This summer, Oakham School returned to Tioman Island for the first time since 2006 to help restore its coral reef ecosystem. A group of pupils from Forms 5 and 6 experienced an unforgettable week of science, sustainability and adventure, beginning work on the creation of the “Oakham Reef” – an artificial reef seeded with local coral.
Day 1 – Touchdown in Singapore
We flew overnight, checked in at the YMCA and have been out to eat at the local hawker’s market. We have a very early start tomorrow to cross into Malaysia and catch our ferry to Tioman Island.
Day 2 – Island Bound: Journey to Tioman
By Lizzie
Today we arrived on Tioman Island and aside from a very early start and everyone being jet-lagged, it was a great first day!
We woke up at 4.30am and jumped on a bus to begin our journey to the port, where we boarded the ferry to take us to Tioman Island. The scenery along the way was absolutely stunning and it was really cool to see monkeys in the wild along the side of the road.
When we arrived, we were greeted with a rather hot and sweaty trek up to our resort – we were all very happy to reach the air-conditioned rooms at the end. After settling in and some lunch, we headed out for our first snorkelling trip, comparing dead and alive corals and exploring the beach edge which sat right outside our rooms!
We then had a quick freshen up ready for a nice dinner in the evening followed by a coral reef presentation.
Day 3 – Building the Oakham Reef
By Lander
Today was a proper frolic around Tioman Island. Starting the day off a little damp after a booming thunderstorm crashed upon our rooftops, waking us up at 4am. From under my fleece blanket, I watched the droplets trickle along the leaves, reflecting my meditative state. On a lighter note (literally, the sun had risen), we began the morning with the breakfast of champions (doughnuts and curry puffs). And then it was time to change the world for the better.
We attached pieces of coral to star frames, then snorkelled out to deploy them, creating our very own OAKHAM SCHOOL REEF.
After drying off, we sped off to the Asah Waterfall, with the outstanding assistance of Hans (with his gorgeous hair!) – a magnificent oasis in the middle of a dense primary rainforest.
We later returned to the resort (with ice creams in hand, cheers, Mrs Dunbavand!) for a gorgeous evening under the stars. Overall, another wonderful day in paradise.
Day 4 – Wildlife Encounters & Mangrove Mayhem
By Mimi & Matilda
Today we woke up bright and early and instead of turning over to see Matilda I found a cockroach instead! For breakfast we fuelled up on some toast before we made our way on to the boat to head to the first snorkel sight. On the way – we saw DOLPHINS! 🐬
We then went to the mangroves where we set out to clear all the plastic rubbish finding a whole kitchen along the way. However, this took a turn for the worse when Mimi was viciously attacked by a huge mangrove spider (that may be a little dramatic, but there was no help from Matilda as she ran away). Aside from the spider we also saw baby black tip reef sharks, so it was fine in the end.
At the second location we saw parrot fish and lots of coral before having our lunch. Here we enjoyed the miniature bananas found on the beach whilst searching for very pretty sea glass. We then went to the third location which showed us the coral restoration in Tioman which looked very successful. Along the way we also spotted two sting rays and a shark! 🦈
At the final location we identified a hawksbill sea turtle as well as a blue spotted sting ray and many more fish, our favourite was the rabbit fish. We then went to the village and enjoyed an ice cream in the sun – it was UV5. After that, we got back on the boat and made sure to wear our life jackets for a fun photo with the rubbish we collected from the mangroves, much to Mimi’s disappointment as she was forced to re-live her trauma. Then we ended the day with a BBQ and we roasted marshmallows at a bonfire on the beach.
By Lander
Today was our first day of meandering at depth. At a brisk 5:30am we were up and on our way to the dive centre. Whilst the sunrise illuminated the scenery we rode across the water adorned with our orange blocky lifejackets.
On arrival we learnt the extent of the “advanced” qualification revising the humble buddy check. Teamed up with Mrs Dunbavand and Hans, we saw the majesty of his underwater hair. Second to that, we crossed paths with the hawksbill turtle and black tip reef shark. Our boat dive consisted of further aquatic wonders, including the clownfish, angel fish and pufferfish.
We finished the day with a riveting presentation in identifying the types of coral.
Day 5 – Deep Dive Discoveries
Day 5 in paradise started with a later (but not quite late enough) start with a breakfast of noodles and watermelon. After a dive briefing and lathering with sun cream, we were off for our third dive of the trip. This took place at Fan Canyon – aptly named for the abundance of fan corals and its big rocks creating small valleys full of beautiful corals and sponges.
After our presentation on substrates the previous night, we were all enthusiastically pointing out hard and soft corals, sponges, rubble, recently killed corals and many others to our dive buddies. After stopping for a surface break with some great tunes, we started our second dive of the day.
We took a short boat ride to Batu Malang – directly translates to ‘unfortunate rock’ due to the main rock in the formation being balanced so that it never gets to touch the sea, even at high tide. During this dive we saw a squad of squid swimming speedily. We also saw seven nudibranchs with eggs which looked very similar to cute slugs.
During the afternoon there was the opportunity for a third dive which a few of us went on while others had some rest. The evening then consisted of a supervised trip into the town for a milkshake, followed by a presentation on fish identification and signals, followed by dinner and an early night.
Day 6 – Swim-Throughs & Encyclopaedias
By Stella
Today included the best snorkel and dives of the trip… meaning that even though one was above the water one could see all the different species of fish and coral that the rock islands had to offer. These dives took place at Sepoi and Labas – which according to Google translate meaning nothing in English. From the snorkelers’ perspectives the divers’ breathing is extremely annoying to see through as they cause massive disruptions in the calmness of the water, however, all the fish still looked adorably amusing. According to the divers, during the swim through dives (diving through holes made in the rocks) it was crucial to maintain their buoyancy in order for them to not bump into anything. This was a highlight of the trip as they were completely surrounded by hundreds of small fish.
Later on in the day, after a quick shower and some food (chicken and rice… again), we went out for a walk to the local shops (for a lychee drink). Dive logging was next on the list of things to do where I spent a lot of my time reading through the fish encyclopaedia.
For dinner we made a huge step in having different food; we had…beef and rice, finally moving away from the mountains of chickens we’ve eaten over the course of this trip. Our evening activity for tonight was a Kahoot (where there were four different Landers and yet none of them were actually Lander), all in all another lovely day in a hot paradise.
Day 7 – Snorkel Games & Ocean Wisdom
By Sam, Alex and Freddy
Today was an amazing day on Tioman Island. After a relaxed breakfast we changed into our swimwear and got ready for an exciting day at the beach.
While snorkelling we explored the underwater world and saw many colourful fish, corals and other marine life. The sun was shining, and the water was super clear – perfect conditions for snorkelling.
Our guide had prepared a special activity for us. He showed us 20 random items from the sea. Some were substrates, some were fish, and others were invertebrates. Each group had to try and identify them. It was both fun and educational. After we finished, we went through the correct answers together and the winning group received a small prize.
To conclude this exciting morning we had lunch and in the afternoon we filled out the arrival card for Singapore since we’re heading there tomorrow. Later on in the afternoon, we had a poster session. Each buddy pair created a poster on the topic “Responsible Diver”. The posters were creative and full of important messages about how to protect the ocean and behave responsibly while diving or snorkelling.
Day 8 – Farewell, Tioman Island
By Lizzie
Today we were leaving Tioman Island. 😢 We got up not too early and then had breakfast. Then we took a stroll down to the dock and waited for our ferry while looking into the crystal-clear ocean at the fish.
Once we arrived back on mainland Malaysia, we bought some fun, yet tacky souvenirs and some interesting snacks before making our way down to border patrol and eventually we arrived back at the YMCA (it’s fun to stay at the YMCA). 🎵
Some of us then played a ruthless game of Marco Polo in the hotel pool, and others had some eventful chicken fights. Finally, we all wandered our way through some lovely metro stations and visited the Gardens by the Bay, where we watched a beautiful light show with some fun music before slowly making our way back. A few of us decided to go for a very unprepared night swim and then finally went to bed.
Day 9 – The last day in Southeast Asia
By Evie
Our last day in Southeast Asia was spent taking in the sights of Singapore and catching a glimpse of its culture. We woke up at a reasonable time, after the excitement of the previous night’s visit to the light show and a round of cards and magic tricks with Dunbavs and Mr Russell (Mr Russell took the win).
We first visited the Singapore botanical gardens and the cloud forest. These were immense with species of plants from all around the world, and even life size moving dinosaurs! We then left for lunch where we were able to choose our own Asian cuisine from different stalls. After lunch we visited Chinatown where many of us bought trinkets from the market stall-like shops. which featured a colonial-style design. The atmosphere conveyed a strong sense of elegance, high quality, and impeccable attention to detail. Then, feeling a bit hot and tired, we had a quick self-led tour of the Singapore museum to learn about the country’s rich history and how it became the iconic country it is now.
As we boarded the plane back to Blighty that evening, we were all thinking about the incredible experience we had had over the past days with gratefulness and fulfilment.
Visit our Instagram page for a reel of their trip!
