gaya island in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

It was perfect weather for a day out on the otherwise beautiful beach of Gaya island and all the more rewarding for helping it stay that way.

The team of volunteers consisted of Downbelow's staff, Hyatt Regency Kinabalu, Sabah Parks (our local parks authority), our Go Pro Interns and even a few of our Danish adventurers currently resident on the island.

Submitted by Dive Downbelow on Oct. 15/12

Fish Bombing Kota Kinabalu's TAR Park

On Friday the Downbelow crew was on a high after working with a group of enthusiastic tourism students, showing them the splendour and magnificence of the beautiful marine park in which our dive centre is based; a major tourist attraction in the city.

On Saturday, however, all the euphoria evaporated when we descended upon a popular dive site only to discover a huge swathe of coral destroyed by fish bombing.

Submitted by Dive Downbelow on Oct. 11/12

Illegal Net Removals Like A Pro Intern

Illegal nets; the pesky bain of our existence, which occurs every so often in our beloved TAR Marine Park in spite of a high level of awareness and viligance.

So it was then that yet another net was spotted this week in the marine park in which Downbelow's dive centre is based. But, as usual, we had a plan.

Submitted by Dive Downbelow on Oct. 07/12

Borneo Adventurers Become Coral Reef Aware

For the love of our oceans, we couldn't let the latest group of Borneo Adventurers leave without understanding the importance of our coral reefs.

Our Borneo Adventure program has, over the last 2 years, brought numerous groups of European adventurers to Borneo, where they have learned much about our jungles and seas.

Through the program the aventurers experience Sabah for a month, meeting the people, trekking jungles, climbing mountains and, of course, learning how to dive.

Submitted by Dive Downbelow on Sep. 24/12

New OWSI now Shark AWARE Instructors Too

You can tell just by looking at Downbelow's resident PADI Course Director Richard Swann that he has just tickled his passion for the environment.

From the big grin on his face and hand against his forehead symbolising a fin, the diver's sign for shark, you know he was busy with shark conservation.

"A very conservation-minded bunch," he says as he points to the group of new PADI Open Water Scuba Instructors who recently qualified during our September IDC.