Tengah Island (Pulau Tengah) | |
ڤولاو تڠه | |
Island | |
Country | Malaysia |
---|---|
State | Johor |
Location | South China Sea |
- coordinates | 2°28′37″N 103°57′37″E / 2.47694°N 103.96028°ECoordinates: 2°28′37″N 103°57′37″E / 2.47694°N 103.96028°E |
Tengah Island is a privately owned island. It lies nine nautical miles off the coast of Mersing on the South China Sea off the east coast of Johor, Malaysia. It is 30 minutes away by boat from Mersing.
Near Besar Island, Tengah Island is 16 km off the coast and is an easy 45-minute boat ride. During the 1970s, the island became famous as a Vietnamese refugee transit camp which was subsequently closed in the early 1980s.
The island was the first location for the making of the TV-show Expedition Robinson in 1997.
In 1985, Tengah Island was one of the few islands gazetted by the Malaysian government as a Marine Park due to its abundant marine life and rare species of fish and coral.
The island is home to an upscale resort called Batu Batu. The resort runs a conservation program called Turtle Watch Camp where marine biologists have built a hatchery to protect sea turtle eggs until they hatch and are ready to enter the sea.