SARAWAK, 6 January 2023: To usher in the Year of the Rabbit, Sarawak Tourism Board is featuring the rare “Sea Bunny” called Jorunna Parva, a type of soft-bodied marine slug for its 2023 ang pao packets design this year.
Bearing an uncanny resemblance to the rabbit due to the little flaps on its head and fluffy-looking ‘coat’, the 1 cm long rare sea bunny can be found at Miri-Sibuti Coral Reefs National Park in Miri, Sarawak.
Sharzede Datu Haji Salleh Askor, Chief Executive Officer of Sarawak Tourism Board said: “The ‘sea bunny’ ang pao design will be the sixth edition to STB’s ang pao series, which features flora and fauna unique to Sarawak. We look forward to creating new and truly Sarawakian ang pao designs every year to make it a collectable while promoting Sarawak’s priceless biodiversity and wildlife to the world.”
“The rise of ecotourism has seen a surge in demand for eco-retreats, with Sarawak’s natural beauty and sustainable outlook. As we welcome another year of great discovery, we invite visitors to explore Sarawak’s unique Culture, Adventure, Nature, Food and Festival offerings filled with exciting green tourism activities such as deep-sea diving, caving, biking, and hiking,” she added.
Miri-Sibuti Coral Reefs National Park is the second-largest offshore national park in Sarawak, with 33 identified dive sites. It is considered to be one of the popular dive destinations due to its abundance of pristine patch reefs and its incredible marine life, and the breeding ground for 800 species of hard and soft corals.
It lies at depths ranging from 7 to 30 metres with an average visibility of 10 to 30 metres, where divers can discover a variety of underwater species such as Gorgonia sea fans, bubble corals, barracudas, Napoleon wrasse and butterfly fish. Some popular diving sites include Eve’s Garden, Belais, Sunday Reef, Anemone Garden, Siwa Reef, Kenyalang Wreck. The best time recommended to dive here is from March to October.
The limited 2023 ang pao packets will be available for collection at STB’s visitor information centres in Kuching, Sibu and Miri from 4 January 2023 onwards while stock last.
For more information about Sarawak, log on to Sarawak Tourism Board’s website: https://sarawaktourism.com.
(Your Stories: Sarawak Tourism Board)
