The islands off the state of Terengganu are mainly composed of granite and sedimentary rocks and a distinct contrast to the islands in the Phuket/Langkawi area which are predominantly limestone karst formations.
On arrival at Pulau Redang (Redang Island) on 22 May we were met by beautiful white beaches, and rocky headlands and shores where the granite boulders and cliffs fell steeply into the clear waters. On a dinghy ride along these shores, wide cracks in the rocks could be seen continuing on beneath the water, the aquamarine colouring darkening to deep turquoise as the depth quickly fell away. Most beaches have a fringing coral reef out from the shore and the snorkelling was stunning with all types of corals and hundreds of fish to be seen. It was turtle breeding season during our visit and one evening we counted at least six turtles cruising around off the beach near us. We had seen some tracks on the beach but most of them are robbed fairly quickly by large monitor lizards - or, disappointingly, possibly humans as there were lots of turtle eggs for sale in the Terengganu markets.
On arrival at Pulau Redang (Redang Island) on 22 May we were met by beautiful white beaches, and rocky headlands and shores where the granite boulders and cliffs fell steeply into the clear waters. On a dinghy ride along these shores, wide cracks in the rocks could be seen continuing on beneath the water, the aquamarine colouring darkening to deep turquoise as the depth quickly fell away. Most beaches have a fringing coral reef out from the shore and the snorkelling was stunning with all types of corals and hundreds of fish to be seen. It was turtle breeding season during our visit and one evening we counted at least six turtles cruising around off the beach near us. We had seen some tracks on the beach but most of them are robbed fairly quickly by large monitor lizards - or, disappointingly, possibly humans as there were lots of turtle eggs for sale in the Terengganu markets.Our first anchorage was just off Pulau Pinang, on the south western end of Redang; 05 deg 44.80 N, 103 deg 07.860 E. This would give us protection from the prevailing SW monsoon as well as the NE seabreeze. However, on the second night it did not give us any protection from a SE wind and after bouncing around all night we left early the next morning to anchor in the big NE-facing bay which is home to the Berjaya Resort, 05 deg 27.230 N, 103 
deg 01.170 E. This bay proved to give excellent protection against the SE breeze which continued to blow for the next couple of days. As well as a resort ashore there was also access to the road which runs down the centre of the island through the local village. We did a walk to the village to pick up some fresh veg and a chicken as we had not caught any fish to supplement our freezer! Apart from swimming, snorkelling and beach walking, we spent a lot of our time just plain relaxing and reading. During the day up to 8 fishing boats would come in the bay so Jon approached one of them to buy some fish or squid and came back with three nice pan-size fish which the fisherman gave to him.
After four nights we decided to move along to the Perhentian Islands where we anchored off Long Beach on Pulau Perhentian Kecil (Small Perhentian Island), 05 deg 55.045 N, 102 deg 43.520 E. This was another exquisite sandy-bottomed bay with backpacker-style resorts ashore and of course the accompanying noise - not the worst we have ever anchored off though and the music in the evening was actually quite relaxing. Most of the activity was caused by smaller local power boats racing out to meet larger ones ferrying holiday makers to their resort. They would be off-loaded onto the smaller ones and pay two Ringgits to get ashore. At the approach of one of the ferries, between two and four smaller boats would race to be the first one to pick up the passengers!
Again, snorkelling in the clear waters was very good with the highlight being when we saw a school of at least 14 large Bumphead parrotfish (Bolbometopon muricatum). They slowly moved ahead of us chomping at the coral with their large prominent front teeth while at the same time excreting large clouds of processed coral - and we were swimming in it!! They soon turned and suddenly disappeared into the murk.
deg 01.170 E. This bay proved to give excellent protection against the SE breeze which continued to blow for the next couple of days. As well as a resort ashore there was also access to the road which runs down the centre of the island through the local village. We did a walk to the village to pick up some fresh veg and a chicken as we had not caught any fish to supplement our freezer! Apart from swimming, snorkelling and beach walking, we spent a lot of our time just plain relaxing and reading. During the day up to 8 fishing boats would come in the bay so Jon approached one of them to buy some fish or squid and came back with three nice pan-size fish which the fisherman gave to him.After four nights we decided to move along to the Perhentian Islands where we anchored off Long Beach on Pulau Perhentian Kecil (Small Perhentian Island), 05 deg 55.045 N, 102 deg 43.520 E. This was another exquisite sandy-bottomed bay with backpacker-style resorts ashore and of course the accompanying noise - not the worst we have ever anchored off though and the music in the evening was actually quite relaxing. Most of the activity was caused by smaller local power boats racing out to meet larger ones ferrying holiday makers to their resort. They would be off-loaded onto the smaller ones and pay two Ringgits to get ashore. At the approach of one of the ferries, between two and four smaller boats would race to be the first one to pick up the passengers!Again, snorkelling in the clear waters was very good with the highlight being when we saw a school of at least 14 large Bumphead parrotfish (Bolbometopon muricatum). They slowly moved ahead of us chomping at the coral with their large prominent front teeth while at the same time excreting large clouds of processed coral - and we were swimming in it!! They soon turned and suddenly disappeared into the murk.
