Terengganu - Pulau Redang

Terengganu - Pulau Redang

History

First settlers of Pulau Redang were believed the Bugis from Celebes , Indonesia . They established their first village at Teluk Kalong and moved south to Pulau Pinang where th epresent Marine Park Centre is located . The village on Redang are believed to be descendents of these original Bugia settlers .

In early 70s , land in Pulau Pinang became scarce , some villagers moved to Redang River estuary . The state government built a water village called Kampung Air for these residents in 1976 which became home about 250 fishermen families . The village comprised wooden houses built on stilts . Kampung Air was torn down in 2001 and some families relocated to the village inland while others went back to the mainland . Many of the residents have village restaurants , boat services or working in the resorts.

First resorts on Redang appeared around the late 80s . With the declaration of Redang as a marine park in 1991 came gradual development of more resorts to cater to local marine enthusiasts who flicked to the relatively unspoilt island to snorkel and dive . Turn of the century , most of the existing resorts today were already operational . In 2000 , the release of the successful Hong Kong movie 'Summer Holiday' , much of which was shot on Redang , the island was thrust into the international spotlight and as they said , 'the rest is history'.In 2003 , the Berjaya Group completed work on the airport and the first direct flights between Kuala Lumpur and Redang commenced in March 2004 , with direct flights Singapore and Redang commencing a year later.

Redang Marine Park

In 1991 , Pualu Redang and its smaller neighbouring island of  Pulau Lima , Pulau Paku Besar , Pulau Paku Kecil , Pulau Kerengga Kecil , Pulau Kerengga Besar , Pulau Ekor Tebu , Pulau Ling and Pulau Pinang became a protected Malaysian Marine Park and its currently managed by the Ministry of Natural Resource and Environment ( NRE ) , Malaysia.

Pulau Redang Marine Park boundary extends 3.2km out from the shores of Pulau Redang , Pulau Lima ,Pulau Ekor Tebu and Pulau Pinang.

As a marine park , impact from human activities are managed to protect the marine environment and to conserve its coral reefs. Fishing is not allowed within the 3.2km radius while collection of all marine life including shells and corals are strictly prohibited.

Location

For the layman , Redang lies close to the equator , somewhere in the South China Sea off the northeast coast of Peninsular Malaysia. For GPS geeks , that's within 5'44' - 5'50' North latitude and 102'59'-103'5' East longitude. Timezone is GMT +8. Geographically , it is located about 45km north-northeast of Kuala Terengganu ( KT ) , the state capital of Terengganu and gate way to Redang , with the closet point on the mainlnd 22kn away at Tanjung Merang .

From Merang jetty , the journey by boat takes 45-60 minutes while the journey from KT Shahbandar jetty takes 90 minutes. Berjaya Air is the only airline that flies to Redang , offering services from Kuala Lumpur (KL) and Singapore.Redang is also within an hour's boat ride from the other popular vacation islands of Perhentian and Lang Tengah.

Climate

Hot and humid describes most days at Redang. Daily temperatures hover between 22-33'C with relative humidity between 80-87%. There is a distinct dry and rainy season though visiting season is restricted to the dry season. The rainy season is between November to March when the northeast monsoon brings torrential rains and rough seas. Visiting season from March to October coincides with the dry season when seas are generally calm with little rain.

Geography

Geology

Redang island is about 7km long and 6km wide. It's highest peak , Bukit Besar , is only 359 metres above sea level. The island is made up mainly of sedimentary rocks. Soil cover is generally thin and nit agriculturally productive , except around the Sungai Redang (Redang River)basin and the summit of Bukit Besar.

Sandy beaches are found primarily on Teluk Kalong and Pasir Panjang in the east , Teluk Dalam and Chagar Hutang in the north , and Mak Kepit and Mak Simpan in the west. Most resorts are located at Pasir Panjang with a few at Teluk Kalong while Taaras (Berjaya Redang) is the only resorts at Teluk Dalam , a bay that is so sheltered that it is hardly affected by the northeast monsoon.

Flora and fauna 

The interior of the island is covered with thick vegetation comprising mainly dipterocarpus forests in the east, and shores forests in the west. Coconut trees line sandy shores , while the 'sukun' or breadfruit tree is fairly abundant on Pulau Pinang. Island fauna comprise mainly small reptiles and amphibians such as snakes , monitor lizards , geckos , toads and frogs , small mammals such as macaque monkeys , bats , mousedeer , civet cats , rodents domestic goats and sheep and more than 50 species of birds.